Fritz Grasshoff

Fritz Grahoff was a German painter, poet and songwriter. He was known for hits sung by Lale Andersen, Freddy Quinn and Hans Albers. As a painter, he participated in important exhibitions as a writer, he was known for his lyric volume Halunkenpostille and his autobiographical novel Der blaue Heinrich. He translated poetry by the Ancient Roman Martial and the Swede Carl Michael Bellman. Many of his writings have been set to music by composers such as James Last, Norbert Schultze and Siegfried Strohbach.

Grahoff was born and spent his youth in Quedlinburg, SaxonyAnhalt, where his father, a former sailor, worked as a coal merchant and farmer. Traces of the rugged environment later appeared in his ballads and songs. He attended the Humanistisches Gymnasium, learning Greek and Latin. After his Abitur in 1933, he began an apprenticeship as a church painter. Later, he was involved in journalism. In 1938, he was drafted into the military and fought in World War II against Russia, later falling into British captivity. He wrote his first collection of poems in captivity in 1945.

Source: Wikipedia