Camillo Felgen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Camillo Jean Nicolas Felgen (1920-11-17)November 17, 1920 |
| Died | 16 July 2005(2005-07-16) (aged 84) Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1946-2005 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument | vocals |
| Labels | |
Musical artist | |
Camillo Jean Nicolas Felgen (17 November 1920 – 16 July 2005) was aLuxembourgish singer,lyricist,disc jockey, andtelevision presenter, who representedLuxembourg in theEurovision Song Contest1960 and in1962.
Source:[1]
Felgen started his career as a teacher, then he was a translator for the occupying troops and a reporter for a French-language newspaper. He studied theater and opera inBrussels andLiège; in 1946, he joinedRadio Luxembourg as a chorus singer and a French-language reporter. In 1949, the mastering of hisbaritone completed his theatre and opera studies. In 1951, he had his first internationalhit record, "Bonjour les amies" ("Hello Friends"). The song went on to become the theme song for his national broadcaster. In 1953, he recorded his first German-language record, "Onkel Toms altes Boot" ("Uncle Tom's Old Boat"), in Berlin. He represented his home country in theEurovision Song Contest 1960 with "So laang we's du do bast", becoming the first Luxembourger and the first male contestant to represent Luxembourg and the first participant to sing inLuxembourgish. He finished last with only one point.Two years later he entered the contest again, this time doing much better by finishing in 3rd place with the song "Petit bonhomme". He did at times do the commentary in German, too.
One of Felgen's greatest hits was "Ich hab Ehrfurcht vor schneeweißen Haaren" ("I Respect Your Grey Hair"), a cover of singer-guitarist and entrepreneurBobbejaan Schoepen. Another was "Sag warum", in 1959, based on a melody byPhil Spector.
Camillo Felgen also wrote German lyrics for cover versions of international songs, using the pseudonym Jean Nicolas, writing forConnie Francis,Caterina Valente,Greetje Kauffeld andLill-Babs, among others. It is sometimes incorrectly stated that he also used the name "Lee Montague", but that was the pen-name of Lawrence “Larry” M. Yaskiel, a Londoner who worked as a Sunday-school teacher and encyclopedia salesman, before becoming involved in pop music in Germany in the 1960s, working first for Deutsche Vogue, then for various production companies, and for A&M Records, before retiring to the Canary Islands.[2]
In 1964, as Jean Nicolas, Felgen also translated the only two songs recorded bythe Beatles in German: "Komm, gib mir deine Hand" ("I Want to Hold Your Hand") and "Sie liebt dich" ("She Loves You"). Felgen, then working as a programme director atRadio Luxembourg, was given just 24 hours to finalize the translated lyrics, fly to Paris, and coach the band on German phonetics.[3]
From 1965 until 1973, Felgen was the host and commentator for the German broadcasts ofJeux sans frontières (Spiel Ohne Grenzen)[4]
He died inEsch-sur-Alzette on 16 July 2005, at the age of 84.
| Preceded by | Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1962 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 | Succeeded by |
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