Götz Alsmann

Götz Alsmann (* July 12, 1957, in Münster) is a German musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer. He became known as the host of the WDR show "Zimmer frei!". Götz Alsmann was born in Münster in 1957 as the son of bricklayer Erich Alsmann and his wife Leni, who came from Yugoslavia. At the age of eight, he received piano lessons in his neighborhood and quickly decided to make music his profession. In 1964, he was enrolled at the Josefschule in Münster. In 1973, he joined the Heupferd Jug Band, whose first album was released in 1974 with the 17-year-old Alsmann as a pianist, mandolinist, and banjo player. Two more albums followed in 1977 and 1979. At the same time, Alsmann began working as a studio musician in the Netherlands, where he participated in numerous country and dialect music productions. After graduating from the Johann-Conrad-Schlaun-Gymnasium in Münster and completing his military service, Alsmann studied German studies, journalism, and musicology at the University of Münster from 1977. He completed his musicology studies in 1985 with a doctorate (title of the dissertation: "Nichts als Krach: Die unabhängigen Schallplattenfirmen und die Entwicklung der amerikanischen populären Musik 1943–1963"). In 1996, Alsmann played the cashier of a supermarket and bandleader Lothar Alzheim in the comedy "Alles wegen Robert de Niro" with Angelika Milster and directed by Helmut Förnbacher. From 2006 to 2008, his Michael-Jary revue "Ich weiß, es wird einmal ein Wunder gescheh’n" was performed over three seasons at the Municipal Stages in Münster, in which he also appeared on stage with his band. In July 2011, Alsmann was appointed honorary professor at the University of Münster. He teaches the history of popular music there. On February 7, 2012, Alsmann gave his inaugural lecture. Alsmann lives in Münster, is married, and has a son. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.