Ralph Siegel
Ralph Siegel (born September 30, 1945 in Munich ) is a German musician , composer and music producer .
Ralph Siegel is one of the defining figures of the Eurovision Song Contest ("Grand Prix") and has taken part in the international music competition 25 times so far. It is registered with GEMA with over 2000 titles . He is the owner of the record company Jupiter Records and the Siegel music publishers.
life and career
Childhood and youth
Ralph Siegel was born as the son of the pop composer Ralph Maria Siegel and the operetta singer Ingeborg Döderlein . His grandfather Rudolf Siegel worked as an opera composer , conductor and general music director in Krefeld .
Musical beginnings
Siegel learned to play various instruments from an early age, including drums , guitar , accordion and piano . After receiving lessons in harmony and composition, he wrote his first music tracks at the age of twelve under the pseudonym Peter Elversen. At the age of 19 he wrote the hit It's a Long Long Way to Georgia, sung by Don Gibson , which climbed to number 8 in the American country charts. Ralph Siegel made a name for himself in the German Schlager scene from 1966 by writing titles for well-known singers such as Mary Roos , Heino , Angela Wiedl , Rex Gildo , Michael Holm , Chris Roberts , Costa Cordalis , Mireille Mathieu , Udo Jürgens , Peter Alexander , Roy Black , Karel Gott and Marianne Rosenberg wrote.
Success as a producer
In 1974 he founded his own record company Jupiter Records. In the same year Ralph Siegel took part in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time. Ireen Sheer sang his song Bye Bye I Love You and took fourth place for Luxembourg . In 1976 his first contribution for Germany, Sing Sang Song , sung by the Les Humphries Singers , only reached 15th place. Further participation in the international music competition followed - to this day he has participated with 24 compositions and once as a producer.
He was particularly successful in 1975 when, together with Udo Jürgens, he produced the hits Der Teufel hat den Schnaps , Divorced , An honorable house and Greek wine .
Ralph Siegel was successful in the 1970s as the producer of the group Dschinghis Khan , which took part in a Eurovision Song Contest and came fourth. This was followed by several top positions in the German music charts.
Ralph Siegel celebrated his greatest success at the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 in Harrogate , when the singer Nicole won the Grand Prix with the song A Bit of Peace composed by Siegel . After Klaus Munro , who won the song Après toi for Luxemburg in 1972 , Siegel was the second German composer to take first place in the competition. He also achieved second place in 1980 ( theater , sung by Katja Ebstein ), 1981 ( Johnny Blue , sung by Lena Valaitis ) and 1987 ( Let the sun in your heart , sung by wind ), as well as in 1994 ( We give a party , sung by Mekado ) and in 1999 ( trip to Jerusalem , sung by Sürpriz ) a third place.
In his last Grand Prix participation for Germany in 2002 with I Can't Live Without Music ( Corinna May ) (21st place out of 24) and in 2003 with Let's Get Happy ( Lou ) (11th place out of 26), Ralph Siegel was less successfully. Since then, Ralph Siegel has also been writing titles for artists from other countries. In 2004 he took part in the Maltese preliminary decision with It's a Wonderful Life , sung by the sisters Ali & Lis , but after a defeat he produced the contribution On Again ... Off Again, interpreted by the duo Julie & Ludwig . In 2005 Siegel was represented with six songs at the Malta Song for Europe , five of which reached the top 10. He also tried his luck in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the song Sometimes I Wish I Were a Child Again, sung by the singer Tinka .
At the German preliminary decision in 2005 , Siegel wanted to appear under the pseudonym Mario Mathias in order to enable an impartial judgment on his song. However, it was already known before the broadcast that the song, A Miracle of Love, interpreted by Nicole Süßmilch and Marco Matias , was by Siegel. He reached second place.
In 1987 he won the German preliminary round under the pseudonym "Peter Elversen", a pseudonym he has been using since his youth. Other well-known pseudonyms are Werner Zylka, Peter Match and Serge Bonheur.
In 2006 he composed the musical Lachen! Written by Christian Berg . - The time of the clowns, which premiered on July 12th in Cuxhaven .
