Born Jürgen Udo Bockelmann in Klagenfurt on 30 September 1934, died in Münsterlingen, Switzerland, on 21 December 2014; Udo Jürgens was an Austrian composer and singer and from 2007 also a Swiss citizen. In 1948 he began his music studies at the Klagenfurt Conservatory. At his third attempt he won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1966 with “Merci, Chérie”; from 1970 he worked with the lyricist Michael Kunze, and “Griechischer Wein” became the hit of the year in 1975. In 2007 the musical “Ich war noch niemals in New York”, built on his songs, was premiered in Hamburg. He wrote more than 1000 songs and released over 50 albums. In the Cybele catalogue he appears on two gala recordings: on Doc Heilein and Friends Gala 2021 – Joyful (2022) and on Doc Heilein and Friends Gala 2023 – Ich will keine Schokolade (2023) Matthias Heilein sings “Was wichtig ist”, which he released in 2000, with lyrics by Michael Kunze, on his album “Mit 66 Jahren (Was wichtig ist)”.
Udo Jürgens
Composer
