Lale Anderson

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Biography

Lale Andersen (23 March 1905 & ndash; 29 August 1972) was a Germany|German chanson singer-songwriter born in Bremerhaven , Germany. She is best known for her interpretation of the song " Lili Marleen " in 1939, which became tremendously popular on both sides during the World War II|Second World War .

Early life

She was born in Bremerhaven|Lehe , now part of Bremerhaven and baptized Liese-Lotte Helene Berta Bunnenberg. Lehrke, G.: Wie einst Lili Marleen& mdash;Das Leben der Lale Andersen , Henschel Verlag, 2002; ISBN 3-89487-429-5. In German. In 1922, at the age of 17, she married Paul Ernst Wilke (1894& nbsp;& ndash; 1971), a local painter. They had three children together: Björn, Carmen-Litta, and Michael. Shortly after the birth of the third child, the marriage broke up. Leaving the children in the care of her relatives (sister Thekla and brother Helmut), Lale went to Berlin in October 1929,Nordsee-Zeitung of . where she reportedly studied acting at the Schauspielschule at the Deutsches Theater .D'heil, S.: , URL last accessed January 16, 2006. In 1931, her marriage ended in divorce., last accessed January 16, 2006. About the same year, she began appearing on stage in various cabaret s in Berlin.Deinert, M.: , last accessed January 16, 2006. From 1933 to 1937, she performed at the Schauspielhaus Zürich|Schauspielhaus in Zürich , where she also met Rolf Liebermann , , last accessed January 16, 2006. who would remain a close friend for the rest of her life. In 1938, Lale was in Munich at the cabaret Simpl , and soon afterwards joined the prestigious Kabarett der Komiker in Berlin.

"Lili Marleen" and the war years

While at the Kabarett der Komiker (Comedians Cabaret), she met Norbert Schultze , who had just written the music for " Lili Marleen ". Lale recorded the song in 1939, but it would only become a hit when the Radio Belgrade| Soldatensender Belgrad (Belgrade Soldier's Radio), the radio station of the German armed forces in occupied Yugoslavia 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.Ciceran, M.: "", last accessed January 16, 2006.

Nevertheless, Nazi officials did not like the sad song about parted lovers, and Joseph Goebbels prohibited its being played on the radio. Andersen was not allowed to perform publicly for nine months, not just because of the song but also because of her friendship with Rolf Liebermann, who was Jewish, and other Jewish artists she had met in Zurich. In desperation, Lale attempted to commit suicide.Deinert, M.: , last accessed January 16, 2006. When she was allowed to perform again, it was only subject to several conditions, one of which was she would not sing "Lili Marleen". Goebbels did order her to make a new "military" version of the song (with a significant drum) which was recorded in June 1942. In the remaining war years, Andersen had one minor appearance in a propaganda movie and was made to sing several propaganda songs in English.Deinert, M.: , last accessed January 16, 2006. Shortly before the end of the war, Lale retired to Langeoog , a small island off the North Sea coast of Germany.

Career after World War II

After the war, Lale Andersen all but disappeared as a singer. In 1949, she married Swiss composer Artur Beul .Probst, E.: ; URL last accessed January 16, 2006. In 1952 she made a comeback with the song "Die blaue Nacht am Hafen", which she had written the lyrics for herself.Nitschke, R.: , Südwestrundfunk|SWR 4 , March 2005. URL last accessed January 16, 2006. In 1959 she had another hit "Ein Schiff wird kommen...", a cover version of " Never on Sunday (song)|Never on Sunday ", the title song from the movie of the same name, originally sung in English by Melina Mercouri .Müller, P.: , last accessed January 16, 2006.
Both songs won her a gold album each in Germany. In 1961, she participated as the representative of Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1961|Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Einmal sehen wir uns wieder", which only reached 13th place with three points. Throughout the 1960s, she toured extensively through Europe and also performed in 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 German magazine Der Spiegel .

Lale Andersen died of a myocardial infarction|heart attack in Vienna , Austria , at the age of 67. She was buried at the dune cemetery on the East Frisia n island of Langeoog .

Footnotes

Note a: Lale Andersen often wrote her own texts, usually under the pseudonym Nicola Wilke .

Note b: Lehe at the time of her birth was an independent municipality. It is now part of Bremerhaven. In 1924 Lehe was amalgamated with the neighbouring Geestemünde to become the city of Wesermünde. Bremerhaven, which was founded in 1827, was merged into Wesermünde in 1939. In 1947 Wesermünde became part of the state Bremen and was renamed Bremerhaven., last accessed January 16, 2006., last accessed August 20, 2007.

Note c: Although some online resources give 1924 as the year of the marriage, Lehrke's book contains a copy of the wedding announcement that had appeared in the Nordwestdeutsche Zeitung on April 1, 1922.

Note d: In her early career, Lale Andersen was sometimes billed as Liselotte Wilke .

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