1974-Chip DavisDrums, bassoon, percussion, dulcimer1974-
Jackson BerkeyKeyboards1974-2013
Founded by Chip Davis and Jackson Berkey in 1974, Mannheim Steamroller is a neo-classical new-age ensemble that combines traditional and modern instrumentation and production techniques. They introduced their brand of "18th-century classic rock" on their series of Fresh Aire albums and popular Christmas collections.
Mannheim's first foray into Christmas music was a synth-heavy interpretation of the traditional carol "
Deck The Halls," from their first holiday album,
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas (1984). Their Christmas releases brought them their biggest commercial successes, with
Christmas and its follow-up,
A Fresh Aire Christmas, each selling more than 6 million copies in the US.
Davis and Berkey met while touring with the Norman Luboff Choir. Davis shared his ideas for an innovative music style but didn't have the necessary skills to pull off the piano parts. But Berkey, a classically trained pianist, did and the pair started working on what would become Fresh Aire. Berkey's wife, Almeda, also contributed keyboard work on Mannheim albums during Berkey's tenure with the group.
Before forming Mannheim Steamroller, Chip Davis wrote jingles for Bozell & Jacobs, an Omaha-based advertising agency. In the early '70s, he and his co-worker Bill Fries created the singing trucker C.W. McCall for a series of ads promoting the Metz Baking Company's Old Home Bread. Davis composed the music to go along with Fries' lyrics, with Fries lending his voice to the character. Inspired by the campaign's popularity, Fries released several country albums throughout the decade under the name C.W. McCall, with Davis as his producer. Davis also co-wrote his biggest hit, "
Convoy," which topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Country chart in 1975. The following year he was named SESAC's Country Music Songwriter of the Year.
Davis' success as a country songwriter didn't help grease the wheels with record labels when he was trying to get Mannheim Steamroller off the ground. All of the major companies turned down the unusual classical-meets-modern Fresh Aire album, so Davis founded American Gramaphone to release the record, as well as all of the group's subsequent releases.
The name Mannheim Steamroller was inspired by a German musical technique from the late 18th century called Mannheim Walze (or Mannheim Roller) involving a rising melodic line over an ostinato bassline that results in a dramatic crescendo.
"People used to joke that the loud music would roll over the crowd and flatten them," Davis
told New Jersey Stage in 2018. "When it was time to start selling my band, I had to come up with a name to market. At the time, the big rock groups had interesting names like Jefferson Airplane or Iron Butterfly, so I came up with the name Mannheim Steamroller."
Although he started writing and performing music at a young age (he wrote his first song at age 6 about his dog Stormy), Davis' first job was a non-musical one: He worked as a telephone lineman.
Davis created a music therapy system that combines music with natural sounds. Ambient Therapy has been used by medical facilities such as the Mayo Clinic and National Intrepid Center for Wounded Warriors, as well as NASA for astronauts in long-range space travels.
Davis quit touring with the group in 2008 after a head-on collision left him with mobility issues in his neck and right arm.
Jackson Berkey earned a master's degree in piano performance from the Juilliard School of Music in 1968. He made his professional debut the following year at the Town Hall in New York City and received a positive write-up from The New York Times.
In their early years of touring, Davis' parents, Louis and Betty, went on the road with the band. Louis even served as the group's senior keyboard technician.
Mannheim Steamroller spawned a line of food and bath products. Their most popular non-music product is their cinnamon hot chocolate.
