Lena Valaitis | |
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 Valaitis atZDF Fernsehgarten in 2018 | |
| Born | (1943-09-07)7 September 1943 (age 81) |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Singer |
Lena Valaitis (born 7 September 1943) is aLithuanian–Germanschlager singer who had her greatest success during the 1970s and 1980s. She finished second at the1981 Eurovision Song Contest.
Valaitis was born on 7 September 1943 inMemel, which was in the reclaimedMemel Territory ofEast Prussia byGermany. Her father, a soldier of theWehrmacht, was killed duringWorld War II. At the end of the war, Valaitis, her mother, and her brother arrived as refugees inWest Germany. She first attendedVolksschule inMemmingen and then the "LithuanianGymnasium Hüttenfeld" inHüttenfeld,Hesse. Valaitis left for training with theDeutsche Bundespost inFrankfurt, where she received private singing lessons.
Valaitis has one son, Marco (born 1973), from her first marriage. In 1979, she married actorHorst Jüssen, with whom she had her second son, Don David (born 1983). Valaitis currently lives inMunich,Bavaria.
Valaitis began her musical career by joining the band Frederik Brothers.[1] She signed a record contract withPhilips in 1970 and released her first single, "Halt das Glück für uns fest", on 13 June 1970. She made her first television appearance in the same year, appearing onZDF-Drehscheibe, a musical program onZDF. Valaitis achieved her first hit with 1971's "Ob es so oder so, oder anders kommt". Under the production ofJack White, she hits in the following years with "So wie ein Regenbogen", "Bonjour mon amour", and "Wer gibt mir den Himmel zurück".
In 1976, Valaitis reached the Top 20 of the German singles chart for the first time with "Da kommt José der Straßenmusikant" and "Ein schöner Tag", a German version of "Amazing Grace". She sang "Du machst Karriere" in the German finals of the 1976Eurovision Song Contest, achieving seventh place. She also sang thechanson in the 1977 feature filmMaiden's War [de].
Valaitis is perhaps best known for her performance in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest inDublin,Ireland. She represented Germany with the song "Johnny Blue", which finished second[1] to theBritish entry, "Making Your Mind Up" byBucks Fizz. In the following years she made additional recordings, including a duet with theGreek-born German singerCosta Cordalis in 1984.
Her last Eurovision attempt was in 1992 with "Wir sehen uns wieder", which came third in the German selection show,Ein Lied Für Malmö. Valaitis left show business in the end of 1993, but began releasing new material in the 2000s. She released "Ich lebe für den Augenblick" in 2001 and "Was kann ich denn dafür", a duet with theAustrian singerHansi Hinterseer, in 2002. Valaitis recorded another duet with Hinterseer, ""Muss i' denn zum Städtele hinaus"" (the folk song on whichWooden Heart was based), in summer 2006.
| Preceded by | Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 | Succeeded by |
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