page_title: Udo Jürgens
section_title: Cover versions
hierarchical_section_title: Udo Jürgens / Cover versions
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Udo Jürgens bei seinem Auftritt „Der Soloabend 2010“ am 11. September 2010 im Römersteinbruch St. Margarethen auf der Bühne der Opernfestspiele St. Margarethen in Sankt Margarethen im Burgenland (de:) English: Udo Jürgens in concert at “Der Soloabend 2010” in Sankt Margarethen im Burgenland (Austria)
context_page_description: Udo Jürgens was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over fifty years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, composed close to 1,000 songs, and sold over 100 million records. In 2007 he additionally obtained Swiss citizenship.
  He is credited with broadening German-language pop music beyond the traditional postwar "Schlager" in the 1950s by infusing it with a modern pop appeal and French chanson style. His compositions and arrangements attracted fans of all ages. Until his death at age 80 he continued to fill venues in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
context_section_description: "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" by Vito Pallavicini (Italian)
  "Merci Cherie" by Baker Cavendish (English)
  "Merci Cherie" by Fred Bekky (Dutch)
  "Merci Chérie" by Al Sandström (Swedish)
  "Merci Chérie" by Gina Trandafirescu (Romanian)
  "Merci Cheri" by Andrzej Ozga (Polish)
  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.
  In addition to recording Cavendish's "Merci, Chérie" lyric, Matt Monro covered five more Jürgens compositions, all with English lyrics (unrelated to the German ones) written by his manager Don Black. Four of these became closely associated with the British singer (and were subsequently covered by Jürgens himself): 
  "Warum nur warum?" became "Walk Away" (a 1964 Top 40 hit in both the U.S. and UK)
  "Du sollst die Welt für mich sein" became "Without You" (a 1965 UK Top 40 hit)
  "Was Ich Dir Sagen Will" became "The Music Played" (1968)
  "Illusionen" became "If I Never Sing Another Song" (1977), which was later performed by Frankie Laine, Shirley Bassey, Sammy Davis, Jr., and other entertainers.
  A fifth Jürgens song, "In Dieser Welt," became "Lovin' You Again," and in 1969 Monro recorded both Spanish and English versions, the latter not released until August 2012. (Monro also recorded Spanish versions of "Walk Away" and "The Music Played"; all three Spanish lyrics were adapted for Monro from Black's versions by Leonardo Schultz, who also produced the Spanish recordings.)
  In one of his last recording sessions, Bing Crosby covered an English version of Jürgens' "Griechischer Wein" called "Come Share The Wine," which also was written by Black. The song was released after Crosby's death in 1977 as the title track of a compilation album and was later recorded by Al Martino.
  In the early 1990s, the German thrash metal band Sodom released a 'metalized' cover of the boogie "Aber bitte mit Sahne".
  In 2009 the German band Sportfreunde Stiller covered "Ich war noch niemals in New York" together with Jürgens on their MTV Unplugged concert in Munich.
caption: Udo Jürgens, 2010
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