Hagen “Charlie” Galatis, born Peter Harling on June 30, 1928 in Lippstadt, Germany, was a distinguished German musician, arranger and composer known for his versatile contributions to orchestral music.
Raised in a musical family, he began playing piano at age four or five, tutored by his brother. After World War II, Galatis worked as a messenger for U.S. occupation forces, earning food by playing piano for officers. He soon traded for instruments, forming his own orchestra.
By 1963, he was an orchestra leader and arranger for Feltz-Production, collaborating with ensembles led by Willy Berking, Franz Thon, Erwin Lehn, and Kurt Edelhagen. Galatis composed for films and TV, including Kommissar Brahm, and gained acclaim with his Fantasy Strings series from 1993, recorded with WDR 4 and conductor Ettore Stratta.
This project fused jazz-pop harmonies with classical string traditions, echoing Mantovani and Helmut Zacharias. His work spanned operettas like Der Vogelhändler (1962) and Die lustige Witwe (1962), blending sophistication with accessibility.
Galatis died on October 3, 2003, leaving a legacy as a bridge between jazz, pop, and orchestral genres in post-war German music.
128 recordings by Hagen “Charlie” Galatis you can hear on Instrumentals Forever:
A Foggy Day In London Town • Adios • Against All Odds • All Night Long • All Of You • All The Things You Are • Almost Paradise • Always On My Mind • Arrivederci Roma • As Time Goes By • Autumn In New York • Begine The Beguine • Body And Soul • Careless Whisper • Charlie’s Charleston • Cielito Lindo • Cinder Of Love • City Girls • Claire • Crazy Days Are Back Again • Day By Day • Downtown • Drive • Easy Lover • Every Breath You Take • Everytime I Kiss You • Finder Of Lost Lovers • Flamingo • Fly Me To The Moon • Fools Rush In • Georgia On My Mind • Girls Just Want To Have Fun • Go For Fun • Great Time • Guardian Angel • Habanero • Happy Day Hop • Happy Life • Hello • Hello Friends • Her Eyes Met Mine • Hey Jude • Hold The Line • How Deep Is The Ocean • How Do You Keep The Music Playing • How Will I Know • I Am What I Am • I Don’t Know Why • I Don’t Know Why (I Love You Like I Do) • I Just Called To Say _I Love You_ • I Love You (For Sentimental Reasons) • I Only Have Eyes For You • I See Your Face Before Me • I Want to Know What Love Is • If Ever You’re In My Arms Again • I’ll Get By • I’ll Walk Alone • I’m In The Mood For Love • Irish Morning • Islands In The Stream • It Might As Well Be Spring • It Must Be Him • I’ve Had The Time Of My Life • Jimmie’s Shimmy • Jump For My Love • Just Married • Karma Chameleon • La mer • Leave A Tender Moment Alone • Like A Dream • Loveswept • Memories Of You • Monkey Dance Rag • Moon River • Moonglow • Moonlight In Vermont • Moonlight Melody • Moonriver • My Foolish Heart • Nature Boy • Nikita • No More Lonely Nights • Non Dimenticar • Old Turtles • One More Night • Our Love Is Here To Stay • Out Of My Dreams • Ponciana • Power Of Love • Prelude To My Love • Ragtime Baby • Sad Songs (Can Say So Much) • Saving All My Love For You • Say Say Say • Say You, Say Me • Sentimental Journey • Singapore Shores • Skylark • Smooth Operator • Sometimes When We Touch • Sophisticated Lady • Stormy Weather • Suddenly • Suisse Hello • Tea For Two • Tea Time • Teach Me Tonight • That’s What Friends Are For • The Greatest Love Of All • The Very Thought Of You • The Way He Makes Me Feel • There’s No Easy Way To Break A Lover’s Heart • To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before • Tonight I Celebrate My Love To You • Up Where We Belong • We Are The World • We’re All Alone • What A Feeling • What A Wonderful World • What’s Going On • Where Have All the Flowers Gone • Who’s Holding Donna Now • With A Song In My Heart • You Are To Beautiful • You Belong To My Heart • You Never Left My Mind (Dich vergess’ ich nie) • You’ll Never Know • You’ll Never Walk Alone •
