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Jürgen Udo Bockelmann (30 September 1934 – 21 December 2014), generally known asUdo Jürgens, was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won theEurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, composed close to 1,000 songs, and sold over 104 million records.[1] In 2007, he additionally obtained Swiss citizenship.[2] In 2010, he legally changed his name toUdo Jürgens Bockelmann.
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 Frenchchanson style. His compositions and arrangements attracted fans of all ages, and he continued to fill venues in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland until his death at age 80.[3]
In 1952,Udo Bolan, as he was called then, formed the Udo Bolan Quartet inKlagenfurt, 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.[4]
In 1950, he won a composer contest organized by Austria's public broadcasting channelORF with the song "Je t'aime". He wrote the 1961 worldwide hit "Reach for the Stars", sung byShirley Bassey.[5]
Jürgens' song "Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen" came fourth in 1965'scontest, and on his third try, he won theEurovision Song Contest 1966 in Luxembourg with "Merci, Chérie", which became an English-language hit forVince Hill, another cover by Monro, and one of Jürgens' most recognized compositions. Jürgens' version alone sold over one million copies, and he was awarded agold disc by Deutsche Vogue in 1966.[6]
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 theGermany national football team in 1978 in Argentina.[7]
In 1977, he invitedThe Supremes to appear as guests on his televised and recorded gala concert. The Supremes (Mary Wilson,Scherrie Payne, andSusaye 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 aduet with Jürgens' "Walk Away" in English.[8]
Jürgens in 1987
In 1979, he released adisco album entitledUdo '80, which spawned the hit single "Ich weiß was ich will". This song was also released as a12" disco single in an extendedremix for nightclubs.
On 2 December 2007, thejukebox musicalIch war noch niemals in New York ("I've never been to New York") opened inHamburg'sOperettenhaus. It weaves songs by Jürgens into a familial storyline, similar to the treatment ofABBA songs inMamma Mia!, the musical succeeded at the venue.
LikeKeith Richards, Jürgens is very famous in Argentina, where he has one of the biggest fan bases outside of German speaking countries.[9]
Since 2015, Jürgens holds the worldwide-record as the artist with the longest presence in the charts ever—more than 57 years from his first entry 1958 till 2015. On 16 December 2022, a new album consisting of his legacies was released by his children. This reached #1 on the German charts on 24 December. Thus, Jürgens has been in the German charts for more than eight decades.[10]
"Merci, Chérie", whose original German lyrics were written byThomas Hörbiger, has been translated or adapted into several languages and covered by dozens of artists in both vocal and instrumental recordings. These versions include:
"Merci Chérie" by Claude Carrère and André Salvet (French)
Jürgens himself recorded many of the translations for international release, including a version in Japanese. More recent covers includeBelinda Carlisle's 2007 recording of the French version.[11]
Jürgens in 2010
In addition to recording Cavendish's "Merci, Chérie" lyric,Matt Monro covered five more Jürgens compositions, all with English lyrics (unrelated to the German ones), written by his managerDon Black. Four of these became closely associated with Monro (and were subsequently covered by Jürgens himself):
"Warum nur warum?" became "Walk Away" (a 1964 Top 40 hit in both the U.S. and UK)
"Du sollst die Welt für mich sein" became "Without You" (a 1965 UK Top 40 hit)
"Was ich dir sagen will" became "The Music Played" (1968)
A fifth Jürgens song, "In dieser Welt", became "Lovin' You Again", and in 1969, Matt Monro recorded both Spanish and English versions, the latter not released until August 2012.[12] (Monro also recorded Spanish versions of "Walk Away" and "The Music Played"; all three Spanish lyrics were adapted for Monro from Don Black's versions by Leonardo Schultz, who also produced the Spanish recordings.)
In one of his last recording sessions,Bing Crosby covered an English version of Jürgens' "Griechischer Wein" called "Come Share the Wine", which also was written by Black.[13] The song was released after Crosby's death in 1977 as the title track of a compilation album and was later recorded byAl Martino.
In 1979,Marty Robbins released an English version of "Buenos Dias Argentina" that became a latter-day standard for Robbins.[14]
On 21 December 2014, Udo Jürgens collapsed unconscious during a walk in the municipality ofGottlieben (Canton of Thurgau), where he had rented a house. Despite resuscitation attempts, he died at the Cantonal Hospital inMünsterlingen at the age of 80 due to heart failure. Two weeks earlier, he had completed the first part of his 25th concert tour in Zurich which covered 27 cities. The tour began on 24 October 2014 inHeilbronn and ended inZurich Hallenstadion on 7 December 2014. His final public performance took place on 12 December 2014, at theVelodrom in Berlin during theHelene Fischer Show. The performance was broadcast onZDF on 25 December 2014.
On 15 January 2015, around 200 friends, family and companions gathered inZurich for a memorial service to bid farewell to Udo Jürgens. His urn was placed in the Volkshalle of theVienna City Hall, allowing the public to pay their final respects. High-ranking officials, including the then Austrian PresidentHeinz Fischer and ChancellorWerner Faymann, signed the condolence books. Jürgens was laid to rest in an honorary grave of the City of Vienna at theVienna Central Cemetery.
The gravestone, depicting a grand piano draped in a white mourning cloth, was designed by his brother Manfred Bockelmann and sculpted in Laas marble by artist Hans Muhr. The memorial plaque features one of his lyrics—after multiple corrections of an initially misspelled inscription—reading: "Ihr seid das Notenblatt, das alles für mich war. Ich lass’ Euch alles – ich lass’ Euch alles da!" ("You are the sheet music that meant everything to me. I leave you everything – I leave you everything behind!").[citation needed]
Between 23 January and 30 January 2025, a selection of Udo Jürgens' possessions was auctioned bySotheby’s. The proceeds will go to the Udo Jürgens Foundation, which supports children without parental care and provides assistance to young musical talents.[citation needed]
One of the highlights of the auction was a Schimmel transparent concert grand piano from Jürgens' estate, which sold for €240,000—far exceeding its estimated value which had originally been valued at €20,000 to €30,000.[15]
The auction, which included many other memorabilia from Jürgens’ life, saw overwhelming demand, with nearly 400 bidders placing a total of 3,150 bids. In the end, the total auction proceeds amounted to approximately €1.7 million—far surpassing the initial estimate of €370,000 to €500,000 for the entire collection.[16]
AsJürgens was not the real family name of Udo Jürgens, he was not related to real Jürgens' like the singerAndrea Jürgens (1967 – 2017) or the actorCurd Jürgens (1915 – 1982).
"Aber bitte mit Sahne" (hits compilation including a new song and two remakes) (1994)
"140 Tage Café Größenwahn Tour 94/95" (1995)
"Zärtlicher Chaot" (1995)
"Gestern-Heute-Morgen" (1996)
"Gestern-Heute-Morgen – Live '97" (1997)
"Aber bitte mit Sahne 2" (hits compilation including eight remakes) (1998)
"Ich werde da sein" (1999)
"Mit 66 Jahren (Was wichtig ist)" (2000)
"Mit 66 Jahren – Live 2001" (2001)
"Es lebe das Laster" (2002)
"Es werde Licht" (2003)
"Es Lebe das Laster – Udo Live" (2004)
"Jetzt oder nie" (2005)
"Der Solo-Abend – Live am Gendarmenmarkt" (2005)
"Jetzt oder nie – Live 2006" (2006)
"Einfach ich" (2008)
"Einfach ich – Live 2009" (2009)
"Best Of" (including a remake live byMTV Unplugged) (2009)
"Der ganz normale Wahnsinn" (2011)
"Der Mann mit dem Fagott" (soundtrack to his own film) (2011)
"Der ganz normale Wahnsinn – Live" (2012)
"Mitten im Leben" (2014)
"Udo Jürgens Live – Das letzte Konzert Zürich 2014 mit dem Orchester Pepe Lienhard" (new live album recorded at his last concert of his last tour, 7 December 2014, only two weeks before he died) (2015)
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