Udo Jürgens
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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 to 1,000 songs, and sold over 100 million records. In 2007, he additionally obtained Swiss citizenship. He is credited with broadening German-language pop music beyond the traditional post-war " Schlager" (hit song) in the 1950s by infusing it with a modern pop appeal and French chanson style. His compositions and arrangements attracted fans of all ages. Until his death at age 80, he continued to fill venues in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.


Career

In 1952, Udo Bolan, as he was called then, formed the Udo Bolan Quartet in
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, Austria, appearing regularly at the Café Obelisk in Klagenfurt with Englishman Johnny Richards on drums, Klaus Behmel on guitar, and Bruno Geiger on Bass. The quartet played regularly at various dance and jazz venues and also broadcast on Radio Alpenland and the British Forces Radio network produced by Mike Fior. In 1950, he won a composer contest organized by Austria's public broadcasting channel
ORF ORF or Orf may refer to: * Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF * Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute * One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel * Open reading frame, a portion of t ...
with the song "Je t'aime". He wrote the 1961 worldwide hit " Reach for the Stars", sung by
Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalist ...
. In 1964, Jürgens represented Austria for the first time at the
Eurovision Song Contest 1964 The Eurovision Song Contest 1964 was the 9th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song "Dansevise" by Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann. Organised by the E ...
with the song "
Warum nur, warum? "Warum nur, warum?" (; "Just why, why?") was the entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1964, sung in German by Udo Jürgens. "Warum nur, warum?" was succeeded as the Austrian representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 1965 by "Sag ihr, ich las ...
", finishing sixth. The UK participant, Matt Monro, was impressed with the melody and
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the song (with English lyrics by his manager Don Black) as "Walk Away", which reached number four in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and number 23 in the US '' Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Jürgens' song " Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen" came fourth in 1965's contest, and on his third try, he won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 in Luxembourg with " Merci, Chérie", which became an English-language hit for Vince Hill, another cover by Monro, and one of Jürgens' most recognized compositions. Jürgens' version alone sold over one million copies, and he was awarded a gold disc by Deutsche Vogue in 1966. In the following years, Jürgens wrote songs like "Griechischer Wein", "Aber bitte mit Sahne", "Mit 66 Jahren", and—one of his biggest successes—"Buenos Días, Argentina", which he performed together with the
Germany national football team The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international Association football, football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football ...
in 1978. In 1977, he invited
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to appear as guests on his televised and recorded gala concert. The Supremes ( Mary Wilson, Scherrie Payne, and Susaye Greene), who were on a brief farewell tour of Europe at the time, performed two of their own hits, "You Are the Heart of Me" and "You're My Driving Wheel", as well as a duet with Jürgens' "Walk Away" in English. In 1979, he released a disco album entitled ''Udo '80'', which spawned the hit single "Ich weiß was ich will". This song was also released as a 12" disco single in an extended remix for nightclubs. Few people know that Udo Jürgens was an inspiration for Shepard Fairey to establish the label OBEY Clothing. On 2 December 2007, the jukebox musical ''Ich war noch niemals in New York'' ("I've never been to New York") opened in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
's Operettenhaus. It weaves songs by Jürgens into a familial storyline, similar to the treatment of
ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...
songs in ''
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,'' the musical it succeeded at the venue. Since 2015, Jürgens holds the worldwide-record as the artist with the longest presence in the charts ever—more than 57 years from his first entry 1958 till 2015.


