Lena Valaitis (born 7 September 1943) is a

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n– German schlager singer who had her greatest success during the 1970s and 1980s. She finished second at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest.

Early life and education

Valaitis was born on 7 September 1943 in Memel, which was in the reclaimed

Memel Territory Memel, a name derived from the Couronian-Latvian ''memelis, mimelis, mēms'' for "mute, silent", may refer to: *Memel, East Prussia, Germany, now , Lithuania **, (Klaipėda Castle Klaipėda Castle (), also known as Memelburg or Memel Castle, is ...

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Her father, a soldier of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

, was killed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. At the end of the war, Valaitis, her mother, and her brother arrived as refugees in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. She first attended Volksschule in

Memmingen Memmingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the ...

and then the "Lithuanian Gymnasium Hüttenfeld" in ,

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

. Valaitis left for training with the Deutsche Bundespost in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, where she received private singing lessons.

Personal life

Valaitis has one son, Marco (born 1973), from her first marriage. In 1979, she married actor , with whom she had her second son, Don David (born 1983). Valaitis currently lives in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Career

Valaitis began her musical career by joining the band Frederik Brothers. She signed a record contract with

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

in 1970 and released her first single, "Halt das Glück für uns fest", on 13 June 1970. She made her first television appearance in the same year, appearing on ''ZDF-Drehscheibe'', a musical program on ZDF. Valaitis achieved her first hit with 1971's "Ob es so oder so, oder anders kommt". Under the production of

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...

, she hits in the following years with "So wie ein Regenbogen", "Bonjour mon amour", and "Wer gibt mir den Himmel zurück". In 1976, Valaitis reached the Top 20 of the German singles chart for the first time with "Da kommt José der Straßenmusikant" and "Ein schöner Tag", a German version of "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written in 1772 and published in 1779 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is possibly the most sung and most recorded hymn in the world, and especially popular in the Unit ...

". She sang "Du machst Karriere" in the German finals of the 1976

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

, achieving seventh place. She also sang the

chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...

in the 1977 feature film '. Valaitis is perhaps best known for her performance in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. She represented Germany with the song " Johnny Blue", which finished second to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

entry, " Making Your Mind Up" by Bucks Fizz. In the following years she made additional recordings, including a duet with the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

-born German singer Costa Cordalis in 1984. Her last Eurovision attempt was in 1992 with "Wir sehen uns wieder", which came third in the German selection show, '' Ein Lied Für Malmö''. Valaitis left show business in the end of 1993, but began releasing new material in the 2000s. She released "Ich lebe für den Augenblick" in 2001 and "Was kann ich denn dafür", a duet with the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n singer Hansi Hinterseer, in 2002. Valaitis recorded another duet with Hinterseer, "" (the folk song on which Wooden Heart was based), in summer 2006.

Singles

* 1970 "Halt das Glück für uns fest" * 1970 "Und das Leben wird weitergehen" * 1971 "Ob es so oder so oder anders kommt" * 1971 "Alles was dein Herz begehrt" * 1971 "Die kleinen Sünden und die kleinen Freuden" * 1972 "Und da steht es geschrieben" * 1972 "Lächeln ist der Weisheit letzter Schluß" * 1973 "So wie ein Regenbogen" * 1973 "Die Welt wird nicht untergeh´n" * 1973 "Ich freu' mich so auf morgen" * 1974 "Bonjour mon amour" * 1974 "Wer gibt mir den Himmel zurück" * 1974 "Ich möchte die Gitarre sein" * 1975 "Was der Wind erzählt" * 1975 "Immer die schönen Träume" * 1975 "Im Regen kann man keine Tränen sehen" * 1976 "Da kommt José, der Straßenmusikant" * 1976 "Ein schöner Tag" (

) * 1976 "Komm wieder, wenn du frei bist" * 1977 "Heinz, lass doch die Pauke stehn" * 1977 "...denn so ist Jo" * 1977 "Cheri je t´aime" * 1978 "Ich spreche alle Sprachen dieser Welt" * 1978 "Oh Cavallo" * 1978 "Ich bin verliebt" * 1979 "Auf der Strasse ohne Ziel" * 1979 "Nimm es so wie es kommt" * 1980 "Jamaika Reggae Man" * 1981 " Johnny Blue" * 1981 "Johnny Blue (English Version)" * 1981 "Rio Bravo" * 1982 "Highland oh Highland" (with the

Germany national football team The Germany national football team () represents Germany in men's international Association football, football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association (''Deutscher Fußball-Bund''), founded ...

) * 1982 "Gemeinsam mit Dir" * 1982 "Gloria" * 1983 "Worte wie Sterne" * 1984 "So sind meine Träume" * 1984 "Wenn der Regen auf uns fällt" duet with Costa Cordalis) * 1985 "Mein Schweigen war nur Spiel" * 1986 "Männer sind ´ne verückte Erfindung" * 1987 "Ich liebe dich" * 1988 "Nastrowje Mr. Gorbatschow" * 1992 "Wir sehn uns wieder" * 1993 "Menschen mit Herz" * 2001 "Ich lebe für den Augenblick" (German version of " There You'll Be" by

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American Country music, country singer. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold almost 50 million albums worldwide ...

from the movie "

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

") * 2002 "Was kann ich denn dafür" (duet with Hansi Hinterseer) * 2002 "Und wenn ich meine Augen schließ" * 2003 "Still rinnt die Zeit" * 2004 "Morgen soll die Hochzeit sein" * 2005 "Komm lass uns tanzen (Arabische Nächte)" * 2006 "Muss i denn zum Städtele hinaus" (duet with Hansi Hinterseer) * 2010 "Und ich rufe Deinen Namen" * 2011 "Ich muss immer an Dich denken" * 2012 "Ein schöner Frühlingstag"

Discography

* 1972 ''Die Welt der Stars und Hits'' * 1974 ''Wer gibt mir den Himmel zurück'' * 1975 ''Star für Millionen'' * 1975 ''Da kommt Lena'' * 1976 ''Meinen Freunden'' * 1976 ''Komm wieder, wenn du frei bist'' * 1977 ''...denn so ist Lena'' * 1978 ''Ich bin verliebt'' * 1978 ''Stardiscothek'' * 1979 ''Nimm es so, wie es kommt'' * 1981 ''Johnny Blue - Meine schönsten Lieder'' * 1982 ''Lena'' * 1989 ''Weihnachten mit Lena Valaitis'' * 2010 ''Liebe ist'' * 2012 ''Ich will alles''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valaitis, Lena 1943 births Living people Musicians from Klaipėda Musicians from East Prussia German people of Lithuanian descent German women pop singers Schlager musicians Eurovision Song Contest entrants