Ralph Siegel (born 30 September 1945) is a German record producer and songwriter. Siegel is one of the most notable figures at the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
, in which he has participated with 24 songs so far, among them the 1982 winner song
Ein bisschen Frieden
Ein or EIN may refer to: Science and technology
* Ein function, in mathematics
* Endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia, a lesion of the uterine lining
* Equivalent input noise, of a microphone
* European Informatics Network, a 1970s computer net ...
.
Life and career
Siegel is a prolific producer in the German genre of
Schlager music
Schlager music (, " hit(s)") is a style of European popular music that is generally a catchy instrumental accompaniment to vocal pieces of pop music with simple, happy-go-lucky, and often sentimental lyrics.
Typical Schlager tracks are eith ...
. Since the early 1970s, he worked with artists like
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 ...
,
Mary Roos
Mary Roos (born Rosemarie Schwab on 9 January 1949) is a German singer and actress.
Biography 1949-1970
Schwab was born in Bingen. At the age of nine, she recorded her first song "Ja die Dicken sind ja so gemütlich" as ''Die kleine Rosemarie ...
,
Heino
Heinz Georg Kramm (born 13 December 1938), known professionally as Heino, is a German singer of Schlager music, Schlager and traditional Volksmusik. Having sold a total of over 50 million records, he is one of the most successful German musici ...
,
Rex Gildo
Rex Gildo (formerly Alexander Gildo, born Ludwig Franz Hirtreiter; 2 July 1936 – 26 October 1999) was a German singer of Schlager ballads who reached the height of his popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, selling over 25 million records and st ...
,
Michael Holm
Michael Holm (born Lothar Walter; on 29 July 1943) is a German singer, musician, songwriter and record producer.
He is primarily known as a singer of Schlager music. Although his first appearance in the hit parade was in 1962 ("Lauter Schön ...
,
Chris Roberts,
Costa Cordalis
Costa Cordalis ( el, Κώστας Κορδαλής; born Konstantinos Cordalis; 1 May 19442 July 2019) was a Greek-German Schlager singer.
Biography
Born Konstantinos Cordalis in Elateia, Phthiotis, Cordalis moved to Germany in 1960. His 197 ...
,
Mireille Mathieu
Mireille Mathieu (; born 22 July 1946) is a French singer. She has recorded over 1200 songs in eleven languages, with more than 122 million records sold worldwide.
Biography and career
Early years
Mireille Mathieu was born on 22 July 1946 in A ...
,
Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to:
* Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player
* Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...
,
Roy Black,
Karel Gott
) Sinatra of the East( cs, Sinatra Východu, link=no)Divine Charlie[Marianne Rosenberg
Marianne Rosenberg (born 10 March 1955) is a German Schlager music singer and songwriter.
Personal background
Rosenberg is of Roma and Sinti background. Her father, Otto, an Auschwitz death camp survivor, was an activist on Roma and Sinti ...]
.
Since 1972 has participated with 24 songs in the Eurovision Song Contest, the latest being the
2017 Sammarinese
Sammarinese () are citizens and people of the Republic of San Marino.
Language
San Marino recognizes Italian as the official language. The indigenous language, known as Sammarinese, is a variety of Romagnol spoken by approximately 83 percent o ...
entry "
Spirit of the Night
San Marino participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, held in Kyiv, Ukraine. The Sammarinese national broadcaster Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV) internally selected Sammarinese singer Valentina Monetta and Ameri ...
" by
Valentina Monetta
Valentina Monetta (born 1 March 1975) is a Sammarinese singer. She is best known for representing in the , , , and Eurovision Song Contests. She also announced the Sammarinese points at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. In the 2014 contest, M ...
and
Jimmie Wilson. In 1982, Siegel's and
Bernd Meinunger
Bernd Meinunger (born 30 September 1944 in Meiningen) is a German lyricist and record producer (with Hanne Haller
Hanne Haller (January 14, 1950 in Rendsburg, Germany - November 15, 2005 in Tegernsee, Germany; full name Hannelore Haller) was a ...
