Udo Jürgens

Udo Jürgens (born Jürgen Udo Bockelmann; 30 September 1934 – 21 December 2014) was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, composed close to 1,000 songs, and sold over 104 million records. In 2007, he additionally obtained Swiss citizenship.

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 French chanson 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.

In 1952, Udo Bolan, as he was called then, formed the Udo Bolan Quartet in Klagenfurt, 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.

In 1950, he won a composer contest organized by Austria's public broadcasting channel ORF with the song "Je t'aime". He wrote the 1961 worldwide hit "Reach for the Stars", sung by Shirley Bassey.

In 1964, Jürgens represented Austria for the first time at the Eurovision Song Contest 1964 with the song "Warum nur, warum?", finishing sixth. The UK participant, Matt Monro, was impressed with the melody and covered the song (with English lyrics by his manager Don Black) as "Walk Away", which reached number four in the UK Singles Chart and number 23 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Jürgens' song "Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen" came fourth in 1965's contest, and on his third try, he won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 in Luxembourg with "Merci, Chérie", which became an English-language hit for Vince Hill, another cover by Monro, and one of Jürgens' most recognized compositions. Jürgens' version alone sold over one million copies, and he was awarded a gold disc by Deutsche Vogue in 1966.

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 the Germany national football team in 1978 in Argentina.

"Merci, Chérie", whose original German lyrics were written by Thomas 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)

"Merci Cherie" by Baker Cavendish (English)

"Merci Chérie" by Gina Trandafirescu (Romanian)

Jürgens himself recorded many of the translations for international release, including a version in Japanese. More recent covers include Belinda Carlisle's 2007 recording of the French version.

On 21 December 2014, Udo Jürgens collapsed unconscious during a walk in the municipality of Gottlieben (Canton of Thurgau), where he had rented a house. Despite resuscitation attempts, he died at the Cantonal Hospital in Münsterlingen 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 in Heilbronn and ended in Zurich Hallenstadion on 7 December 2014. His final public performance took place on 12 December 2014, at the Velodrom in Berlin during the Helene Fischer Show. The performance was broadcast on ZDF on 25 December 2014.

On 15 January 2015, around 200 friends, family and companions gathered in Zurich for a memorial service to bid farewell to Udo Jürgens. His urn was placed in the Volkshalle of the Vienna City Hall, allowing the public to pay their final respects. High-ranking officials, including the then Austrian President Heinz Fischer and Chancellor Werner Faymann, signed the condolence books. Jürgens was laid to rest in an honorary grave of the City of Vienna at the Vienna 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!").

Between 23 January and 30 January 2025, a selection of Udo Jürgens' possessions was auctioned by Sotheby’s. The proceeds will go to the Udo Jürgens Foundation, which supports children without parental care and provides assistance to young musical talents.

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.

His brother, Manfred Bockelmann (born 1 July 1943), is a painter.

His son by his first marriage, John Jürgens (born 20 February 1964), is a singer, actor and DJ.