Falco (February 19, 1957 – February 6, 1998) was the stage name of the classical music prodigy turned Austrian rock star, Johann (Hans) Hölzel. Born in Vienna, he studied at the Vienna Music Conservatory. Before becoming an international pop star, he was bass player in the Austrian hard rock band Drahdiwaberl. As a solo artist, Falco had taken an interest in the sounds and rhythms of rap music, and was one of the first Europeans to incorporate rap stylings into pop and rock music. He is best known internationally for the rap-styled "Rock Me Amadeus" (inspired in part by the Oscar-winning film Amadeus) from his album Falco 3, which became a worldwide hit in 1986 and reached #1 on the US charts (arguably the first "rap" song to achieve this feat, notwithstanding Blondie's success with their 1981 hit "Rapture" and the fact that "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice from 1990 being cited as the first "true" rap record to top the Billboard Hot 100).
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