Klaus Meine

Klaus Meine (born 25 May 1948) is a German vocalist, songwriter and instrumentalist best known as the frontman of the heavy metal band Scorpions. He and guitarist Rudolf Schenker are the only two members of the group to appear on every Scorpions album, though he did not join the band until 1969, four years after they were founded. Meine was placed at No. 22 on Hit Parader's Top Heavy Metal Vocalists of All Time list in 2006.[1]

Klaus Meine
Klaus Meine in 2007
Background information
Born (1948-05-25) 25 May 1948
Hannover, Allied-occupied Germany
GenresHard rock, heavy metal, soft rock
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1963–present
LabelsRCA, Mercury, Sony BMG
Associated actsScorpions

Biography

Meine is noted for his unique tenor voice and polished delivery which ranges from high notes to soft ballads.

Meine wrote most of the lyrics to Scorpions' songs. He and former Scorpions' drummer Herman Rarebell also shared lyrical authorship on some songs, including the major hit "Rock You Like a Hurricane". Meine composed some songs alone like "Wind of Change", "You and I", "But the Best for You", "Does Anyone Know", "A Moment in a Million Years", "Moment of Glory", "I Wanted to Cry", "Back to You", "My City, My Town", "Follow Your Heart", "Rock'n' Roll Band", "The World We Used To Know" and "Who We Are".[2]

In 1981, after a world tour and during the recording of the Blackout album, Meine lost his voice to the extent that he couldn't even speak properly. Meine was advised by his doctor to consider another profession because of his voice problems. However, Scorpions stuck together, and, after therapy and two vocal cord surgeries, Meine's voice recovered.

In 1990, Meine performed in the Live in Berlin rendition of Roger Waters' "The Wall." Meine was a highlight singer during the performance. In the year 2000, he was awarded the city of Hannover plaque.[3] and the Cross of Merit First Class (Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse) of the Lower Saxony Order of Merit. In 2008, Dommenget released a Klaus Meine signature guitar that was given to him on his 60th birthday. On the Humanity World Tour and the Get Your Sting And Blackout World Tour, Meine has used this guitar when performing.[4]

Besides the Scorpions, he has also collaborated on "Bridge to Heaven" with Uli Jon Roth; "Send Me An Angel," "Bigger than life", "Keep the World Child" and "Jerusalem of Gold" with the Israeli singer Liel Kolet; in "Bis wohin reicht mein Leben" from Rilke Projekt; "Wind of Change" with the tenor José Carreras and the song "Dying for an Angel" from the album The Wicked Symphony from Avantasia, as well as in the promotional video clip.

References
  1. "Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time". HearYa – Indie Music Blog. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  2. "Metal-Rules.com: Scorpions Interview with Klaus Meine". Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Boris Dommenget Guitarmaker handmade Guitars and Pickups". Retrieved January 26, 2016.
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