Gerhard Albert Gotthilf Fischer was born in
Plochingen,
Swabia. He was the son of a carpenter who made music in his free time. He was trained to be a sports teacher at the Lehrerbildungsanstalt in
Esslingen from 1942 to 1945. As a choral conductor, he was self-taught. From 1946, he conducted the Concordia Gesangverein choir in
Deizisau, later also other groups in the
Esslingen district. Concordia won first prize at the Schwäbischen Sängerfest in
Göppingen where 150 choirs competed in the category
Volks- und Kunstgesang (
Volkslied and
art song). It sparked the founding of more groups which appeared combined as the
Fischer-Chöre, with occasionally around 1,500 singers. Fischer made his television debut in 1962 in
Horst Jankowski's series
Sing mit Horst. The Fischer-Chöre appeared on TV first in 1969 in
Wim Thoelke's series
Drei mal Neun, making them popular across
Germany. The Fischer-Chöre sang in large size for the opening of the
Olympic Summer Games 1972 in Munich. At the final of the
1974 FIFA World Cup, the Fischer-Chöre performed with 1,500 singers the song "Das große Spiel" with
Freddy Quinn, for 80,000 in the stadium and millions watching on television around the world. Fischer then toured across Europe and the United States. From 1995 to 2008, Fischer ran a television series entitled
Straße der Lieder (Road of songs) for the broadcaster
SWR. He was called "Karajan aus dem Remstal" (
Karajan from
Rems valley) and "Herr der singenden Heerschaaren" (Lord of the singing hosts). His choirs performed for royals, presidents of state and several popes. During 75 years as a choral conductor, he sold more than 16 million records, many of them titled
Sing mit Fischer (Sing with Fischer). Fischer died in
Weinstadt at age 92. ==References==