1963: First Israeli Singer at the Eurovision Song Contest
Carmela Corren sings for Austria
Carmela Corren, born Carmela Bizmann in Tel Aviv in 1938, was discovered by a US television crew who saw her singing during her military service. She made her international debut with a performance on the Ed Sullivan Show, followed by a tour with Cliff Richard. In the early 1960s she moved to Germany where singers with foreign accents were in high demand on the Schlager music scene.
She recorded her first German-language single Sei nicht traurig, geliebte Mama (Don’t Be Sad, Dear Mother) by learning the words phonetically. Her artistic breakthrough came in 1962 with the song Eine Rose aus Santa Monica (A Rose from Santa Monica) at the Deutsche Schlagerfestspiele, a pop contest in Germany. More singles, numerous television appearances and film work followed.
Vielleicht geschieht ein Wunder, performed by: Carmela Corren, music: Erwin Halletz, lyrics: Peter Wehle, Eurovision Song Contest, 1963
In 1963, Corren was selected by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) to represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest in London. She came 7th with Vielleicht geschieht ein Wunder (Maybe a Miracle will Happen). The song was written by Erwin Halletz and Peter Wehle, with a section in English by Norman Newell. A few acts after Corren, another Israeli singer, Esther Ofarim, sang for Switzerland. It was not until ten years later that Israel took part in the ESC for the first time as a country. In 1964, Corren married jazz musician Horst Benny Geiger and they had two children. Her subsequent career was more modest. Even a later move to the USA did not lead to a comeback. Corren lived a secluded life with her partner Larry in Hollywood, Florida, where she passed away on 15 January 2022.
Link:
Episode #0201 of the podcast Merci, Cherie. Der Eurovision Podcast about Carmela Corren. [in German]
