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 (), 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 ...

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

Life and career

Ralph Siegel was born the son of composer and of singer Ingeborg Döderlein. Siegel is a prolific producer in the German genre of

Schlager music Schlager (, " hit(s)") is a style of European popular music and radio format generally defined by catchy instrumental accompaniments to vocal pieces of pop music with simple, easygoing, and often sentimental lyrics. Schlager tracks are typ ...

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

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

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 am Rhein, Bingen. At the age of nine, she recorded her first song "Ja die Dicken sind ja so gemütlich" as ''Di ...

Heino Heinz Georg Kramm (born 13 December 1938), known professionally as Heino, is a German singer of Schlager and traditional Volksmusik. Having sold a total of over 50 million records, he is one of the most successful German musicians of all time ...

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 schöne ...

, Chris Roberts,

Costa Cordalis Costa Cordalis (; born Konstantinos Cordalis; 1 May 19442 July 2019) was a Greek-German Schlager singer. Biography Born Konstantinos Cordalis in Elateia, Phthiotis, Cordalis moved to Germany in 1960. His 1976 song "Anita" reached the top ten ...

Mireille Mathieu Mireille Mathieu (; born July 22, 1946) is a French singer. She has recorded over 1,200 songs in eleven languages, with more than 122 million records sold worldwide. Biography and career Early years Mireille Mathieu was born on July 22, 1946, ...

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, Roy Black,

Karel Gott Karel Gott (14 July 1939 – 1 October 2019) was a Czech singer, considered the most successful male singer in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. He was voted the country's best male singer in the annual ''Český slavík'' (''Czech Nighti ...

and

Marianne Rosenberg Marianne Rosenberg (born 10 March 1955) is a German Schlager music singer and songwriter. Personal background Rosenberg is of Romani people, Roma and Sinti background. Her father, Otto Rosenberg (writer and activist), Otto, an Auschwitz conce ...

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

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entry " Spirit of the Night" by

Valentina Monetta Valentina Monetta (born 1 March 1975) is a Sammarinese singer. She is best known for in the Eurovision Song Contest in , , , and . In the 2014 contest, Monetta became the first entrant to qualify for the final for San Marino. Early life and ed ...

and Jimmie Wilson. In 1982, Siegel's and

Bernd Meinunger Bernd Meinunger (born 30 September 1944) is a German lyricist and record producer (with Hanne Haller) who frequently works with Ralph Siegel and David Brandes. Several of his songs have represented Germany in the ''Eurovision Song Contest''. Ca ...

's 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 ne ...

(A Little Peace), performed by Nicole won the Contest and became a hit in Europe. In 2003, both writers had success with Let's Get Happy, performed by

Lou Lou may refer to: __NOTOC__ Personal name * Lou (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Lou (German singer) *Lou (French singer) * Lou (surname 娄), the 229th most common surname in China * Lou (surname 楼), the 269th most common ...

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

for representing

Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest Switzerland has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 65 times since its debut at the first contest in , missing only four contests because of being relegated due to poor results the previous year: , , , and . Switzerland hosted the i ...

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

Dschinghis Khan Dschinghis Khan (; "Genghis Khan") is a German Eurodisco Pop music, pop band. It was originally formed in Munich in Eurovision Song Contest 1979, 1979 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest with their song "Dschinghis Khan (song), Dschinghis K ...

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 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 by the Europe ...

. 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 (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 three-year relationship, the couple got married in September 2018 in the church Grünwald near

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 ...

. 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 male songwriters German record producers Eurovision Song Contest-winning songwriters Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest Musicians from Munich Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany