Roland Wächtler, known professionally as Roland W., was a German singer born on April 3, 1941, in Stuttgart. After completing his schooling in Stuttgart, he moved to Paris to study art history and began performing as a singer in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district. His music career took off when he signed with Cornet Records in September 1967. Roland W.'s breakthrough came with the release of "Monja", which reached number 4 on the German charts and topped the Swiss charts for the entire month of January 1968. The song, originally by Cry’n Strings, was accompanied by the Jay Five cover band. Despite subsequent singles like "Cindy Jane" (1967) and "Jeder kommt einmal wieder" (1968) not achieving similar success, Roland W. continued to release music until 1972 when Cornet Records was acquired by BASF. He married Doris in 1980, and after a cancer operation in 1994, he focused on painting. In the early 2000s, he experienced a resurgence with the re-release of "Monja" as a "Kulttitel" and appeared on television. Roland W.'s final album, Portrait – Gold Serie, was released in 2007. He passed away on September 11, 2009, in Schürdt.
