Kriminaltango
Song
"Kriminaltango" (Criminal tango) is a traditional pop song released in 1959. The Italian original by Piero Trombetta only achieved a modest success, whereas the German version performed by Hazy Osterwald became a big hit in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Describing scenes from tavern, the Osterwald version juxtaposes the appearance of shady figures ("dunkle Gestalten") and their mysterious dealings with dancing tango ("Und sie tanzen einen Tango"). The song culminates with a shot in the dark and the arrival of the police, unable to assemble any evidence.
The song was covered by Die Toten Hosen, featuring Kurt Raab, in a non-album single in 1984.
It was also covered by The Deadfly Ensemble, appearing as a bonus track on their album "An Entire Wardrobe of Doubt and Uncertainty".
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Kriminaltango” as song. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as song. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 23, 2023. The linked authority identifier is Q6437044. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1959 and 1984.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Kriminaltango”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Kriminaltango primary sources, Kriminaltango archive and Kriminaltango research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kriminaltango”?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Kriminaltango” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.