Editing Silver Convention (section)

== History ==
The group was initiated in [[Munich]], then [[West Germany]], by producers and songwriters [[Michael Kunze (writer)|Michael Kunze]] and [[Sylvester Levay]]. The group was named after Levay's nickname: "Silver". Kunze in the late 1960s had been a pop lyricist who wrote protest songs in German; when these tunes went out of style, he began producing pop records and commercials.<ref name=Vickers>{{cite magazine| last= Vickers| first= Tom| title= Singles: Surprising Takeoff of 'Fly, Robin, Fly| magazine= [[Rolling Stone]]| number= 203 |date= January 1, 1976| page= 18| url= }}</ref> Levay had developed a taste for American music while growing up in then [[Yugoslavia]], eventually becoming a music arranger and lyricist.<ref name=Vickers/>

Using female [[session musician|session]] vocalists named Ingrid, Wilma, and Monica, they scored a [[hit record|successful]] single in the United Kingdom in 1975 with the song "[[Save Me (Silver Convention song)|Save Me]]", which peaked at #30.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Record-World-IDX/IDX/70s/75/RW-1975-07-19-OCR-Page-0023.pdf|title=Record World : Disco Hot Tunes|date=19 July 1975|website= worldradiohistory.com|access-date=11 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.everyhit.com/ |title=UK Top 40 Chart Archive, British Singles & Album Charts |publisher= |website= EveryHit.com |date=2000-03-16 |access-date=2012-04-25}}</ref> They later used other vocalists, such as [[Gitta Walther]], [[Lucy Neale]], Betsy Allen, [[Roberta Kelly]], and [[Jackie Carter (musician)|Jackie Carter]] for their first [[sound recording and reproduction|recordings]] and upcoming album. Since they were only a studio group, Levay and Kunze realized then that they would need to find professional entertainers for presentation to the public. [[Penny McLean]], [[Ramona Wulf]], and Linda G. Thompson became the public face of Silver Convention.
[[File:Fly, Robin, Fly - Cash Box ad 1975.jpg|thumb|''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' advertisement, October 18, 1975]] 

They scored two major US and Canadian hit singles. "[[Fly, Robin, Fly]]", of which the complete lyrics consisted of only six different words (fly, robin, up, to, the, sky), maintained three weeks at [[Chart-topper|#1]] in late November and early December 1975, and won the group a [[Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance]]. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a [[music recording sales certification|gold disc]] by the [[R.I.A.A.]] in December 1975.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book
| first= Joseph
| last= Murrells
| year= 1978
| title= The Book of Golden Discs
| edition= 2nd
| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd
| location= London
| page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/364 364]
| isbn= 0-214-20512-6
| url-access= registration
| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/364
}}</ref> Initially the song was titled "Run, Rabbit, Run", changed by the writers moments before the recording took place.  Their next success "[[Get Up and Boogie (song)|Get Up and Boogie]]", which also consisted of only six different words (Get, Up, And, Boogie, That's, Right), hit #1 in Canada on June 15, 1976,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.4147a&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=kjerdnvbvl3a8p4jfufutrc7u6 |title= Top Singles| date= June 19, 1976| magazine= [[RPM (magazine)|RPM]] |volume= 25| number= 12 |page= 23 |publisher=republished online by Library and Archives Canada at collectionscanada.gc.ca |access-date=2012-04-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015135416/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.4147a&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=kjerdnvbvl3a8p4jfufutrc7u6 |archive-date=2012-10-15 }}</ref> had 3 weeks at #2 in the U.S in June 1976 and also peaked at #7 in the UK, in May 1976. 

Their next release, "No No Joe," only scored #60 in September 1976. The further singles released by the trio attempted to duplicate the sound that had made them successful briefly, but they were only minor successes. At this time, Linda G. Thompson left the group and was replaced by New Yorker Rhonda Heath, who was chosen over other hopefuls at an open casting call to become the newest singer for the group.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

Michael Kunze wrote the lyrics on the first two albums under the pseudonym Stephan Prager. During this time the three singers released their own solo work. McLean and Thompson achieved hit singles with "[[Lady Bump]]" and "[[1-2-3-4... Fire!]]", and "Ooh What a Night" respectively. Wulf's solo effort was only a moderate success.

Silver Convention represented Germany in the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1977]] with "[[Telegram (song)|Telegram]]", finishing eighth. The entry had only English lyrics (with considerably more words than their past hits), but was allowed to enter in spite of the [[Rules of the Eurovision Song Contest#Language|language rule]] being reintroduced this year, because the song had been chosen to represent Germany before the reintroduction was announced. In 1994, Rhonda Heath returned to Eurovision, providing backing vocals and keyboards for the German entry "[[Wir geben 'ne Party]]" performed in German by [[Mekado]]. This entry did better than Silver Convention's effort, finishing third out of the 25 entries in [[Dublin]].{{cn|date=February 2025}}

With a new producer, John Davis, and a revised line-up of singers (Suzie McClosky a.k.a. Zenda Jacks, Rhonda Heath, and Ramona Wulf), Silver Convention was successful again during 1978 with the album ''Love in a Sleeper''. The [[Gramophone record|12" single]] release from the LP was "Spend the Night With Me" backed with "Mission To Venus".

Levay also worked with [[Giorgio Moroder]], and Kunze began work with [[Jim Steinman]]. The solo careers of the three singers ended quickly and they left the [[music industry]], since interest in the disco scene was declining during this period. Levay and Kunze later collaborated on the [[Vienna]] productions of the musicals ''Elisabeth'', ''Mozart!'' and ''Rebecca''.{{cn|date=February 2025}}