In 2010 Ralph Siegel made prostate cancer public after suffering from it since 2007. During this time, Ralph Siegel eluded the media a lot, but joined in 2010 in time for his 50-year-old composer anniversary among other things with his new artist Marcus Kuno public again in appearance and produced for him in our own recording studio the title Fly with me to the seventh heaven with his copywriter friend Bernd Opinion . In May 2014 he appeared again on a Eurovision Song Contest stage for the first time since 1982 and accompanied his protagonist Valentina Monetta on the piano . For the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 he wrote and composed the song for San Marino . In the competition “The Voice of Tomorrow” Siegel was looking for new artists in 2015 and discovered Julia Kollat ( sleepless because of you ), the winner, and second-placed Maurice Zappe ( Welcome to the head ). Laura Pinski competed with Siegel's composition Under the Sun We Are One in the German preliminary decision Our song for Stockholm for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 and came in fourth.
Marriages and children
In his first marriage, Ralph Siegel was married to the Slovak Dunja Siegel from 1975, from which the two daughters Giulia (* 1974) and Marcella Siegel (* 1976) were born. This marriage ended in divorce in 1989.
In 1992, Dagmar Kögel, nee Weber, married Dagmar Kögel for the second time. His third daughter, Alana Siegel (* 1996), was born from this marriage. The couple split in 2002.
His third marriage, in 2006 with the soprano Kriemhild Siegel , nee Jahn, lasted until the official separation in August 2014. The judicial divorce then took place in 2016.
In 2015 he met the Swiss music manager Laura Käfer. This, his fourth wedding, took place in September 2018. After a three-year relationship, they married in the Grünwald church near Munich. Laura Siegel, who is now Laura Siegel, brought Ralph Siegel's stepdaughter Ruby Siegel, who was born as Ruby Käfer, into this marriage in 2000.
Awards
- 1971: Grand Prix RTL National "German Production"
- 1978: Music Information Award "Pop National / International"
- 1980: Bambi as the best music producer
- 1982: Ralph Siegel was honored with the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon and in 1998 with the Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class.
- 1983: The Paul-Lincke-Ring
- 1983: The Augsburg lead line
- 1985: The golden tuning fork
- 1985: Golden Horseshoe (Karnevalsclub Stuttgarter Rößle eV)
- 1997: Order of Neidhammel
- 1998: Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class
- 2003: ADS media award "Lifetime Achievement"
- 2007: Ralph Siegel received the ECHO for his life's work. The laudation was given by pop singer Nicole ( A little peace ), with whom Ralph Siegel won the Grand Prix in 1982.
- 2010: Bavarian Order of Merit
- 2013: The Palatinate Saumagen Order
- 2015: Award of the badge of honor by GEMA
- 2015: Smago! Award "Mr. Grand Prix "
Success title
The following songs composed by Ralph Siegel reached the top 10 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland:
| year | title | Interpreter | Chart placements | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | AT | CH | |||
| 1972 | Fiesta Mexicana | Rex gildo | 5 | - | - |
| Our daily bread is love | Peter Alexander | 8th | 4th | - | |
| 1973 | Goodbye mom | Ireen Sheer | 5 | - | 2 |
| Pedro (mandolins at midnight) | Peter Alexander | 13 | 4th | - | |
| Somewhere a light burns for everyone | Peter Alexander | 10 | 7th | - | |
| 1974 | You can't always be seventeen | Chris Roberts | 3 | 10 | - |
| Marie, the last dance is just for you | Rex gildo | 6th | 17th | - | |
| 1975 | The last sirtaki (Come Melina, dance with me) | Rex gildo | 9 | - | - |
| 1979 | Genghis Khan | Genghis Khan | 1 | 8th | 3 |
| And sometimes you sure cry a few tears | Peter Alexander | 9 | 5 | 2 | |
| Moscow | Genghis Khan | 3 | 16 | 11 | |
| Babička | Karel Gott | 20th | - | - | |
| 1980 | Hajji Halef Omar | Genghis Khan | 7th | - | - |
| Farewell is a bit like dying | Katja Ebstein | 10 | - | 8th | |
