Margot Eskens
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Margot Eskens (12 August 1936 – 29 July 2022) was a German Schlager singer, most popular in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1956 and 1957 she had two #1 hits, "Tiritomba" (which sold over 800,000 copies) and "Cindy, oh Cindy", which was her biggest hit, which stayed for 25 weeks in the German Singles Top 10. Several duets with , the brother of
Caterina Valente Caterina Valente (born 14 January 1931) is a French multilingual singer, guitarist, and dancer of Italian ethnicity. Valente is a polyglot; she speaks six languages, and sings in eleven. While she is best known as a performer in Europe, Valent ...
, also ensued. Eskens collaborated with producer/songwriter
Kurt Feltz Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...
until 1961. She participated in the Deutscher Schlager-Festspiele in 1962, winning third place behind
Conny Froboess Cornelia Froboess (; born 28 October 1943) is a German actress and a teen idol of the 1950s and early 1960s. During that time, Froboess appeared in many West Germany, West German and Austrian musical films, especially after the rock and roll wave ...
and
Siw Malmkvist Siw Gunnel Margareta Malmkvist (born 31 December 1936) is a Swedish schlager singer and actress popular in Scandinavia and West Germany. She had a number one hit in West Germany in 1964 with "''Liebeskummer lohnt sich nicht''" (''"Lovesickness ...
. In 1966, she represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest and won tenth place. At the end of the 1980s she began to record more traditional "Schlagermusik" like her album ''Mein Traumland am Wörthersee'' (1990). She continued to be a frequent guest on television programs into the 2000s.


Early career

Eskens was born in Düren on 12 August 1936. Margot Esken's father Karl Eskens was already a solo entertainer, who introduced her to the music business and the entertainment industry at an early age. In 1954, while working as a
dental assistant Dental assistants are members of the dental team. They support a dental operator (such as a dentist or other treating dental auxiliary) in providing more efficient dental treatment. ''Dental assistants'' are distinguished from other groups of de ...
, Eskens won a
Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
talent competition with the song "Moulin Rouge". A contract with Polydor followed, and as early as October 1955 she had her first hit in Germany with "Ich möcht' heut' ausgehn" ("I Would Like To Go Out Today). In the years 1956 and 1957 she had number one hits with "Tiritomba", which sold over 800,000 copies, and "Cindy, oh Cindy". Several duets with Silvio Francesco were also well received by the audience. The record of the two with the title Mondschein-Partie sold most frequently in 1959. But she also recorded popular titles with
René Carol Gerhard Tschierschnitz, known as René Carol (Berlin, 11 April 1920 - Minden, 9 April 1978), was a German Schlager singer of the 1950s and 1960s. Hit singles Song title, year, German chart placement (all on Polydor) *''Maria aus Bahia'', 1948 ...
,
Willy Hagara Willy Hagara (4 June 1927 – 15 May 2015) was an Austrian schlager pop singer and actor. Born in Vienna, he worked for the Austrian postal service before winning a talent competition in the Vienna Konzerthaus in 1946. Credited at the time a ...
, Udo Jürgens ,
Will Brandes Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
and
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 ...
. The Krefeld producer and lyricist
Kurt Feltz Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...
, with whom Eskens worked until 1961, was responsible for this success. The new team of producers under
Hans Bertram Hans Bertram (26 February 1906 – 8 January 1993) was a German aviator, screenwriter and film director. Biography Early life Hans Bertram was born on 26 February 1906 in Remscheid, Germany. Career During 1920, Bertram trained under flyi ...
was not able to build on that, but in 1962 the song ''Ein Herz, das kann man nicht essen'' achieved considerable success again. With this title, Polydor sent Margot Eskens to the German Schlager Festival in 1962. There she finished third behind
Conny Froboess Cornelia Froboess (; born 28 October 1943) is a German actress and a teen idol of the 1950s and early 1960s. During that time, Froboess appeared in many West Germany, West German and Austrian musical films, especially after the rock and roll wave ...
and
Siw Malmkvist Siw Gunnel Margareta Malmkvist (born 31 December 1936) is a Swedish schlager singer and actress popular in Scandinavia and West Germany. She had a number one hit in West Germany in 1964 with "''Liebeskummer lohnt sich nicht''" (''"Lovesickness ...
. In 1963,
Heidi Brühl Heidi Rosemarie Brühl (; 30 January 1942 – 8 June 1991) was a German singer and actress who came to prominence as a young teenager and had a prolific career in film and television. She was also a successful recording artist, and is known for ...
was nominated directly for the Eurovision Song Contest with the title Marcel . But since she had health problems which curtailed her participation, Margot Eskens also recorded the song in order to understudy in for Brühl if necessary. In 1964, Eskens took part again at the German Schlager Festival in
Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with Fra ...
with the hit ''Eine Reise'' in the past, reaching sixth place and finishing 10th out of the 18 participants. In the meantime she reached number eight in the charts with ''Mama'' in 1964. In the following years she was no longer one of the current hit stars. The change to the record companies
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
and Columbia was unsuccessful, and she withdrew from the popular recording business.