Cover versions

" Merci, Chérie", whose original German lyrics were written by
Thomas Hörbiger Thomas Hörbiger (1931–2011) was a German film actor and lyricist. He was the son of the actor Paul Hörbiger. His daughter is the actress Mavie Hörbiger. Hörbiger co-wrote Austria's winning entry at the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest, whic ...
, has been translated or adapted into several languages and covered by dozens of artists in both vocal and instrumental recordings. These versions include: * "Merci Chérie" by Claude Carrère and André Salvet (French) * "Merci" by Vito Pallavicini (Italian) * "Merci Cherie" by Baker Cavendish (English) * "Merci Cherie" by Fred Bekky (Dutch) * "Merci Chérie" by Al Sandström (Swedish) * "Merci Chérie" by Gina Trandafirescu (Romanian) * "Merci Cheri" by Andrzej Ozga (Polish) Jürgens himself recorded many of the translations for international release, including a version in Japanese. More recent covers include
Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...
's 2007 recording of the French version. In addition to recording Cavendish's "Merci, Chérie" lyric, Matt Monro covered five more Jürgens compositions, all with English lyrics (unrelated to the German ones), written by his manager Don Black. Four of these became closely associated with Monro (and were subsequently covered by Jürgens himself): * "Warum nur warum?" became "Walk Away" (a 1964 Top 40 hit in both the U.S. and UK) * "Du sollst die Welt für mich sein" became "Without You" (a 1965 UK Top 40 hit) * "Was ich dir sagen will" became "The Music Played" (1968) * "Illusionen" became "If I Never Sing Another Song" (1977), which was later performed by
Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final p ...
,
Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalist ...
, Sammy Davis Jr., and other entertainers. A fifth Jürgens song, "In dieser Welt", became "Lovin' You Again", and in 1969, Matt Monro recorded both Spanish and English versions, the latter not released until August 2012. (Monro also recorded Spanish versions of "Walk Away" and "The Music Played"; all three Spanish lyrics were adapted for Monro from Don Black's versions by Leonardo Schultz, who also produced the Spanish recordings.) In one of his last recording sessions,
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
covered an English version of Jürgens' "Griechischer Wein" called "Come Share the Wine", which also was written by Black. The song was released after Crosby's death in 1977 as the title track of a compilation album and was later recorded by Al Martino. In 1979, Marty Robbins released an English version of "Buenos Dias Argentina" that became a latter-day standard for Robbins. In the early 1990s, German
thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
band
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released a 'metalized' cover of the boogie " Aber bitte mit Sahne". In 2009, the German band Sportfreunde Stiller covered "Ich war noch niemals in New York" together with Jürgens on their ''
MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...
'' concert in Munich.


Death

On 21 December 2014, Jürgens died of cardiac arrest in Münsterlingen, Switzerland, at the age of 80. Notably, in one of his later songs "Am Ufer" he sings about "having finally arrived" and in that song there is a line that says: "Am Ufer aus beschwingter Zeit liegt flimmern in der Luft; und voller Grenzenlosigkeit hör ich wie mich das Leben ruft" or in English: "At a shoreline of inspired time, there's trembling (fibrillation) in the air and with utter boundlessness I hear how life is calling me". With Austria's success at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, the first since Jürgens' success in 1966, Jürgens expressed his interest in performing in the interval of the next contest. With his death, the organisers of the 2015 contest in Vienna paid tribute to him with a tribute day in the "Eurovision Village" on 20 May and at the beginning of the Austrian national final broadcast live on ORF 1. At the contest's final, violinist Lidia Baich performed an excerpt of his winning song live on stage during the opening act.


Family

* His brother, Manfred Bockelmann (born 1 July 1943), is a painter. * His son by first marriage, John Jürgens (born 20 February 1964), is a singer, actor and DJ. * His daughter by his first marriage, Jenny Jürgens (born 22 January 1967), is an actress. * His uncle, Werner Bockelmann (23 September 1907 – 7 April 1968), was mayor of
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...
Udo Jürgens was related neither to the singer Andrea Jürgens nor to the actor Curd Jürgens.


