Günther Schifter
Günther Schifter (born
December 23,
1923) is an
Austrian journalist, radio presenter and record collector. Born in
Vienna, Schifter started collecting
78s of the
popular music of the interwar years already as a boy. After the war, he was instrumental in popularizing once again
jazz and
swing in occupied Austria, becoming, in
1949, one of the first disc jockeys on Austrian
radio. From
1967 to
2000 Schifter had a weekly radio programme,
Günther Schifters Schellacks, where he played 78s from his vast personal archives (including, for example, more than 100 cover versions of
W.C. Handy's "
Saint Louis Blues") while always refusing to resort to reissues of older material on vinyl records, audiotape or, later,
CDs. In between songs Schifter developed his unique style of giving enjoyable miniature history lessons.
Ousted by the Austrian state radio (ORF) in 2000 due to a switch to the more commercial music radio format, Schifter continues broadcasting six times a year from Bavaria, Germany. A trained actor, Schifter is immediately recognizable by his distinct and sonorous voice.
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