| 1981 | Johnny Blue | Lena Valaitis | 9 | 14th | 12 |
| Loreley | Genghis Khan | 6th | - | 11 | |
| La Provence (you blooming land) | Nana Mouskouri | 17th | - | 8th | |
| Papa will fix it | Peter Alexander | 3 | - | - | |
| 1982 | Olé España |
Michael Schanze and the German national soccer team |
10 | - | - |
| A bit of peace | Nicole | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Papillon | Nicole | 23 | 11 | 10 | |
| 1983 | But I love you | Nicole with trio | 8th | 10 | - |
| 2007 | Papa penguin | Pigloo | 6th | 4th | 6th |
Participation in the Eurovision Song Contest
| year | Artist | country | title | space |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Ireen Sheer |
|
Bye, bye I love you | 4th |
| 1976 | The Les Humphries Singers |
|
Sing Sang Song | 15th |
| 1979 | Genghis Khan |
|
Genghis Khan | 4th |
| 1980 | Sophie & Magaly |
|
Papa Pingouin | 9 |
| 1980 | Katja Ebstein |
|
theatre | 2 |
| 1981 | Lena Valaitis |
|
Johnny Blue | 2 |
| 1982 | Nicole |
|
A bit of peace | 1 |
| 1985 |
Margo , Ireen Sheer, Chris Roberts , Malcolm Roberts , Franck Olivier & Diane Solomon |
|
Children, children, enfants | 13 |
| 1987 | wind |
|
Let the sun into your heart | 2 |
| 1988 | Maxi & Chris Garden |
|
Song for a friend | 14th |
| 1990 | Chris Kempers & Daniel Kovac |
|
To live free | 9 |
| 1992 | wind |
|
Dreams are for everyone | 16 |
| 1994 | Mekado |
|
We're having a party | 3 |
| 1997 | Bianca Shomburg |
|
time | 18th |
| 1999 | Surpriz |
|
Journey to Jerusalem - Kudus'e seyahat | 3 |
| 2002 | Corinna May |
|
I Can't Live Without Music | 21st |
| 2003 | Lou |
|
Let's get happy | 12 |
| 2004 | Julie & Ludwig a |
|
On Again ... Off Again | 12 |
| 2006 | six4one |
|
If We All Give a Little | 17th |
| 2009 | Andrea Demirović |
|
Just Get Out of My Life | (11) b |
| 2012 | Valentina Monetta |
|
The Social Network Song (OH OH-Uh-OH OH) | (14) b |
| 2013 | Valentina Monetta |
|
Crisalide (Vola) | (11) c |
| 2014 | Valentina Monetta |
|
Maybe (Forse) | 24 |
| 2015 | Michele Perniola & Anita Simoncini |
|
Chain of lights | (16) c |
| 2017 | Valentina Monetta ft. Jimmie Wilson |
|
Spirit of the Night | (18) c |
literature
- Ralph Siegel: The autobiography LangenMüller, 2015, ISBN 978-3784433837 .
Web links
- Works by and about Ralph Siegel in the catalog of the German National Library
- Biography at Ralph Siegel's record company Jupiter Records with a large picture
- Ralph Siegel in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Ralph Siegel in the Bavarian Musicians' Lexicon Online (BMLO)
- Ralph Siegel on MusicBrainz (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ralph Siegel: Cancer confession after three years. TIK-online, February 5, 2010.
- ↑ tz.de : Ralph Siegel: His tears of happiness , accessed on March 20, 2014.
- ↑ This is how Ralph Siegel celebrated his birthday in the Käferzelt oktoberfest-live.de, September 30, 2009.
- ↑ Marcus Kuno: Discography ( Memento of the original from March 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at jupiter-records.de.
- ↑ Boo for Russia, Wow for Ralph Siegel , Stern.de from May 7, 2014.
- ↑ The Voice of Tomorrow
- ↑ Ralph Siegel: His youngest daughter Alana is so pretty. Retrieved April 9, 2019 .
- ↑ Kriemhild Jahn: The divorce is over! Retrieved April 9, 2019 .
- ↑ Ralph Siegel is freshly in love. March 22, 2016, accessed April 30, 2019 .
- ↑ Ralph Siegel: He said 'yes' for the fourth time. September 15, 2018, accessed April 9, 2019 .
- ↑ DE: http://www.musicline.de http://germancharts.com - AT: http://www.austriancharts.at - CH: http://www.hitparade.ch
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Siegel, Ralph |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Elversen, Peter (pseudonym); Zylka, Werner (pseudonym); Match, Peter (pseudonym); Bonheur, Serge (pseudonym); Mathias, Mario (pseudonym) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German musician, pop composer and music producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 30, 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Munich |