Udo Jürgens

Udo Jürgens (born Udo Jürgen Bockelmann, 30 September 1934, Klagenfurt, Carinthia, Austria) is an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spans over fifty years. He has written more than 900 songs and sold about 100 million units, making him one of the most successful composers and recording artists in the world and the best selling Austrian singer.

He is credited with broadening German-language pop music beyond the traditional postwar schlager in the 1960s by infusing it with a modern pop appeal; his exceptionally tuneful compositions and sophisticated arrangements attract fans of all ages, and even in his 70s he continues to fill the largest concert venues in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Career

In 1964, he represented Austria for the first time at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Warum nur warum?", finishing sixth. The UK participant, Matt Monro, was impressed with the melody and covered the song (with English lyrics by his manager Don Black) as "Walk Away", which reached number four in the UK Singles Chart 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 in 1966 he won the competition 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, he wrote some of his most famous 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 German football team in 1978.

In 1977, he invited The Supremes to appear as guests on his televised and recorded gala concert. The Supremes (Mary Wilson, Scherrie Payne, and Susaye Green), who were on a brief farewell tour of Europe at the time, performed two of their own current 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. It produced a hit song "Ich weiß was ich will". This song was also released as a 12 inch disco single in an extended remix for discotheques.

In 1992, his concert in Vienna was attended by 220,000 spectators.

Jürgens still tours and regularly appears on television. For many years, the tabloid press have cast him as a womanizer, and several women have claimed that he is the father of their children. In September 2003, the tabloid newspaper Bild revealed that Jürgens had secretly married his long-term companion Corinna in New York on 4 July 1999.

On 2 December 2007, the musical Ich war noch niemals in New York (I've never been to New York) opened in Hamburg's Operettenhaus. It weaves songs by Jürgens into a familial storyline, similar to the treatment of ABBA songs in Mamma Mia!, the musical it succeeded at the venue.

Cover versions

In the early 1990s, the German thrash metal band Sodom released a 'metalized' cover of "Aber Bitte mit Sahne".

In 2009 the German band Sportfreunde Stiller covered the "Ich war noch niemals in New York" together with Jürgens on their MTV Unplugged concert in Munich.

Family

Discography

References

External links

Category:1934 births Category:Austrian male singers Category:Austrian Eurovision Song Contest entrants Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1964 Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1965 Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1966 Category:Eurovision Song Contest winners Category:Living people Category:United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassadors Category:People from Klagenfurt