View source for Lale Andersen

{{Use British English|date=August 2018}}
{{Short description|German singer (1905–1972)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name           = Lale Andersen
| image          = Lale.jpg
| caption        = Andersen in her garden, {{ca.|1961}}
| birth_name     = Elisabeth Carlotta Helena Berta Bunnenberg
| other_names    = Liselotte Wilke, Nicola Wilke
| birth_date     = {{birth date|1905|3|23|df=yes}}
| birth_place    = Lehe, [[Bremerhaven]], [[German Empire]]
| death_date     = {{death date and age|1972|8|29|1905|3|23|df=yes}}
| death_place    = [[Vienna]], Austria
| resting_place  = [[Langeoog]], [[East&nbsp;Frisian&nbsp;Islands]], Lower Saxony, Germany
| spouse         = {{ubl|{{marriage|German [[Impressionism|Impressionist painter]] {{illm|v=ib|Paul&nbsp;Ernst&nbsp;Wilke|de|Paul Ernst Wilke}}|1922|1931|reason=divorced}}
|                  {{marriage|<!-- Swiss composer -->[[Artur Beul]]|1949}}}}
| nationality    = German until second marriage by which she became [[Swiss people|Swiss]]
| occupation     = Singer, [[Music artist (occupation)|recording artist]], lyricist, [[Songwriter|music writer]], actress
}}

[[File:Wasserturm Langeoog.jpg|thumb|A memorial to Lale Andersen and "[[Lili Marleen]]" on [[Langeoog]] Island, Germany]]
'''Lale Andersen''' (23 March 1905 – 29 August 1972) was a German [[chanson]] singer-songwriter{{ref label|fn_a|note a}} born in [[Bremerhaven|Lehe]] (now part of [[Bremerhaven]]).{{ref label|fn_b|note b}} 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|Axis]] and the [[Allies of World War II|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Various-Lili-Marleen-An-Allen-Fronten/release/6748133|title=Lili Marleen An Allen Fronten|publisher=[[discogs]]|access-date=28 February 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524182847/https://www.discogs.com/Various-Lili-Marleen-An-Allen-Fronten/release/6748133|archive-date=24 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/prospero/2016/11/11/lili-marlene-the-song-that-united-allied-and-axis-troops|title=Enlightening – "Lili Marlene": the song that united Allied and Axis troops|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=11 November 2016|access-date=28 February 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703085531/https://www.economist.com/prospero/2016/11/11/lili-marlene-the-song-that-united-allied-and-axis-troops|archive-date=3 July 2019}}</ref>

==Biography==
===Early life===
Andersen was born in [[Bremerhaven|Lehe]] and baptized '''Elisabeth Carlotta Helena Berta Bunnenberg''',<ref name="lehrke">Lehrke, G.: ''Wie einst Lili Marleen—Das Leben der Lale Andersen'', Henschel Verlag, 2002; {{ISBN|978-3-89487-429-2}}. In German.</ref> 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,{{ref label|fn_c|note c}} she married German Impressionist painter {{illm|Paul Ernst Wilke|de|Paul Ernst Wilke}} (1894–1971).{{ref label|fn_d|note d}} They had three children: Björn, Carmen-Litta, and {{illm|Michael&nbsp;Wilke|de|Michael Wilke}} (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,<ref name="nordseezeitung">{{cite news|title="Die Lieselott vom Weserdeich": Opulenter Bildband erinnert an die Sängerin Lale Andersen – Dokumentation ist flott geschrieben|publisher=Nordsee-Zeitung|url=http://werften.fischtown.de/archiv/laleandersen12.html|date=10 August 2002|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927010508/http://werften.fischtown.de/archiv/laleandersen12.html|archive-date=27 September 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> where she reportedly studied acting at the ''Schauspielschule'' at the [[Deutsches Theater (Berlin)|Deutsches Theater]].<ref name="dheil">{{cite web|last=D'heil|first=S.|url=http://www.steffi-line.de/archiv_text/nost_deutsch/01a_andersen.htm|title=Lale Andersen|access-date=16 January 2006|language=de}}</ref> In 1931, her marriage ended in divorce.<ref name="laleandlili">{{cite web|url=http://www.gus-manager.de/index.php?lfd=4&ulfd=5&datei=frames/standard.php&txt=lili_marleen|title=Lale Andersen und Lili Marleen – Eine (sic) Erfolgsmärchen mitten im Krieg|website=gus-manager.de|language=de|access-date=16 January 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050829190052/http://www.gus-manager.de/index.php?lfd=4&ulfd=5&datei=frames%2Fstandard.php&txt=lili_marleen|archive-date=29 August 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref> Around this time, she began appearing on stage in various [[cabaret]]s in Berlin.<ref name="deinert">{{cite web|url=http://www.lale-andersen.de/html/werdegang_2.htm|title=Lale Andersen (1905–1972)|website=lale-andersen.de|access-date=28 February 2020|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204062052/http://www.lale-andersen.de/html/werdegang_2.htm|archive-date=4 February 2012}}</ref> From 1933 to 1937, she performed at the ''[[Schauspielhaus Zürich|Schauspielhaus]]'' in [[Zürich]], where she also met [[Rolf Liebermann]],<ref name="schulla">{{cite web|url=http://www.schulla.com/covergalerie/DATEN/L/LALE%20ANDERSEN/Lale%20Andersen.htm|title=Lale Andersen|website=schulla.com|language=de|access-date=16 January 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040709223050/http://www.schulla.com/covergalerie/DATEN/L/LALE%20ANDERSEN/Lale%20Andersen.htm|archive-date=9 July 2004}}</ref> who would remain a close friend for the rest of her life. In 1938, she was in [[Munich]] at the cabaret ''Simpl'', and soon afterwards joined the prestigious Kabarett der Komiker (Comedians' Cabaret) in Berlin.<ref name="deinert"/>

