Paul Burkhard (21 December 1911, Zürich – 6 September 1977, Zell) was a gay Swiss composer. He primarily wrote oratorios, musicals and operettas.[1] In the 1960s Paul Burkhard turned Bunbury (as The Importance of Being Earnest had been called in German) into a musical comedy.
Probably his most famous artistic creation was the song "O mein Papa" ("Oh! My Pa-Pa") about the death of a beloved clown-father, written for the musical Der schwarze Hecht (re-issued in 1950 as Das Feuerwerk) that premiered in April 1939. The song rose to #1 on the Sheet Music Chart and stayed in the chart for 26 weeks. The song has been performed and recorded by numerous artists since then, including Alan Breeze, Billy Cotton, Billy Vaughn, Connie Francis, Diana Decker, Eddie Calvert, Eddie Fisher, The Everly Brothers, Harry James, Lys Assia, Ray Anthony & his Orchestra, Russ Morgan & his Orchestra, and many others.
My published books:
