Renate Hildebrandt, born Renate Poggensee on January 23, 1945, in Tann/Rhön, Germany, is a singer known for her work in pop and Schlager music. During a student exchange program in the USA in 1962, she formed connections with radio and television, which led her to pursue a career in music instead of becoming a teacher. Discovered by Werner Last alias Kai Warner, Renate Kern quickly gained traction with songs that offered encouragement or advice, notably "Stop the Beat" (1967). Her first singles, "Kiss and Shake" and "Du bist meine Liebe", were released in 1965 and both charted in Germany. From 1968 to 1974, she released several albums including Lieber mal weinen im Glück (1968) and Meine Welt ist schön (1969). In 1974, she married Klaus-Dieter Hildebrandt and they founded a music publishing company together. Kern's career began to decline in the mid-1970s, but she continued to release albums under various labels. In 1981, she adopted the stage name Nancy Wood and released "Imagine That", which charted at number 79 on the American Country Charts. She passed away on February 18, 1991.
