Biography
Gustav Winckler was a Danish singer. When he was young, he started singing in the Københavns Drengekor. His career as a singer began in the late 1940s, when he won several amateur competitions. In 1950 he got his first job as a singer, a commitment to the restaurant “Hollanderbyen” at Amager. That same year, he began singing in the DR, quickly gaining popularity. On the first Danish hit lists from 1953, Winckler was included every week, often with several songs. He sang pretty much every song that came on the list. In 1957, he represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Skibet skal sejle i nat”. The song ended somewhat special: with a very long kiss, especially when we are speaking about the 1950s. The cameraman who had to give the sign to quit forgot this. Nevertheless, the duo got the 3rd place. Although he already had an international career, mainly in Germany and Sweden, Winckler chose to concentrate on Denmark. He took part another six times in the national selections for the Eurovision Song Contest.
In the mid-1950s, Winckler started writing music and lyrics and established his own music publishing company in 1959. He worked as a producer for Sonet in the 1960s and 1970s. For many years Gustav Winckler’s songs were a regular feature of the radio programs Dansktoppen.
Gustav Winckler is the father of Michael Winckler, a musician like his father, and two daughters, Susanne and Teena. He died in a crash at Kjellerup on 20 january 1979.