's song
Ein bißchen Frieden
"Ein bißchen Frieden" (; "A Bit of Peace") is a German-language song, written by prolific German Eurovision-writing duo Ralph Siegel (music) and Bernd Meinunger (lyrics) for the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, held in Harrogate, United Kingdo ...
(A Little Peace), performed by
Nicole
Nicole may refer to:
People
* Nicole (name)
* Nicole (American singer) (born 1958), a contestant in season 3 of the American ''The X Factor''
* Nicole (Chilean singer) (born 1977)
* Nicole (German singer) (born 1964), winner of the 1982 Euro ...
won the Contest and became a hit in Europe. In 2003, both writers had success with
Let's Get Happy
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Let's Get Happy" written by Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger. The song was performed by German pop singer, Louise Hoffner, more commonly referred to as Lou. The German entry ...
, performed by
Lou which came in 11th. In February 2010, it was announced by RTÉ that he would have an entry in the Irish National Final-Eurosong 2010. The song titled ''River of Silence'' was performed by Lee Bradshaw. It finished in last place. He also composed 'C'était ma vie', performed by
Lys Assia
Lys Assia (born Rosa Mina Schärer; 3 March 1924 – 24 March 2018) was a Swiss singer who won the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Assia was born in Rupperswil, Aargau, and began her stage career as a dancer, but changed to singing in 1940 ...
for representing
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 62 times since making its debut at the first contest in , missing only four contests, in 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2003. Switzerland hosted the first contest in 1956 in Lugano, and won it. S ...
. She reached an 8th position in Swiss National Final.
Siegel organized a comeback event for the Disco band
Dschinghis Khan
Dschinghis Khan (; "Genghis Khan") was a German Eurodisco pop band. It was originally formed in Munich in 1979 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest with their song " Dschinghis Khan". The original group led by original members Henriette Str ...
in June 2018. Dschinghis Khan had been originally organized by Siegel and Dr. Bernd Meinunger to compete in the
1979 Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was the 24th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Jerusalem, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. Organised by th ...
. After the success of their first hit,
Dschinghis Khan
Dschinghis Khan (; "Genghis Khan") was a German Eurodisco pop band. It was originally formed in Munich in 1979 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest with their song " Dschinghis Khan". The original group led by original members Henriette Str ...
, both men continued to write popular songs for this band, including "
Moskau" and "Hadschi Halef Omar". Siegel makes a rare appearance playing classical guitar in 1984 video footage of Dschinghis Khan performing "Corrida" and "Olé Olé".
In 2021, Siegel premiered his musical ''Zeppelin''.
Personal life
Ralph Siegel's first marriage was to Dunja Siegel from Slovakia in 1975, with whom he had two daughters
Giulia Siegel
Giulia Siegel (born Julia Anna Marina Siegel, 10 November 1974, Munich) is a German actress, presenter, DJ, model, and the daughter of composer and producer Ralph Siegel. Siegel started her career in 1991 as a model using the alias ''Giulia Leg ...
(born 1974) and Marcella Siegel (born 1976). The couple divorced in 1989.
In 1992 he married Dagmar Kögel, (née Weber). His third daughter Alana Siegel was born in 1996. The couple separated in 2002.
His third marriage to the soprano
Kriemhild Siegel, (née Jahn), lasted from 2006 until the official separation in August 2014. The legal divorce then took place in 2016.
In 2015 he met the Swiss music manager Laura Käfer. After a 3-year relationship, the couple got married in September 2018 in the church Grünwald near
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
.
Laura Siegel brought her daughter Ruby Siegel (born 2000), (née Käfer) into the marriage.
Eurovision Song Contest participations
National final participations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siegel, Ralph
1945 births
Living people
German songwriters
German record producers
Eurovision Song Contest winners
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
Musicians from Munich
Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany