The nation of Germany, and the pop music industry in general, got a bit of tough news today when it was announced that performer and songwriter Udo Juergens had passed away from heart failure at the age of 80. He was one of those performers who was an absolute smash in Europe, selling more than 100 million records across the continent—particularly in Germany and his homeland of Austria—but unfortunately his fame never caught on quite so well in the United States. If you're not familiar with his body of work, let Music Times give you a quick trip through is biography in five recordings:
"Reach For The Stars" by Shirley Bassey (1961)
As with many a performer, from Pharrell Williams to Bruno Mars, Juergens was doing work behind the scenes before he became a superstar himself. His most iconic hit as a songwriter came for Shirley Bassey, and American vocal star who performed the song in English as was translated by Norman Newell. The song rose to no. 1 on the UK Singles Charts and guaranteed Juergens a place in history. After all, even if listeners only heard Bassey on the recording, they knew there was songwriter with massive potential lurking behind it.
"Walk Away" by Matt Monro (1964)
"Walk Away" was where Juergens began to get credit from an international audience not only for his work as a songwriter but also for his abilities as a performer. Not that the whole wide world necessarily heard his voice. He only needed one person to hear it and that was Matt Monro. Juergens was performing on behalf of Austria in the annual pop music competition Eurovision and delivered his own tune, "Warum nor warum?" ("Only why, why?") as the entry. The performance only managed to get Austria sixth place but established vocalist Monro was convinced, and had Don Black translate the song into "Walk Away." The song got to no. 4 on the UK charts and no. 23 in the United States, about as high as Juergens would reach across the pond.
"Merci, Chérie" by Udo Juergens (1966)
Juergens was nothing if not persistent. He wasn't going to be thwarted from his goal of Eurovision dominance, placing no. 4 during 1965 with "Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen" ("Tell Her I Send My Regards"), and of course you recall him placing no. 6 during 1964. Austria and Juergens finally had their day during 1966 when the performer took home gold with his "Mercie, Chérie." The track became gold for other performers as well, as Monro made another cover and fellow Brit Vince Hill made a hit of it as well. Versions have been released in French (the original is actually in German, despite the title), Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Romanian and Polish. Another gold reference: This single sold more than a million copies, earning a gold record for Juergens...for his own work no less. One interesting aside: This was the last time Austria would win Eurovision until Conchita Wurst during 2014.
"Mit 66 Jahren" by Udo Juergens (1977)
There are a few exceptions but pop music isn't exactly a great place to be if you've entered middle age. Madonna is still an arena-packing goddess but her famous kiss partner Britney Spears hasn't stayed atop the charts as easily. No doubt Juergens had heard similar whispers while he was touring at the age of 41 circa 1977 and opted to respond in the form of "Mit 66 Jahren" or, roughly translated, "At 66 Years." The lyrics, if you choose to interpret them, tell the story of a man retired who's taken advantage of the situation and is tearing about the country with "Grandma." This track is also worth noting because unlike the rest of the tracks we've treated you to, it takes a hopper rock 'n' roll approach, compared to Juergens' notable ballads.
"Buenos Aíres, Argentina" by Udo Juergens and The German National Football Team (1978)
Obviously a performer with the sales record of Juergens was a cultural icon regardless of what he did off of his recordings. Perhaps no other moment will stick in the minds of Germans as when the vocalist, finally having adopted to his biggest fans, performed his hit "Buenos Aíres, Argentina," alongside the German National Football team prior to the 1978 World Cup that, as you probably guessed, was being hosted in the South American country that year. It can be argued whether the team was happy about the situation (check out the faces in the video below) but Juergens was at the top of his game.
