Ralph Siegel (born 30 September 1945) is a German record producer and songwriter. Siegel is one of the most notable figures at the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

, in which he has participated with 24 songs so far, among them the 1982 winner song

Ein bisschen Frieden Ein or EIN may refer to: Science and technology * Ein function, in mathematics * Endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia, a lesion of the uterine lining * Equivalent input noise, of a microphone * European Informatics Network, a 1970s computer netw ...

Life and career

Siegel is a prolific producer in the German genre of

Schlager music Schlager music (, " hit(s)") is a style of European popular music that is generally a catchy instrumental accompaniment to vocal pieces of pop music with simple, happy-go-lucky, and often sentimental lyrics. Typical Schlager tracks are eith ...

. Since the early 1970s, he worked with artists like

Udo Jürgens Udo Jürgens (born Jürgen Udo Bockelmann; 30 September 1934 – 21 December 2014) was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, composed close ...

Mary Roos Mary Roos (born Rosemarie Schwab on 9 January 1949) is a German singer and actress. Biography 1949-1970 Schwab was born in Bingen. At the age of nine, she recorded her first song "Ja die Dicken sind ja so gemütlich" as ''Die kleine Rosemarie ...

, Heino,

Rex Gildo Rex Gildo (formerly Alexander Gildo, born Ludwig Franz Hirtreiter; 2 July 1936 – 26 October 1999) was a German singer of Schlager ballads who reached the height of his popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, selling over 25 million records and st ...

Michael Holm Michael Holm (born Lothar Walter; on 29 July 1943) is a German singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is primarily known as a singer of Schlager music. Although his first appearance in the hit parade was in 1962 ("Lauter Schön ...

, Chris Roberts,

Costa Cordalis Costa Cordalis ( el, Κώστας Κορδαλής; born Konstantinos Cordalis; 1 May 19442 July 2019) was a Greek-German Schlager singer. Biography Born Konstantinos Cordalis in Elateia, Phthiotis Phthiotis ( el, Φθιώτιδα, ''Fthi� ...

Mireille Mathieu Mireille Mathieu (; born 22 July 1946) is a French singer. She has recorded over 1200 songs in eleven languages, with more than 122 million records sold worldwide. Biography and career Early years Mireille Mathieu was born on 22 July 1946 in A ...

Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to: * Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player * Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...

, Roy Black,

Karel Gott ) Sinatra of the East( cs, Sinatra Východu, link=no)Divine Charlie Marianne Rosenberg Marianne Rosenberg (born 10 March 1955) is a German Schlager music singer and songwriter. Personal background Rosenberg is of Roma and Sinti background. Her father, Otto, an Auschwitz death camp survivor, was an activist on Roma and Sinti ...

. Since 1972 has participated with 24 songs in the Eurovision Song Contest, the latest being the

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

Sammarinese entry " Spirit of the Night" by

Valentina Monetta Valentina Monetta (born 1 March 1975) is a Sammarinese singer. She is best known for representing in the , , , and Eurovision Song Contests. She also announced the Sammarinese points at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. In the 2014 contest, M ...

and Jimmie Wilson. In 1982, Siegel's and

Bernd Meinunger Bernd Meinunger (born 30 September 1944 in Meiningen) is a German lyricist and record producer (with Hanne Haller Hanne Haller (January 14, 1950 in Rendsburg, Germany - November 15, 2005 in Tegernsee, Germany; full name Hannelore Haller) was a ...

's song

Ein bißchen Frieden "Ein bißchen Frieden" (; "A Bit of Peace") is a German-language song, written by prolific German Eurovision-writing duo Ralph Siegel (music) and Bernd Meinunger (lyrics) for the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, held in Harrogate, United Kingdo ...

(A Little Peace), performed by

Nicole Nicole may refer to: People * Nicole (name) * Nicole (American singer) (born 1958), a contestant in season 3 of the American ''The X Factor'' * Nicole (Chilean singer) (born 1977) * Nicole (German singer) (born 1964), winner of the 1982 Eurovi ...

won the Contest and became a hit in Europe. In 2003, both writers had success with Let's Get Happy, performed by Lou which came in 11th. In February 2010, it was announced by RTÉ that he would have an entry in the Irish National Final-Eurosong 2010. The song titled ''River of Silence'' was performed by Lee Bradshaw. It finished in last place. He also composed 'C'était ma vie', performed by

Lys Assia Lys Assia (born Rosa Mina Schärer; 3 March 1924 – 24 March 2018) was a Swiss singer who won the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Assia was born in Rupperswil, Aargau, and began her stage career as a dancer, but changed to singing in 1940 ...

for representing

Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 62 times since making its debut at the first contest in , missing only four contests, in 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2003. Switzerland hosted the first contest in 1956 in Lugano, and won it. S ...

. She reached an 8th position in Swiss National Final. Siegel organized a comeback event for the Disco band

Dschinghis Khan Dschinghis Khan (; "Genghis Khan") was a German Eurodisco pop band. It was originally formed in Munich in 1979 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest with their song " Dschinghis Khan". The original group led by original members Henriette Str ...

in June 2018. Dschinghis Khan had been originally organized by Siegel and Dr. Bernd Meinunger to compete in the

1979 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was the 24th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Jerusalem, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song " A-Ba-Ni-Bi" by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. Organised b ...

. After the success of their first hit,

, both men continued to write popular songs for this band, including " Moskau" and "Hadschi Halef Omar". Siegel makes a rare appearance playing classical guitar in 1984 video footage of Dschinghis Khan performing "Corrida" and "Olé Olé". In 2021, Siegel premiered his musical ''Zeppelin''.

Personal life

Hochzeit 2018 von Ralph Siegel mit Frau Laura Siegel

Ralph Siegel's first marriage was to Dunja Siegel from Slovakia in 1975, with whom he had two daughters

Giulia Siegel Giulia Siegel (born Julia Anna Marina Siegel, 10 November 1974, Munich) is a German actress, presenter, DJ, model, and the daughter of composer and producer Ralph Siegel. Siegel started her career in 1991 as a model using the alias ''Giulia Leg ...

(born 1974) and Marcella Siegel (born 1976). The couple divorced in 1989. In 1992 he married Dagmar Kögel, (née Weber). His third daughter Alana Siegel was born in 1996. The couple separated in 2002. His third marriage to the soprano Kriemhild Siegel, (née Jahn), lasted from 2006 until the official separation in August 2014. The legal divorce then took place in 2016. In 2015 he met the Swiss music manager Laura Käfer. After a 3-year relationship, the couple got married in September 2018 in the church Grünwald near

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

. Laura Siegel brought her daughter Ruby Siegel (born 2000), (née Käfer) into the marriage.

Eurovision Song Contest participations

National final participations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siegel, Ralph 1945 births Living people German songwriters German record producers Eurovision Song Contest winners Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest Musicians from Munich Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany