Udo Jürgens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (November 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Udo Jürgens (born 30 September 1934 in Klagenfurt, Carinthia, Austria, as Udo Jürgen Bockelmann), is an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spans over fifty years.
Contents |
[edit] Career
In 1950, Jürgens won a composer contest organised 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, he represented Austria for the first time at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Warum nur warum?", finishing fifth. The UK participant Matt Monro was so impressed that he covered the song with English lyrics (by Don Black) as "Walk Away", which reached number four in the UK charts and number 23 in the U.S. His song "Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen" came fourth in 1965's contest, and in 1966 he won the competition with his song "Merci Chérie", which later became an English-language hit as interpreted by Vince Hill.
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. Because Jürgens, who enjoyed a thorough musical education, always accompanies himself on the piano, he is sometimes compared to Billy Joel, but unlike him is backed not by a rock band, but by a full 18-piece big band.
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 Udo, "Walk Away" in English.
In 1992, his concert in Vienna was attended by 220,000 spectators; this is still one of the biggest concerts in Europe ever.
In 2000, Jürgens celebrated his 66th birthday, proving that the title of his 1977 song "Mit 66 Jahren" also holds true for himself. Jürgens still tours and regularly appears on television, both in shows and in made-for-TV films. He usually attracts large crowds covering all age groups. For many years now, 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.
Up to now, Udo Jürgens has composed more than 900 songs and sold about 105 million units, making him one of the most successful composers and singers in the world. His career continues with near-annual tours.
[edit] Musical
On December 2, 2007, the musical Ich war noch niemals in New York (I've never been to New York) succeeded Mamma Mia! in the Hamburg's Operettenhaus. All songs in that musical are written by Udo Jürgens or his text writers. Jürgens does not sing in the musical, it is sung by stage actors and the big band playing the musical is not his original band.
[edit] Family
- His brother, Manfred Bockelmann (born 1943), is a painter.
- His son by first marriage, John Jürgens (born 1964), is a singer, actor and DJ.
- His daughter by his first marriage, Jenny Jürgens (born 1967), is an actress.
- His uncle, Werner Bockelmann (1907–1968), was mayor of Frankfurt am Main 1957–1964.
[edit] Discography
- Portrait in Musik 1. Folge (1965)
- Siebzehn Jahr, blondes Haar (1965)
- Francoise und Udo (1966)
- Portrait in Musik 2. Folge (1967)
- Was ich Dir sagen will (1967)
- Udo (1968)
- Mein Lied für Dich (1968)
- Udo Live (1969)
- Udo '70 (1969)
- Udo '71 (1970)
- Zeig mir den Platz an der Sonne (1971)
- Helden, Helden (Musical) (1972)
- Ich bin wieder da (1972)
- Johnny und Jenny (Alle Kinder dieser Welt) (1973)
- Udo heute (1974)
- Meine Lieder (1975)
- Udo '75 (Ein neuer Morgen) (1975)
- Meine Lieder 2 (1976)
- Meine Lieder'77 (1977)
- Buenos Días Argentina (Football World-Championship) (1978)
- Udo 1957-60 (1980)
- Nur ein Lächeln (1980)
- Udo '80 (1980)
- Leave a little love (1981)
- Willkommen in meinem Leben (1981)
- Silberstreifen (1982)
- Traumtänzer (1983)
- Hautnah (1984)
- Treibjagd (1985)
- Deinetwegen (1986)
- Das blaue Album (1988)
- Ohne Maske (1989)
- Sempre Roma (Football World-Championship) (1990)
- Das Traumschiff (Soundtrack) (1990)
- Open air Symphony (1992)
- Geradeaus (1992)
- Cafe Größenwahn (1993)
- 140 Tage Cafe Größenwahn Tour 94/95 (1994)
- Zärtlicher Chaot (1995)
- Gestern-heute-morgen (1996)
- Ich werde da sein (1999)
- Mit 66 Jahren (Was wichtig ist) (2000)
- Es lebe das Laster (2002)
- Es werde Licht (2003)
- Jetzt oder nie (2005)
- Einfach ich (2008)
[edit] Trivia
 |
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- In the early 1990s, German thrash metal band Sodom released a 'metalized' cover of "Aber Bitte mit Sahne", an Udo Jürgens's song about unattractive girls making up for amorous delusions with dessert-eating binges.
- According to the German music news site laut.de, as well as ORF Kärnten, Udo Jürgens was arrested in January 2006 when he tried to enter the U.S. as he intended to visit his daughter Sonja, who lives in New York. The officials queried his age in the passport - after discovering that his visa had expired (although EU citizens visiting the US are not required to obtain one) - and Jürgens, who was 71 at the time, was detained as a terror suspect only to be released after two hours without further explanation. He was not allowed any contact or legal representation, simply being told by the guard "you don't speak until we ask you to" and threatened to be deported. Subsequently Jürgens declared that he will never visit the U.S. again.
[edit] External links
- Jürgens's songs in English (from a fan page)
- Excerpts from a thesis on Jürgens (2002) by Christian Mädler (in German)
- [1] official website (in German)
- [2] imdb entry
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by France Gall |
Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 |
Succeeded by Sandie Shaw |
