1966: Udo Jürgens Wins the Song Contest

On 5 March 1966, Udo Jürgens won the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne in Luxembourg. In 1964 he had asked Warum nur, warum? (Why, Oh Why?) and come sixth, while in 1965 he reached fourth place with Sag ihr, ich laß sie grüßen (Tell Her I Say Hello). His third attempt was rewarded with victory: Merci, Chérie received almost twice as many points as the runner-up in 1966. At the end of the evening, the previous year’s winner, France Gall, presented him with the winner’s medal. The following year, the contest was held in Vienna’s Hofburg palace. These Song Contest performances launched Udo Jürgens’s international career, with successful chart hits and tours of several European countries.

Jürgens, however, was not the only returning artist in 1966. Domenico Modugno had reached number 1 in the US charts in 1958 with Nel blu dipinto di blue (better known as Volare) and won two Grammys, but had only come third in the contest. The following year he had entered with Piove (“Ciao, ciao bambina”)—a song that also became a classic hit but only managed sixth place. Returning in 1966, he finished last with Dio, come ti amo (God, How I Love You).

Norwegian singer Åse Kleveland became the first woman to perform at the Song Contest in trousers in 1966. She came third with Intet er nytt under solen (Nothing New Under the Sun). She returned to the song contest in 1986—not as a singer but as a presenter. That same year she became chairperson of the Norwegian government’s Equal Rights Council. Between 1990 and 1996, Kleveland served as minister of culture in the government of Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norway’s first woman prime minister.

Two years after his victory, Udo Jürgens was back at the Song Contest but in a different role: he composed the song 1000 Fenster (1000 Windows) for Czechoslovakian singer Karel Gott, who performed it for Austria in 1968—the year of the Prague Spring.