Rudolf Schenker
- Hard rock
- heavy metal
- glam metal
Rudolf Schenker (born 31 August 1948) is a German guitarist, founder and leader of the hard rock band Scorpions. He is the rhythm/lead guitarist, primary songwriter and the sole constant member of the band. He is also the CEO/owner-manager of the Scorpions Musik-Produktions-und Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (Scorpions music production and publishing company) and owner/founder of the Scorpio-Sound-Studios in Lower Saxony. He is the older brother of Michael Schenker.
Career
Since founding Scorpions in 1965, Schenker has become one of the major driving forces in the band's songwriting and musical direction. He has been Scorpions' most consistent member, appearing on every album and every tour. His younger brother Michael Schenker was a member of the Scorpions in the band's early days, before joining UFO.
Schenker was awarded the City of Hanover Plaque[1] as well as the Cross of Merit First Class of the Lower Saxony Order of Merit in 2000.
Playing style
In an interview on World Wide Live video, Schenker mentioned that his goal is grounded in compositional skill more than technical skill. While most Scorpions' guitar solos are performed by lead guitarist Matthias Jabs, there are some notable exceptions in which Schenker plays the solos instead of rhythm guitar, such as "Wind of Change", "Always Somewhere", "Still Loving You", "Send Me an Angel", "Lady Starlight", "Big City Nights", "As Soon as the Good Times Roll", "When the Smoke Is Going Down", "Animal Magnetism", "Through My Eyes", "SLY" and "Rock 'N' Roll Band".
Schenker is known for his energetic riffing and wild live performances, which often includes swinging his guitar over his head and throwing the guitar up and catching it.
He also sang lead vocals on four Scorpions songs: "They Need a Million", "Drifting Sun", "Hey You" and "Love is the Answer".
Equipment
While Schenker began playing with a Fender Stratocaster, he is primarily known for playing Gibson Flying Vs. On the Acoustica DVD, he is seen playing an acoustic Flying V made especially for him by Dommenget. He now uses Dean acoustic V models. Some of Schenker's main live guitars in recent years have been Dommenget — the same maker that produced Klaus Meine's live guitar[2] and many guitars for Matthias Jabs.[3] Schenker's signature models are "Gibson Rudolf Schenker Flying V", the Dommenget "Ferrari" V, PGG "Scorpions Golden Jubilee" Flying V, PGG "Veetle" Flying V and the "Scorpions" V.[4] In the past, he primarily used Marshall amps, using their JMP, JCM800 2203, and JCM800 2205 heads. Currently, he uses ENGL amps, endorsing the E 650 Ritchie Blackmore signature heads.
References
External links
- Official site for Rudolf Schenker's biography -- (broken link as of dec 16, 2020)
- The Second Supper interview with Rudolf Schenker -- (broken link as of dec 16, 2020)
- Rudolf Schenker audio interview on Guitar Jam Daily
- Interview with Rudolf Schenker (2010)
- v
- t
- e
- Rudolf Schenker
- Klaus Meine
- Matthias Jabs
- Paweł Mąciwoda
- Mikkey Dee
- Ralph Rieckermann
- Herman Rarebell
- Francis Buchholz
- Uli Jon Roth
- Michael Schenker
- Rudy Lenners
- Jürgen Rosenthal
- Wolfgang Dziony
- Lothar Heimberg
- James Kottak
- Lonesome Crow
- Fly to the Rainbow
- In Trance
- Virgin Killer
- Taken by Force
- Lovedrive
- Animal Magnetism
- Blackout
- Love at First Sting
- Savage Amusement
- Crazy World
- Face the Heat
- Pure Instinct
- Eye II Eye
- Unbreakable
- Humanity: Hour I
- Sting in the Tail
- Return to Forever
- Rock Believer
- Tokyo Tapes
- World Wide Live
- Live Bites
- Acoustica
- Best of Scorpions
- Best of Scorpions Vol. 2
- Best of Rockers 'n' Ballads
- Still Loving You
- Deadly Sting: The Mercury Years
- Big City Nights
- Classic Bites
- Bad for Good: The Very Best of Scorpions
- Box of Scorpions
- Gold
- Born to Touch Your Feelings: Best of Rock Ballads
- "The Zoo"
- "No One Like You"
- "Rock You Like a Hurricane"
- "Still Loving You"
- "Big City Nights"
- "Rhythm of Love"
- "Passion Rules the Game"
- "I Can't Explain"
- "Wind of Change"
- "Send Me an Angel"
- "White Dove"
- "You and I"
- "Here in My Heart"
- "You Are the Champion"
- "Humanity"
- "Raised on Rock"