Germany has lost one of its biggest music icons as pop star Udo Juergens passed away at the age of 80. The vocalist and songwriter, who sold more than 100 million records throughout his career according to Billboard, collapsed while out for a walk. Doctors said that his death was the cause of heart of failure.
Juergens was born into what he called an "extremely bourgeois family" in Austria but found his calling behind the keys of a piano and not at the bank where his father worked. He took the popular route to pop stardom during the mid-'60s, appearing several times on the Eurovision competition on behalf of Austria, finally winning during 1966 with "Merci, Cherie."
As things are wont to do in Europe, he had a number of hits across various countries. "Warum nor, warm" went to no. 1 in France, while the English version (sung by Matt Monroe) got to no. 2 in Britain. Germany was always his most popular region however, as his constant stream of hits made him one of the biggest stars in the nation's history. Billboard reports that a 1969 poll of young people in the country found him to be one their most beloved figures, along with John F. Kennedy and Mao Zedong.
During 1970 he toured in Germany and Austria as well as Eastern European countries that were part of the Soviet bloc. He played more than 200 shows during the run and drew in more than 500,000 fans to the shows.
One of his favorite musicians during his youth was George Gershwin and, like the American standards composer, he took no issue blurring the lines between pop and classical music. He even composed "Wort" for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra during 1979.