Comeback and other work

After losing DM100,000 when the
Herstatt Bank Herstatt Bank (Bankhaus I.D. Herstatt K.G.a.A.) was a privately owned bank in the German city of Cologne. It went bankrupt on 26 June 1974, an event widely referred to as the Herstatt crisis. Herstatt's failure specifically highlighted the importa ...
collapsed in 1974, she attempted a comeback. This resulted in the release of the singles ''Life is Beautiful'' (1975) and ''Don't Think About Tomorrow'' (1977). Eskens didn't hit the charts with later singles and albums, but she still made appearances on stage and on television until the early 2010s. Margot Eskens has appeared in numerous television shows and several films. She was married to her manager Karl-Heinz Münchow (1922-2011), with whom she lived for a long time on Lake Wörthersee. After the death of her husband, she withdrew from public life. She was diagnosed with
dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
in 2013 and lived in a
nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...
until her death. Eskens died in 2022 just days before her 86th birthday. She was buried in Cologne's
Melaten Cemetery Melaten is the central cemetery of Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, which was first mentioned in 1243. It was developed to a large park, holding the graves of notable residents. Name The name "Melaten" refers to a hospital for the sick and l ...
, corridor Y (26).


Discography


Albums

* 1960: ''Margot Eskens'' (25-cm-LP) * 1963: ''Bonjour la France'' (Kompilation, u. a. mit Margot Eskens) * 1964: ''Serenade der Liebe'' * 1987: ''Dieses Gefühl'' * 1990: ''Such’ mit mir die Zärtlichkeit'' * 1993: ''Auch Matrosen haben Heimweh'' * 2009: ''Ich für Dich'' * 2011: ''Achterbahn der Liebe''


Singles

Hits that reached the German Top 20Günther Ehnert (ed. (1990): ''Hit Bilanz. Deutsche Chart Singles 1956–1980''. Hamburg: Taurus Press p. 70 * Ich möcht’ heut’ ausgehn, 1955, #3 * Tiritomba, 1956, #1 * Mamatschi, 1956, #9 * Cindy, oh Cindy, 1957, #1 * Calypso Italiano, 1957, #9 (with Silvio Francesco) * Wenn du wieder mal auf Cuba bist, 1957, #12 (with Silvio Francesco) * Wenn du wiederkommst, 1958, #11 (with Silvio Francesco) * Himmelblaue Serenade, 1958, #8 (with Silvio Francesco) * Du bist mir lieber als die andern, 1959, #12 (with Silvio Francesco) * Mondschein-Partie, 1959, #5 (with Silvio Francesco) * Wenn du heimkommst, 1961, #18 * Ein Herz, das kann man nicht kaufen, 1962, #19 * Mama, 1964, #8


Other singles

* 1956: "Mamatschi" * 1956: "In dem kleinen Café" * 1956: "Peterle" * 1957: "Calypso Italiano" (with Silvio Francesco) * 1958: "Vergiß mich nicht so schnell" (with Peter Alexander) * 1958: "Andalusische Märchen" * 1959: "Drei Takte Musik im Herzen" * 1961: "Vergiß nicht, daß ich bei dir bin" (with René Carol) * 1961: "Ich möcht’ mit dir verheiratet sein" (with Will Brandes) * 1963: "Weiße Weihnacht (White Christmas)" * 1964: "Eine Reise in die Vergangenheit" * 1966: " Die Zeiger der Uhr" * 1975: "Das Leben ist schön" * 2005: "Vom Baum gefallen"


Filmography

* '' Auf Wiedersehen'' (1961)


References


External links


Margot Eskens
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eskens, Margot 1936 births 2022 deaths People from Düren German women singers Schlager musicians Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Germany Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1966