1934-09-30 ( 90 years old ) in Klagenfurt, Austria
Jürgen Udo Bockelmann (since 2010 as Udo Jürgens Bockelmann; 30 September 1934 – 21 December 2014), better 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, composed close to 1,000 songs, and sold over 104 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.
In 1952, Udo Bolan, as he was called then, formed the Udo Bolan Quartet in Klagenfurt, 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 with the song "Je t'aime". He wrote the 1961 worldwide hit "Reach for the Stars", sung by Shirley Bassey.
In 1964, Jürgens represented Austria for the first time at the Eurovision Song Contest 1964 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 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 in 1978 in Argentinia.
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 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. ...
Source: Article "Udo Jürgens" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Movies
UDO!
2024-12-21
Weihnachten mit Udo Jürgens
2016-12-24
Von Udo Jürgens bis Helene Fischer
2015-08-29
Die Helene Fischer Show 2014
2014-12-25
Merci Udo Jürgens
2014-12-22
Udo Jürgens - Mitten im Leben
2014-10-18
Der Mann, der Udo Jürgens ist
2014-10-17
Sing! Inge, Sing!
2011-03-30
Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire
2010-08-01
Udo Jürgens - Einfach ich - Live 2009
2009-10-09
Udo Jürgens - Jetzt oder nie: Live
2007-04-20
Udo Jürgens - Es lebe das Laster - Live 2004
2005-02-28
Udo Jürgens: Mit 66 Jahren - Live 2001
2001-09-24
Alexandra – die Legende einer Sängerin
1999-12-19
Ein Abend in Gold
1988-04-09
Udo Jürgens – Aber bitte mit Sahne´77
1977-11-11
Françoise et Udo...
1968-11-01
Das Spukschloß im Salzkammergut
1966-11-25
The Battle of the Mods
1966-08-05
Questo pazzo, pazzo mondo della canzone
1964-12-31
Unsere tollen Tanten in der Südsee
1964-02-14
Hochzeit am Neusiedler See
1963-12-23
Unsere tollen Nichten
1963-02-12
Tanze mit mir in den Morgen
1962-08-12
Drei Liebesbriefe aus Tirol
1962-04-19
Unsere tollen Tanten
1961-11-23
… und du mein Schatz bleibst hier
1961-07-05
Lilli, a Girl from the Big City
1958-03-06
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