Lale Andersen (23 March 1905 – 29 August 1972) was a German chanson singer-songwriter born in Bremerhaven (now part of Bremerhaven). She is best known for her interpretation of the song "Lili Marleen" in 1939, which by 1941 transcended the conflict to become World War II's biggest international hit. Popular with both the Axis powers and the Allies, Andersen's original recording spawned versions, by the end of the War, in most of the major languages of Europe, and by some of the most popular artists in their respective countries.
Biography
Early life
Andersen was born in
Bremerhaven and baptized
Elisabeth Carlotta Helena Berta Bunnenberg,
[Lehrke, G.: Wie einst Lili Marleen—Das Leben der Lale Andersen, Henschel Verlag, 2002; . In German.] but known informally as "Liese-Lotte"—a diminutive of her first two names—to friends and family; this continued after her first marriage when she was known as "Liselotte Wilke".
In 1922, aged 17, she married German Impressionist painter (1894–1971). They had three children: Björn, Carmen-Litta, and (1929–2017) the youngest of whom also enjoyed a career in the German music industry. Shortly after the birth of their last child, the marriage broke up. Leaving the children in the care of her siblings Thekla and Helmut, Andersen went to Berlin in October 1929,
"Lili Marleen" and the war years
While at the Kabarett der Komiker, she met
Norbert Schultze, who had composed the music for "
Lili Marleen". Andersen recorded the song in 1939, but it would become a hit only when the
Radio Belgrade (Belgrade Soldier's Radio), the radio station of the German armed forces in Eastern Europe, began broadcasting it in 1941. "Lili Marleen" quickly became immensely popular with German soldiers at the "front". The
transmitter of the radio station at Belgrade, was powerful enough to be received all over Europe and the Mediterranean,
and the song soon became popular with the Allied troops as well.
Andersen was awarded a gold disc for over one million sales of "Lili Marleen" His.
Career after World War II
After the war, Andersen all but disappeared as a singer. In 1949, she married Swiss composer
Artur Beul.
In 1952 she made a comeback with the song "Die blaue Nacht am Hafen", the lyrics of which she had written for herself.
In 1959, she had another hit "Ein Schiff wird kommen...", a cover version of "Never on Sunday", the title song from the movie of the same name, originally sung in Greek by
Melina Mercouri.
Each song won her a gold album in West Germany. In 1961, she participated as the West German representative in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Einmal sehen wir uns wieder", which only reached 13th place with three points. Fifty-six years old at the time, she held the record of the eldest participant at Eurovision for over 45 years – surpassed only in 2008 by the 75-year-old Croatian entertainer 75 Cents.
Throughout the 1960s, she toured Europe, the United States and Canada, until her farewell tour Goodbye memories in 1967. Two years later, she published a book Wie werde ich Haifisch? – Ein heiterer Ratgeber für alle, die Schlager singen, texten oder komponieren wollen ( How do I become a shark? – A cheerful companion for all who want to sing hit songs, write lyrics, or compose music), and in 1972, shortly before her death, her autobiography Der Himmel hat viele Farben ( The Sky Has Many Colours) appeared and topped the bestselling list of the West German magazine Der Spiegel.
Death
Andersen died of
liver cancer in Vienna on 29 August 1972, aged 67.
Her death was the first among female Eurovision contestants and German-speaking Eurovision contestants and, following
Jacques Pills and
Jean-Paul Mauric, the third among Eurovision contestants in general; Mauric also appeared in Eurovision 1961.
Footnotes
Further reading
-
Ahlborn-Wilke, D.: Wie Einst: In Memoriam Lale Andersen 1945–1972, Gauke Verlag, 1978; . In German.
-
Ahlborn-Wilke, D.: Lale Andersen. Erinnerungen – Briefe – Bilder, 4th ed.; Gauke Verlag, 1990; . In German.
-
Magnus-Andersen, L.: Lale Andersen, die Lili Marleen, Universitas Verlag, 1985; . In German.
External links
