Robert Cogoi (born Mirko Kogoj, 25 October 1939 – 14 May 2022) was a Belgian singer, best known for his participation in the 1964

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 ...

Early career

Cogoi was born in Châtelet to Slovene parents. In 1961 he picked up a contract with

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...

, and the following year, won first prize at the ''Grand Prix International des Variétés'' at the Casino in

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

with the song "Si un jour", which went on to sell 100,000 copies in France, earning Cogoi a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

.Biography/discography
(in French)

Eurovision Song Contest

In 1964, Cogoi was chosen as the Belgian representative to perform his self-penned song " Près de ma rivière" ("Close by My River") in the ninth

, which took place on 21 March in

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. For the first time since the inaugural contest in 1956, the Belgian entry was chosen by internal selection on the part of TV channel

RTBF The ("Belgian Radio-television of the French Community"), shortened to RTBF (branded as rtbf.be), is a public broadcasting, public service broadcaster for the French Community of Belgium, French-speaking Community of Belgium. Its counterpart i ...

rather than by a public or jury vote. "Près de ma rivière" received only two votes (from

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and

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), which was enough for a joint tenth-place finish of 16 entries, as four other songs received no votes at all.

Later career

Cogoi continued releasing albums and singles, with modest success, until the late 1960s. In 1976 he appeared in the Belgium film ''Les arpents dorés''. After many years out of the public eye, Cogoi made a guest appearance, along with several other former Eurovision participants, at the Belgian Eurovision national final in 2005.Finale nationale du concours eurovision de la chanson (2005)
IMDb

Discography

Singles

*''Si un jour'' (1962) *''Pardonnez-moi Seigneur'' (1962) *''Je m'sens très seul'' (1963) *''Tu mens, mon amour'' (1963) *''Je fais serment'' (1963) *''Dou, dou, dou, doux'' (1963) *''Quand le soleil dit bonjour aux montagnes'' (1964) *''Près de ma rivière'' (1964, außerhalb Kanadas nur als EP veröffentlicht) *''Quand le jour se lève'' (1964, nur in Kanada) *''Quand'' (1964, nur in Kanada) *''Pas une place pour me garer'' (1966) *''J'avais besoin de parler à quelqu'un'' (1966) *''La télé'' (1966) *''Pas une place pour me garer'' (1966, nur in Kanada) *''Pour le meilleur et pour le pire'' (1967) *''Je te demande pardon'' (1967) *''L'église'' (1967, nur in Kanada) *''El bandido'' (1967, nur in Kanada) *''Gina'' (1968) *''Mon île aux cocotiers'' (1968) *''Au four et au moulin'' (1969) *''Ma richesse'' (1969) *"La Station Service"/"Le Monde Est Grand " ("Hej Gamle Man") (1971) *"Oublie Barbara" (1971)

EP`s

*''Si un jour'' (1962) *''Je m'sens très seul'' (1963) *''Je serais mieux chez moi'' (1963) *''Dou, dou, dou, doux'' (1963) *''Près de ma rivière'' (1964) *''Non, rien n'a changé'' (1964) *''Quand le soleil dit bonjour aux montagnes'' (1964) *''Attendez, attendez'' (1965) *''Ça se voit sur ton visage'' (1965) *''8h, 11h10’, 15h23’'' (1966) *''J'avais besoin de parler à quelqu'un'' (1966) *''La télé'' (1966) *''Monica'' (1967) *''Je te demande pardon'' (1967)

Albums

*''Je serais mieux chez moi...'' (1963) *''Personne...'' (1964) *''Les grands succès de Robert Cogoi'' (1964) *''Je m'sens très seul'' (1964) *''Robert Cogoi'' (1967)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cogoi, Robert 1939 births 2022 deaths People from Châtelet Belgian male singers Belgian people of Yugoslav descent Eurovision Song Contest entrants