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Roman Zajaczek (1927-1986) was a prolific composer who seemed to always use pseudonyms:
George Callert (most frequently used)
Claude Carrasu
Antonio Scorsi
Richard Kilian
According to a German "Der Spiegel" article from 1976, Zajaczek and others like Conti Eckert, Manfred Minnich, Hannes Gottauf, and Michael Stenz were DJs on radio stations, and they composed under pseudonyms so they could use their own music on their programs and get extra cash because of royalites! Very smart. Plus, the article went on to state that computerized systems to track royalties, etc. using "unified fee lists" were still behind, since the pseudonyms allowed the composers to "hide behind a straw man".
According to YouTube user Raybrianson, Zajaczek was of Polish descent, but moved to West Germany after World War II to settle with his new wife. Apparently life in Germany was not easy for him because his father died in Auschwitz as a Polish political figure.
Zajaczek worked with many composers in his lifetime, including Gerhard Narholz (1937-present), Jan Markowski (1913-1980), and Jan Tyszkiewicz (1927-2009). Tyszkiewicz was actually in the Dachau concentration camp from 1944 to 1945. |