Discography

* "Portrait in Musik" (1965) * "Merci, Chérie" (1966, Eurovision Song Contest) * "Chansons" (1967) * "Portrait in Musik – 2. Folge" (1967) * "Was ich dir sagen will" (1967) * "Mein Lied für dich" (1968) * "Udo" (1968) * "Wünsche zur Weihnachtszeit" (1968) * "Udo Live" (1969) * "Portrait International" (1969) * "Udo '70" (1969) * "Udo '71" (1970) * "Zeig mir den Platz an der Sonne" (1971) * "Helden, Helden" (musical) (1972) * "Ich bin wieder da" (1972) * "Udo in Concert – Europatournee '72/'73" (1973) * "International 2" (1973) * "Live in Japan" (1973) * "Udo heute" (1974) * "Meine Lieder" (1974) * "Udo '75" (1975) * "Meine Lieder 2" (1976) * "Udo Live '77" (1977) * "Meine Lieder '77" (1977) * "Lieder, die auf Reisen gehen" (1978) * "Buenos Días Argentina" (football world championship) (1978) * "Ein Mann und seine Lieder – Live" (1978) * "Nur ein Lächeln" (1979) * "Udo '80" (1979) * "Meine Lieder sind wie Hände – Live" (1980) * "Leave a Little Love" (1981) * "Willkommen in meinem Leben" (1981) * "Silberstreifen" (1982) * "Udo Live – Lust am Leben" (1982) * "Traumtänzer" (1983) * "Hautnah" (1984) * "Udo live und hautnah" (1985) * "Treibjagd" (1985) * "Deinetwegen" (1986) * "Udo Live '87" (1987) * "Das blaue Album" (1988) * "Sogar Engel brauchen Glück" (best-of compilation including five remakes) (1989) * "Ohne Maske" (1989) * "Live ohne Maske" (1990) * "Sempre Roma" (football world championship) (1990) * " Das Traumschiff" (instrumental soundtrack) (1990) * "Geradeaus" (1991) * "Open Air Symphony" (1992) * "Café Größenwahn" (1993) * "Aber bitte mit Sahne" (hits compilation including a new song and two remakes) (1994) * "140 Tage Café Größenwahn Tour 94/95" (1995) * "Zärtlicher Chaot" (1995) * "Gestern-Heute-Morgen" (1996) * "Gestern-Heute-Morgen – Live '97" (1997) * "Aber bitte mit Sahne 2" (hits compilation including eight remakes) (1998) * "Ich werde da sein" (1999) * "Mit 66 Jahren (Was wichtig ist)" (2000) * "Mit 66 Jahren – Live 2001" (2001) * "Es lebe das Laster" (2002) * "Es werde Licht" (2003) * "Es Lebe das Laster – Udo Live" (2004) * "Jetzt oder nie" (2005) * "Der Solo-Abend – Live am Gendarmenmarkt" (2005) * "Jetzt oder nie – Live 2006" (2006) * "Einfach ich" (2008) * "Einfach ich – Live 2009" (2009) * "Best Of" (including a remake live by ''
MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...
'') (2009) * "Der ganz normale Wahnsinn" (2011) * "Der Mann mit dem Fagott" (soundtrack to his own film) (2011) * "Der ganz normale Wahnsinn – Live" (2012) * "Mitten im Leben" (2014) * "Udo Jürgens Live – Das letzte Konzert Zürich 2014 mit dem Orchester Pepe Lienhard" (new live album recorded at his last concert of his last tour, 7 December 2014, only two weeks before he died) (2015) * "Merci, Udo!" (2016) * "Merci, Udo! 2" (2017)


Selected filmography

*'' Our Crazy Aunts'' (1961), as Pitt van Rees *'' Drei Liebesbriefe aus Tirol'' (1962), as Martin Hinterkirchner *'' Dance with Me Into the Morning'' (1962), as Max Kainz *'' Our Crazy Nieces'' (1963), as Pitt van Rees *'' Our Crazy Aunts in the South Seas'' (1964), as Pitt van Rees *''Das Spukschloß im Salzkammergut'' (1966), as Udo As himself *''
The Legs of Dolores ''The Legs of Dolores'' (german: Die Beine von Dolores) is a 1957 West German musical comedy film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Germaine Damar, Claus Biederstaedt, and Ruth Stephan.Koepnick p. 66 It was shot at the Wandsbek Studios ...
'' (1957) *' (1961) *''Hochzeit am Neusiedler See'' (1963) *' (1966) Soundtrack * ' (1976) Film adaptations * ' (2011) – Based on Udo Jürgens' autobiography * ' (2019) – Musical, based on songs by Udo Jürgens


References


External links

*Wolfgang Spahr
''Casebook Udo Jürgens''
Billboard, 26. März 1994
Excerpts from a thesis on Jürgens (2002)
by Christian Mädler * * *

"tz.de" Der verzweifelte Rettungsversuch: Billy Todzo alamiert per Handy den Notarzt, rennt zum ein paar hundert Meter entfernten Gemeindehaus, um einen dort öffentlich zugänglichen Defibrillator zu holen. Mit diesem tragbaren Gerät kann man dem Patienten einen Elektroschock geben – die einzige Möglichkeit, um lebensgefährliches Kammerflimmern zu beenden (siehe unten). „Die meisten Gemeinden in der Schweiz haben einen Defi“, erklärt Bürgermeisterin Rosmarie Obergfell. Aber leider zeigt Udo keine Reaktion. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jurgens, Udo 1934 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Austrian male singers 21st-century Austrian male singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Austria Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1964 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1965 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1966 Eurovision Song Contest winners United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassadors Musicians from Klagenfurt Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery