Schlager

Schlager is the German word for \"Hit\". Initially, it has the same meaning, a big success.
Later \"Schlager\" became the term for a kind of easy listening pop music, trying to please as many people as possible in German-speaking countries and Benelux. In \"Schlager\" nearly all kinds of music styles are possible. Songs from the musical genres Country, Rock 'n' Roll, Pop, Swing (and in a few cases Hard Rock) count as Schlager when the English lyrics are exchanged with German or Dutch ones. This also worked in the other direction; some Schlager acquired English lyrics and became a pop song. Had the Band ABBA sung their songs in German, this music would count as Schlager. Many Schlagers originally come from the USA, UK, and other European countries, especially Netherlands. In some cases the German version is more popular, than the original. By the way, German Schlagers were exported. Many Dutch Schlagers are German Schlagers with Dutch lyrics. A few German Schlagers also became successful in the USA. Some Schlager songs are sentimental. Some Schlager songs refer to German folk and German drinking songs. Other Schlager songs are arrangements of classical music. Schlager songs were very popular from the 1920's till the 1970's. German- language songs from this time period almost automatically count as Schlager. This changed in the 1980's when the \"New Wave\" reached Germany and more bands began to sing in German. This was called \"Neue Deutsche Welle\" [New German Wave] and was apart from singer/songwriters the first German music without the \"Schlager\" label. Germany's answer to the \"New Wave\" lasted only a few years, but opened the door and encouraged many more bands to sing in German. Nowadays, there are far more diverse German-language music styles in Germany that are not regarded as Schlager.