winner, 1966
Udo Jürgens
Udo Jürgens sang at three Eurovision Song Contests, in 1964, 1965 and 1966, for Austria, and won in 1966 with “Merci, Chérie”.
- who
- Austrian singer and composer
- born
- 30 September 1934, Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria
- died
- 21 December 2014 (aged 80), Münsterlingen, Switzerland
- contests
- 1964, 1965, 1966
- win
- 1966
- music
- pop, schlager, chanson
- plays
- piano
- active
- 1957 to 2014
- sang for
- Austria
Biography
Udo Jürgens was an Austrian composer and singer whose career lasted more than fifty years. Jürgens sang for Austria three years running, finishing sixth in 1964, fourth in 1965 and first in 1966, with “Merci, Chérie”.
Jürgens wrote close to a thousand songs and sold more than 100 million records, and is credited with taking German-language pop beyond post-war schlager by bringing in modern pop and French chanson. The concert halls of Germany, Austria and Switzerland stayed full to the end.
Written by ESC Predictions, 8 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, “Udo Jürgens”.
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The act’s own accounts, as listed on Wikidata. If one is wrong or out of date, tell us and we’ll take it down.
At Eurovision
Three songs, oldest first, and what became of each.
-
1964 Copenhagen
“Warum nur, warum?”
6th of 16 Finished 6th of 16, with 11 points.
- Sung in
- German
- Written by
- Udo Jürgens
- Conductor
- Johannes Fehring
- Running order
- 6th of 16
- Age on the night
- 29
- Won that year
- Italy: Gigliola Cinquetti, “Non ho l'età”
The story of Eurovision 1964: A banner on the stage, and the biggest landslide there has been
-
1965 Naples
“Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen”
4th of 18 Finished 4th of 18, with 16 points.
- Sung in
- German
- Written by
- Frank Bohlen, Udo Jürgens
- Conductor
- Gianni Ferrio
- Running order
- 6th of 18
- Age on the night
- 30
- Won that year
- Luxembourg: France Gall, “Poupée de cire, poupée de son”
-
1966 Luxembourg City
“Merci, Chérie”
Winner Won the contest with 31 points, ahead of 17 other songs.
- Sung in
- German
- Written by
- Thomas Hörbiger, Udo Jürgens
- Conductor
- Hans Hammerschmid
- Running order
- 9th of 18
- Age on the night
- 31
Play: Udo Jürgens — “Merci, Chérie”, the winning performance at Eurovision 1966 hear it YouTube the contest’s channel Spotify search Apple Music search
The story of Eurovision 1966: Third time lucky for Udo Jürgens — and nul points for Modugno
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Away from Eurovision
Other contests and shows
- Sanremo Music Festival 1965
- Sanremo Music Festival 1968
Awards
- Bambi Award 1970, 1984, 1999
- Paul-Lincke-Ring 1981
- Goldene Stimmgabel 1984, 1986, 1992, 2001
- Echo Pop Honorary Award 1994
- Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1994
- Amadeus Austrian Music Awards 2000, 2001
- Golden Feather 2000
- Berliner Bär 2007
As recorded on Wikidata, which is rarely the whole list.
In our contest stories
What we wrote about Udo Jürgens, year by year. Follow a link for the rest of that night.
- 1965 Eighteen
Three singers had done this before: Spain's Conchita Bautista, Yugoslavia's Vice Vukov, and Austria's Udo Jürgens, back for a second year running.
- 1966 The result
Austria won for the first time. Udo Jürgens had finished sixth in 1964 and fourth in 1965; at the third attempt, "Merci, Chérie" took 31 points, nearly double the runner-up. It was the first winning song in German.
Results as published by the European Broadcasting Union. Biographical details from Wikidata. The photo is from Wikimedia Commons and is credited beside it. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.