“When I was four years old, I sang a few folk songs at a family celebration and someone gave me a five-mark piece. I thought, well, I’ll do that more often. ”With these lines the autobiographical journey through time of the Hamburg singer, composer and author Inga Rumpf begins. They also mark the beginning of a great musical career that spanned more than five decades. Inga Rumpf took her 75th birthday as an opportunity to write down her fulfilled life, for her fans and in general for all people who love exciting life stories.” (source: Ellert & Richter Verlag)

Inga Rumpf – One of the most brilliant, expressive female voices in music history. For me THE voice at all. The undisputed number one in my ranking of female singers for tens of years. Her musical journey began in the mid-sixties as a member of the City Preachers group. Further stations after a short Schlager intermezzo were the formations Frumpy, Atlantis, Rockship up to countless collaborations with musicians a la Udo Lindenberg, Peter Maffay, Peter Herbolzheimer, Achim Reichel, Joja Wendt and many more. There was even a session with the three Rolling Stones guitarists Keith Richards, Ron Wood and Mick Taylor in 1987 and it was recorded. Now finally, on the occasion of her 75th birthday, Inga Rumpf has written down her story in her own words. Inga put her life in chronological form in words in an easy-to-read writing style. Sometimes the whole thing reads like an adventure novel. This Hamburger Deern, who has been authentic like no other all her life, writes her life confession in the simplest of words. Countless well-known names and a who’s who of German rock history appear in the story. Inga has already played with many and lets the reader participate. Not only the musical point is very openly illuminated in this book, no, the private aspect is also told in honest, sometimes very intimate words. Inga Rumpf allows a lot of closeness. She takes the reader with her into her private realm, into her family and partnerships. The private moments take up a large part of the book. You literally suffer with Inga when, for example, she writes about the sudden death of her husband.

In short articles, which only deal with the period between two and six years, one can understand the life of the singer very well. In between a lot of private photos, always with the exact dates and names. This book is fairly easy and fluent to read. On each page, one is curious to see what is to be read next. Infinite amount of information is packed into beautiful sentences. For music fans who can relate to the name Inga Rumpf, an indispensable book about an extraordinary woman who has something to say.

Inga has never let herself be bent, has always gone her own way and she writes in this book just as openly and honestly. On page 283, for example, it says: “As you get older, you start to feel your limits. On stage, the good adrenaline made me feel like 25 years young. Fifty years older the next morning. My joints ached, my face was wrinkled, the conjunctival tissue began to sag and my waist merged into the curves of my hips ”. Many people know such human problems, but very few speak or write about them in such clear terms. For Inga this clarity is apparently the most normal thing in the world, at least that’s how this great book reads from beginning to end. Perhaps this is due to the fact that there was no scribe at work here to whom Inga dictated something. No, Inga herself writes here in her own words. This honesty can also be seen in the lines about her many work with countless musicians and projects. Starting with the folklore of the City Preachers, the Krautrock from Frumpy, the funk rock from Atlantis to very devout performances in many churches where gospels and Christmas carols were sung and are still being sung. No location was unsuitable, no club too small, no hall too big, even the engine room of a lightship in the port of Hamburg was just the right place to perform. Inga can do everything and does everything she feels like doing.

Inga Rumpf is rightly a living legend in the German music scene and if she should ask again: “May I sing something?” … I am sure that thousands of people would enthusiastically shout YES at any time. For me you can definitely sing at any time, Inga, no matter where, no matter in which formation, and no matter what music. You deserve full marks for your honest words.

5/5
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Inga Rumpf – Darf ich was vorsingen?
Ellert & Richter, 2021
352 pages
Hardcover: 25,00 €