Zwingenberger was born in Hamburg, Germany. He had eleven years of piano training. In 1973 he listened to recordings of boogie-woogie pianists Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis, and Pete Johnson. He joined piano playing partners Hans-Georg Moeller, Vince Weber and Martin Pyrker. In 1974, he played at the First International Blues-and-Boogie Woogie Festival of the West German Radio Station in Cologne which was followed by Hans Maitner's annual festival Stars of Boogie Woogie in Vienna.