Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

CRAZY OTTO (Fritz Schulz-Reichel)

Crazy Otto was the stage name of Fritz Schulz-Reichel, a Polydor pop artist who won a Golden Gramophone in 1957 for selling a million albums in a knees-up pseudo-ragtime style. Johnny Maddox (b 1929, Gallatin TN) played piano on staff at the Dot label and recorded a medley of old tunes: the 'Crazy Otto Medley' was a no. 2 hit in the USA in 1955, fueling a fad for 'honky tonk' piano. Winifred Atwell had similar hits in UK. See also entries for Lou Busch (who recorded as Joe 'Fingers' Carr) and Dick Hyman (Knuckles O'Toole).