==="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|''Soldatensender Belgrad'']] ''(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,<ref name="laleandlili"/> and the song soon became popular with the Allied troops as well.<ref name="lili">{{cite web|url=http://www.istrianet.org/istria/music/lili-marleen.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20060227175922/http://www.istrianet.org/istria/music/lili-marleen.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 February 2006|title=Lili Marleen|access-date=16 January 2006|website=istrianet.org}}</ref>

Andersen was awarded a gold disc for over one million sales of "Lili Marleen" [<nowiki/>[[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]] – EG 6993].<ref name="golddisc">{{cite web|url=http://www.laleandersen.com|title=Lili Marleen Gold Disc Goldene Schallplatte 1939|website=laleandersen.com|access-date=28 February 2020|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517174601/http://laleandersen.com/|archive-date=17 May 2014}}</ref> It is thought that she was awarded her copy after the end of World War II. A copy of this particular gold disc owned by the "[[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]]" label was discarded during the renovation of their flagship store on Oxford Street, London, during the 1960s where, hitherto, it had been on display. However, the disc was recovered and is now in a private collection.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} Nazi officials did not approve of the song and [[Joseph Goebbels]] prohibited it from being played on the radio. Andersen was not allowed to perform in public for nine months, not just because of the song but because of her friendship with Rolf Liebermann and other Jewish artists she had met in Zurich. In desperation, she reportedly attempted suicide.<ref name="deinert2">{{cite web|url=http://www.lale-andersen.de/html/w_1943.htm|title=Lale Andersen: Verfolgung und Auftrittsverbot|last=Deinert|first=M.|access-date=16 January 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050117114217/http://www.lale-andersen.de/html/w_1943.htm|archive-date=17 January 2005}}</ref>
Andersen was so popular, however, that the Nazi government allowed her to perform again, albeit subject to several conditions,<ref name="dheil"/> 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 1942 Nazi propaganda movie and was made to sing several propaganda songs in English.<ref name="deinert3">{{cite web|url=http://www.lale-andersen.de/html/1943.htm|title=Lale Andersen: Englische Propagandalieder|last=Deinert|first=M.|access-date=16 January 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041206001501/http://www.lale-andersen.de/html/1943.htm|archive-date=6 December 2004}}</ref> Shortly before the end of the war, Andersen retired to [[Langeoog]], a small island off the [[North Sea]] coast of Germany.

