Erich Blum born in 1916 in Elberfeld (today part of Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westfalia), Germany, was associated with music and dance throughout his life.
During the Second World War he and his family moved to Karlsruhe in Baden with relatives of his wife. Early after the Second World War he became a member of the ''Black Forest Association'' through which he met the married couple Gisela and Walter Ring. Together they wandered a lot and often to Bosenstein (Black Forest area).
During this time the song "Wir sind durch Deutschland gefahren" (We drove through Germany) is also said to have been written in collaboration but the songwriters waived any copyright by writing "mündlich überliefert" (handed down verbally) on the sheet music. Whether Erich Blum was involved in this can no longer be clarified today.