Falco

Johann (Hans) Hölzel, better known by his stage name Falco, was an Austrian pop and rock musician and rapper. He had several international hits with "Der Kommissar", "Rock Me Amadeus", "Vienna Calling", "Jeanny", "The Sound of Musik", "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)" and posthumously, "Out of the Dark".

"Rock Me Amadeus" reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts, making him the only artist whose principal language was German to score a number-one hit in the United States. He has sold 20 million albums and 15 million singles, which makes him the best selling Austrian singer of all time.

Falco's first hit was "Der Kommissar" ("The Inspector") from the 1982 album Einzelhaft. The song was a number-one success in many countries but failed to break big in the US.

After a second album, Junge Römer (Young Romans), Falco began to experiment with English lyrics in an effort to broaden his appeal. Falco recorded "Rock Me Amadeus" inspired in part by the Oscar-winning film Amadeus, and the song became a worldwide hit in 1986. It reached No. 1 in the US and UK, bringing him the success that had eluded him in that major market a few years earlier. The song remained in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and his album, Falco 3, fittingly peaked at the number three position on the Billboard album charts.

The Austrian singer climbed to the upper reaches of the Billboard Top R&B Singles Chart, peaking at number 6, becoming the first major hit by a white artist since Blondie's chart-topping "Rapture" six years earlier. Falco 3 peaked at number 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. The follow-up single "Vienna Calling" was another international pop hit, peaking at No. 18 of the Billboard Charts and No. 17 on the US Cash Box Charts in 1986. "Jeanny", the third release from the album Falco 3, brought the performer back to the top of the charts across Europe.

In 1986, the album Emotional was released and included the songs "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)," "The Kiss of Kathleen Turner", and "Kamikaze Capa". "The Sound of Musik" was another international success, and a Top 20 US dance hit, though it failed to make the US pop charts.

In 1987, he went on "Emotional" world tour ending in Japan.In 1988, he released the album Wiener Blut (Viennese Blooda. In 1990, he wrote a song about Cindy Crawford and Tatjana Patitz, "Tanja P. not Cindy C.", which appeared on the album Data de Groove.

His 1992 comeback attempt, the album Nachtflug (Night Flight) including the song "Titanic" was successful in the German speaking territories.

Falco died of severe injuries received when his car collided with a bus on the road linking the towns of Villa Montellano and Puerto Plata, in the Dominican Republic on February 6, 1998. At the time of Falco's death, he was planning a comeback.