LAYA RAKI UND DIE SCHOCK-KINGS, Oh Johnny hier nicht parken, 1963

Laya Raki was born in Hamburg in 1927 and started her career as an exotic dancer in the late 40´s and early 50´s.  She appeared in various German films until she went to England in the mid-50´s and became one of the most popular pin-up girls of the era. She continued to play in British and American movies and on TV into the late 60´s,  mostly in seductive supporting roles. Laya Raki probably still is the most glamorous person ever to come from Hamburg. Of the long list of films she appeared in I sadly couldn´t find any  clips to post here.

Probably inspired by the success of the equally sexy Nora Nova, who recorded the great quasi-feminist twist songs “Ich bin kein Engel – Ich bin ein Biest” (I´m not an angel-I´m a beast) and “Männer gibt´s wie Sand am Meer” (Men are a dime a dozen) in 1963,  Laya Raki took her twist song “Oh Johnny hier nicht parken” (Oh, Johnny don´t park here) even further. It sounds like Johnny is not supposed to park on her. It is the most sexually charged German twist song ever recorded. Although it sounds tame today, I´m not surprised that in 1964 it was ” banned by a Nuremberg court who thought her ecstatic moaning was imitating coitus“. Indulging in all the saucy lyrical details and Laya Raki´s appearance, the German spiegel magazine pretty much echoed the German society´s moral double standards in an article of April 22, 1964, on  the various  court decisions the “Johnny-song” aroused.

Her backing band the Schock-Kings recorded another telling 45 for the Carina label: “Lady Chatterley” and the  suggestive “Adele”.

This  45 looked quite dirty and dusty when I bought it at a Brocki in Zurich for 50 Rappen and it didn´t have a sleeve but once I cleaned  it, it played well…

LAYA RAKI UND DIE SCHOCK-KINGS, 1963

LAYA RAKI UND DIE SCHOCK-KINGS, Faire L´amour, 1963

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