Freddy Quinn was born on 27 September 1931 in Lower Austria and grew up in Vienna. His popularity as singer and actor in the German speaking region soared in the late 1950s and 1960s, when he adopted the persona of the rootless wanderer who goes to sea but longs for a home, family and friends. His first hit was "Heimweh", the German version of Dean Martin's "Memories Are Made Of This". Due to his musical success, he appeared on several movies such as Freddy, die Gitarre und das Meer (1959).