成吉思汗(Dschinghis Khan)是一德国的流行乐队,在1979年欧洲歌唱大赛中脱颖而出。而乐队的名称,便是来自他们在该比赛中所演出的曲目;由拉尔夫·席格尔作曲及伯恩·迈因农格填词。
他们出道的年代,正是迪斯科最流行的年代。而他们也继数支德国乐队(Boney M、Arabesque和Silver Convention)之后,在世界不少地方上有颇大的知名度,在1980年奥运更是表演嘉宾之一;但在美国却几乎是默默无闻。该乐队的歌曲几乎所有都是和异地文化习俗或历史人物有关。
虽然该乐队在1980年代解散,可是因为他们其中一首歌曲莫斯科(Moskau)的影片在网络上被广泛流传,所以他们在现时仍享有颇高的知名度。该影片及相关的歌曲成为网志的流行话题,而有人更把它们修改成空耳、幻听歌词,是网络爆红现象的例子。而该流传的影片则是来自德国电视二台在1970年代十分流行的节目——“迪斯可”。
by Steve Huey
Headed by producer Ralph Siegel and vocalist Peter Alexander, Germany's Dschinghis Khan offered a respite from standard pop music subject matter by spinning campy historical sagas in a shiny Euro-disco package. Partly inspired by the Boney M. hit "Rasputin," Siegel put together an elaborately costumed group featuring distinct characters (sort of like what the Village People might have resembled if they'd been Mongol invaders rather than gay archetypes), and entered his composition, "Dschinghis Khan," in the 1979 Eurovision music contest. Although it didn't win, Dschinghis Khan's stylized visuals and quirky lyrical preoccupations eventually helped make the song a hit in German dance clubs later that year. The accompanying self-titled album was a commercial success as well, but Dschinghis Khan abandoned the qualities that made the group so distinctive over the course of albums like 1980's Rom, 1981's Wir Sitzen Alle Im Selben Boot, 1982's Helden, Schurken & der Dudelmoser, and 1983's Corrida. By that time, they had already faded from the public eye. A collection of their best work, Die Großen Erfolge, was released in the U.S. in 1995.