Curt Cress

About Curt Cress

Drummer, composer, producer, publisher and entrepreneur.

Curt Cress

Curt Cress was born on August 11, 1952 in Brachttal, and began his musical career at the young age of 13, performing in various clubs. Later on, he played drums for bands such as Orange Peel and Inspirations Six.

By his early 20s, he had become one of the most sought-after drummers and the world’s highest-paid studio drummer. Curt Cress played drums for Freddie Mercury, Ike & Tina Turner, Meat Loaf, Peter Maffay, Rio Reiser, SAGA, Rick Springfield, Scorpions, Spliff, Falco, BAP, Alphaville, Udo Jürgens, Peter Schilling, Münchener Freiheit, Milli Vanilli, Nena, Udo Lindenberg, Al Bano and Romina Power, Elio e le Storie Tese, Inga and Annette Humpe, Peter Cornelius, Michael Cretu, Hubert Kah, Rheigera, Supermax, Stefan Waggershausen, Marius Müller-Westernhagen and countless other artists. As a music producer, he achieved success not only with Uwe Ochsenknecht but also with Falco, Nina Hagen, Nena, Udo Lindenberg, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. As a musician, he was awarded “Drummer of the Year” 15 times, received numerous gold records, and recorded over 12,000 tracks on more than 400 million sold records. Additionally, he became well-known for the theme music of the most popular TV show ‘Wetten, dass..?’ and for “Tatort”.”

One of the most well-known bands Curt Cress played in is Passport, founded in 1971 by the German saxophonist and keyboardist Klaus Doldinger. Cress performed in various line-ups of the band and contributed to shaping the sound of Passport.

Additionally, Curt Cress is actively involved as a professor and mentor for young drummers at the Hamburg University of Music Hamburger Musikhochschule, passing on his knowledge and experience to numerous musicians. This makes a significant contribution to the education of the next generation of drummers.

Today, Curt Cress heads a group of companies specializing in music and media. As a music publisher, producer, record label operator, and composer for television and film music, Curt Cress continues to be one of the most influential figures in the German music scene. His talent as a drummer and producer has influenced numerous artists and helped to define the sound of German rock and pop music.

Curt Cress’s group of companies includes:

CC Holding Musik – For over 20 years, CC Holding Musik has been creating music for film, television, and advertising, including projects like Tatort, Sportschau, Der Bergdoktor, Lenßen & Partner, Anna und die Liebe, In aller Freundschaft, Wege zum Glück, Sturm der Liebe, Bacardi, and many more. Over 16,000 music tracks have been produced to date.

F.A.M.E. Artist Recordings GmbH – Is a music label for successful and emerging artists, distributed by SONY.

Curtiz Publishing GmbH watches the rights for our writers worldwide.

Impressions

Pictures from a career spanning over 50 years.