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“Heartbreak Hotel” In
Mid-November, 1963, while stationed in Germany, Travis attended a Kinderfest
at a German Army base. There, he was invited to sing with a three
piece band. “I just sang songs that the band and I both knew.
The kids loved it.” So, apparently, did the German soldiers!
From then on, whenever he'd go to a dance club where soldiers were present,
he'd be asked to sing. Soon, invitations were coming from club managers
and included complimentary admissions, free drinks and even dinners for
Travis and his party.
“What'd I Say?” Rock promoter Werner Hingst was there on the wild night that Travis performed two sets at each of two different clubs, miles apart, with two different bands! According to the publicity, “The Teddy” was appearing with “The Nightstars” at the Koralle in Plön and with “The Vampiros” at Gasthaus Shroeder in Behrensdorf. Ernst-Günther Schroeder was the madman who picked Travis up in Plön, drove him to Behrensdorf, then back to Plön for his second set and then back to Behrensdorf for the grand finale! It was during those wild journeys, that Werner came up with the idea for “The Five Beats.” “Love Potion No.9” “Werner suggested that I chose the best players from each band to form a new super band,” Travis explains, “which, I must admit, sounded better than driving madly back and forth through the dark, rainy night! But as I was on active duty in the US Navy, my availability would be questionable, so I didn't think that much of the idea. But then Werner promised to only bill me as a special guest star — and so, “The Five Beats” and the legend of “The Teddy — die Twistsensation aus USA” were born. |
