His father died when Dornaus was six years old, and at the beginning of World War II, he was sent to England, where he lived with a Quaker family.
In 1957, he met Kurt Edelhagen and played as a bassist in his big band until 1962, at which point Dornaus joined Heinz Gietz as a studio musician.
He remained with Gietz's studio until 1966, when he joined Edelhagen on tour as the band's producer and manager.
[1] Throughout the 1960s, Dornaus released numerous singles, including "Oh, Oh, What A Kiss" (1966),[1][2] "Mister Cannibal" (1966),[3] "A Man in the Woods",[4] and "Der Babyspeck ist Weg".
[1] He composed music for several artists, including Chuck Bennett's "Love with a Touch of Soul",[citation needed] Cindy's "Mama (Angelo Mio)",[6] Pepe Lienhard's "Jeanny Is My Memory", and Penny McLean's "Tut-Ench-Amun".