Photo: Jack Metzger · CC BY-SA 4.0 · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regional
Paul Burkhard
Person · male · Switzerland · Zurich · born 1911 · died 1977 · recording since 1949
Swiss composer (1911-1977)
Timeline
5 events▣ Album 2◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1† Death 1
1910s
1940s
· Debut release
Debut release: Lied der Köchin
First documented Single in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1960s
1970s
2000s
Biography
English biography200 words · 2 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1378174041
Biography
Paul Burkhard (21 December 1911 – 6 September 1977) was a Swiss composer. He primarily wrote oratorios, musicals and operettas. The contemporaneous and similarly named Swiss composer Willy Burkhard was no relation to him.
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.
Works (selection)
1935: Hopsa
1950: Das Feuerwerk (Original: Der schwarze Hecht, 1939) with the hit song O mein Papa
1951: Die kleine Niederdorf-Oper
1960: Frank der Fünfte – Comedy with Music; Oper einer Privatbank, by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
1960: D Zäller Wiehnacht – Christmas play
1965: Noah – The story of Noah and the Arc – for children
1971: Zäller Oschtere – Passion play
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 10 | 58.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 8 | 81.1th |
| Studio albums | 2 | 78.8th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 5 | 78.8th |
| Recording span (years) | 28 | 62th |
| Genres | 4 | 84.7th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (8 release groups · 2 studio albums)
Albums · 2
1961 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks
A1Das isch de Schtärn vo BethlehemA2Kei Mueter weiss, was ihrem Chind wird gschehA3Au für eus wird de Heiland geboreA4Mir händs glatt bim König HerodesB5Wached uuf, schlafed nöd!B6Es Schäfli tuen em bringeB7De Kaiser hätts befole!B8Was isch das für e Nacht!D' Zäller Wiehnacht - Schule Hinwil
2004 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 19 tracks · 1:03:43
1Das isch dr Schtärn vo Bethlehem7:592Kei Muetter weiss3:463Mini Dame und Herre3:294Au für eus wid dr Heiland gebore2:465Die drei Könige suchen den Stern1:326Das isch dr Schtärn vo Bethlehem1:107Volk auf dem Schloss des Herodes2:218Mir händs glatt bim König Herodes1:279Beim Polizeiminister0:3610Zum Heiland führt dr Schtärn eus hi4:1211Chalt isch es hüt z'obe - Wachet uf, schlafet nöd7:0812Es Schöfli tu nem bringe3:4313Dr Kaiser hets befole1:5514vor der Herberge5:0115Orchestereinleitung3:4216Was isch das für e Nacht3:4217Kei Muetter weiss2:2418Mini Berächnige2:5219Das isch dr Schtärn vo Bethlehem3:58
Single · 2
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Lied der KöchinSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks1Lied der Köchin 2Es wird mir heiss und kalt | 1949 | ||
| 1949 | Ponylied / O mein PapaSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 5:401Ponylied2:32 2O mein Papa3:08 | 1949 |
Album · 3
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Die kleine Niederdorf-OperSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 12 tracksA1Die kleine Niederdorfoper: Vorspiel A2Die kleine Niederdorfoper: "De Heiri hätt es chalb verchauft" A3Die kleine Niederdorfoper: "Jubel, Trubel, Heiterkeit" A4Die kleine Niederdorfoper: "Mys Chind" A5Die kleine Niederdorfoper: "De Böögg" A6Die kleine Niederdorfoper: "Quand on n'a pas ce qu'on aime..." B1Die kleine Niederdorfoper: "Jässodu" B2Die kleine Niederdorfoper: "I dere suubere Schtadt" B3Die kleine Niederdorfoper: "Leib und Seele" (Lied der Heilsarmisten) B4Die kleine Niederdorfoper: "Uns gab es im alten Babylon" (Lied der drei leichten Damen) B5Die kleine Niederdorfoper: "Ich mag nicht Rosenkohl" B6Die kleine Niederdorfoper: "Mir mag halt niemer öppis gunne" | Soundtrack | 1960 | |
| 1978 | Die kleine Niederdorf‐OperSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 15 tracks · 33:07A1Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: “De Heiri hätt es Chalb verchauft”2:03 A2Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: “Uns gab’s im alten Babylon” (Lied der drei leichten Damen)3:20 A3Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: “De Böögg”2:28 A4Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: “Jässodu!”1:23 A5Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: “Mys Chind”3:49 A6Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: “Jubel, Trubel, Heiterkeit”1:50 A7Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: Finale 2. Akt1:24 B1Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: Vorspiel 3. Akt2:02 B2Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: “Ich mag nicht Rosenkohl”2:07 B3Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: “Quand on n’a pas ce qu’on aime”3:52 B4Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: “Gib mir Geld”3:05 B5Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: “Leib und Seele” (Lieder der Heilsarmisten)1:10 B6Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: “Händ sie nie de Chopf verlore?”1:49 B7Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: “Mir mag halt niemert öppis ggunne”2:45 B8Die kleine Niederdorf‐Oper: Schlussmusik | Soundtrack | 1978 | |
| 1989 | Die kleine Niederdorf-OperSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 24 tracks · 1:01:181Vorspiel “Mer kännt si ja”2:39 2“En Maa, e Frau”2:15 3“De Heiri hät es Chalb verchauft” (Jässodu!)2:24 4“Hoch die Moral”2:29 5“Drumm wänns eine gitt, mys Chind”2:55 6“Mer kännt si ja” (reprise) und Finale 1. Akt2:48 7“Quand on n’a pas ce qu’on aime”4:08 8“Grüzi, grüzi”0:40 9“Uns gab’s im alten Babylon”3:05 10“Ganz ein kleines Mädchen”1:33 11“Gib mir Geld”3:47 12“Jässodu!”1:26 13“Ich mag nicht Rosenkohl”2:30 14“Jubel, Trubel, Heiterkeit”1:13 15“Leib und Seele”1:33 16Finale 2. Akt2:11 17Orchestervorspiel 3. Akt2:23 18“Quand on n’a pas ce qu’on aime” (reprise)1:49 19“Mais, mais, mais”1:21 20“Drumm wänns eine gitt, mys Chind” (reprise)1:23 21“Händ sie nie de Chopf verlore?”2:02 22“Mir mag halt niemert öppis günne”8:09 23“Mir mag halt niemert öppis günne” (reprise)3:45 24Finale2:50 | Soundtrack | 1989 |
Other · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Die kleine NiederdorfoperSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 8 tracks · 1:19:231Jä sodu8:48 2Jä sodu8:09 3Jubel, Trubel, Heiterkeit12:56 4Ou, lug da, Wiederkehr, bisch en Fründ zu mir8:39 5Ach wie schön, so durch die Stadt zu laufen9:27 6Also Röbeli, Kostüm und Musik wie immer11:58 7Also, Sie händs ja mitüberchoo10:03 8Händ sie nie de Chopf verlore?9:23 | Audio drama | 2011 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Paul Burkhard head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 10 | 58.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 8 | 81.1th |
| Studio albums | 2 | 78.8th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 5 | 78.8th |
| Recording span (years) | 28 | 62th |
| Genres | 4 | 84.7th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_Burkhard_1950s_Com_X-B093-001-002_%28cropped%29.tifaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/45a74165-6767-444b-ac95-e1d773b108dbdiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/45a74165-6767-444b-ac95-e1d773b108dbcore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116397genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116397seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Burkhardbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Burkhard
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Jack Metzger · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q116397 · MusicBrainz: 45a74165-6767-444b-ac95-e1d773b108db
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