Pepe Lienhard, (born March 23, 1946 in Lenzburg

Lenzburg

Lenzburg is a town in the central region of the Swiss canton Aargau and is the capital of the district of the same name. The town, founded in the Middle Ages, lies in the Seetal valley, about 3 kilometres south of the Aare river. Lenzburg and the neighbouring municipalities of Niederlenz and...

) is a Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 bandleader and musician.

Life

Already in school, Lienhard had begun a band with the name "The College Stompers". In university, he studied law, but broke off his studies in 1969 and founded a professional sextet with which he released numerous albums. Their first success came with "Sheila Baby". In 1977

Eurovision Song Contest 1977

The Eurovision Song Contest 1977 was the 22nd edition series, and was held on 7 May 1977 in London. With Angela Rippon as the presenter, the contest was won by Marie Myriam who represented France, with her song "L'oiseau et l'enfant" . This was France's fifth victory, a record, which was equalled...

, the group won sixth place at the Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

 with the song "Swiss Lady".

In 1980 he formed a big band

Big band

A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...

, the Pepe-Lienhard-Band, which accompanied Udo Jürgens

Udo Jürgens

Udo Jürgens is an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spans over fifty years...

 in his tours after 1982. They had several appearances with other stars like Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...

.

In addition to his continued performances, Lienhard composes arrangements in a variety of styles.