===Career after World War II===
After the war, Andersen all but disappeared as a singer. In 1949, she married Swiss composer [[Artur Beul]].<ref name="probst">{{cite web|url=http://www.beepworld.de/members82/frauenbiografien10/laleandersen.htm|title=Lale Andersen – Die Chansonette, die "Lili Marleen" sang|last=Probst|first=Ernst|website=beepworld.de|language=de|access-date=16 January 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060329200050/http://www.beepworld.de/members82/frauenbiografien10/laleandersen.htm|archive-date=29 March 2006}}</ref> In 1952 she made a comeback with the song "Die blaue Nacht am Hafen", the lyrics of which she had written for herself.<ref name="nitschke">{{cite web|url=http://www.swr.de/swr4/bw/musik/schon-gehoert/nitschke/archiv/-/id=258058/nid=258058/did=454980/d5lhdq|title=Andersen, Lale: Der Wachtposten und das Meer|publisher=[[Südwestrundfunk|SWR 4]]|date=22 March 2005|last=Nitschke|first=Rainer|language=de|access-date=16 January 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929094245/http://www.swr.de/swr4/bw/musik/schon-gehoert/nitschke/archiv/-/id=258058/nid=258058/did=454980/d5lhdq/|archive-date=29 September 2007}}</ref> 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 Greek by [[Melina Mercouri]].<ref name="mueller">{{cite web|url=http://werften.fischtown.de/archiv/laleandersen.html|title=Stadtgeschichte Bremerhavens: Lale Andersen|last=Müller|first=P.|website=werften.fischtown.de|access-date=16 January 2006|language=de|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810070317/http://werften.fischtown.de/archiv/laleandersen.html|archive-date=10 August 2007}}</ref>

Each song won her a gold album in West Germany. In 1961, she participated as the West German representative 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. 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]].<ref name="dheil"/>

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]]''.<ref name="dheil"/>

===Death===
Andersen died of [[liver cancer]] in Vienna on 29 August 1972, aged 67.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lale-andersen-haus-langeoog.de/en/|title=Lale Andersen Langeoog Ferienhaus "Sonnenhof"|website=lale-andersen-haus-langeoog.de|access-date=28 August 2017}}</ref> With her death, she was the first female Eurovision contestant and first German-speaking Eurovision contestant to pass away and third overall, following [[Jacques Pills]] and [[Jean-Paul Mauric]], the later also appeared in Eurovision 1961.

==Footnotes==
*'''Note a:''' {{note|fn_a}} Lale Andersen often wrote her own lyrics, usually under the pseudonym ''Nicola Wilke''.<ref name="nitschke"/>
*'''Note b:''' {{note|fn_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 of Bremen and was renamed as Bremerhaven.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lehe.de/|title=LEHE im Internet|language=de|access-date=16 January 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128154922/http://www.lehe.de/|archive-date=28 November 2019}}</ref>
*'''Note c:''' {{note|fn_c}} Although some online resources give 1924 as the year of the marriage,<ref name="probst"/><ref name="mueller"/> Lehrke's book contains a copy of the wedding announcement that had appeared in the ''Nordwestdeutsche Zeitung'' on 1 April 1922.<ref name="lehrke"/>
*'''Note d:''' {{note|fn_d}} In her early career, Lale Andersen was sometimes billed as ''Liselotte Wilke''.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*Ahlborn-Wilke, D.: ''Wie Einst: In Memoriam Lale Andersen 1945–1972'', Gauke Verlag, 1978; {{ISBN|978-3-87998-023-9}}. In German.
*Ahlborn-Wilke, D.: ''Lale Andersen. Erinnerungen – Briefe – Bilder'', 4th ed.; Gauke Verlag, 1990; {{ISBN|978-3-87998-058-1}}. In German.
*Magnus-Andersen, L.: ''Lale Andersen, die Lili Marleen'', Universitas Verlag, 1985; {{ISBN|978-3-8004-0895-5}}. In German.

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0026198}}
* [http://www.dieterwunderlich.de/Lale_Andersen.htm Lale biography (in German)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070626223944/http://covergalerie.org/DATEN/L/LALE%20ANDERSEN/Lale%20Andersen.htm Biodata (in German with photos)]
* [http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205124602 Lale] while at [[British Forces Broadcasting Service|BFN]], Hamburg, 1946.
{{s-start}}
{{succession box |
  before=[[Wyn Hoop]]<br />with ''[[Bonne nuit ma chérie]]'' |
  title=[[Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest]] |
  years='''1961''' |
  after=[[Conny Froboess]]<br />with ''[[Zwei kleine Italiener]]'' |
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1961|state=collapsed}}
{{Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

{{commons category|Lale Andersen}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersen, Lale}}
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:1972 deaths]]
[[Category:Musicians from Bremerhaven]]
[[Category:German women singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:German singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century German women singers]]
[[Category:German schlager musicians]]
[[Category:Deaths from liver cancer in Austria]]
[[Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants]]