For Vår Jord - Karoline Krüger

Karoline Krüger was born in Bergen (Norway) on 13 February 1970 - exactly 52 years ago today. Her first TV appearance was at the age of 11, in a youth show called 'Halvsju'. She got her breakthrough in 1988, first by winning the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix with the song 'For vår jord' ('For our earth'), while still a student at Langhaugen Skole (1986–89). This qualified her for the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 final, held that year in the Irish capital Dublin, where she finished in fifth place. 

Later that same year she released her debut CD, 'Fasetter'. Krüger is married to another familiar Norwegian singer Sigvart Dagsland, and together they have two daughters, Sophie (born in 1998) and Emma (born in 2002). Krüger continued to release albums until very recently, all of them in Norwegian. The Christmas album 'Jul', released in 2013, was recorded together with her husband. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6629
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 February 2022
Cost: €4,5
Tracks: 'For Vår Jord' / 'Hvorfor er det meg'

Uno per tutte - Emilio Pericoli

I already bought versions of 'Uno per tutte' by Marino Marini, Louis Neefs, Tony Renis and Robertino, but the version at the Eurovision Song Contest 1963 was performed by Emilio Pericoli. His version was considerably more difficult to get hold of. In the end I got this copy directly from Italy.

Pericoli managed to win the San Remo festival with his version, and then went on to the Eurovision Song Contest, where he ended up in third place. I guess a song like this would be less successful in this day and age, simply because the statement 'Uno [male] per tutte [female]' goes against the current #MeToo climate.

My collection: 7" single no. 6540
Found: Discogs.com, received 3 February 2022
Cost: €5
Tracks: 'Uno per tutte' / 'Sull'acqua'

Dopo te (Après toi) - Vicky Leandros

Vicky Leandros recorded 'Après toi', the song with which she represented Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972 - and won, in German as 'Dann kamst du' and in English as 'Come what may'. It's no surprise, then, that there are more international versions of this song. Recently I managed to buy the Italian version: 'Dopo te'.

There are also versions in Spanish, Greek and even Japanese - who knows, if I can find a copy for a reasonable price, those will also appear on this blog sometime. For now, though, this beautiful version in a pretty well preserved sleeve can be shown here now.

My collection: 7" single no. 6627
Found: Discogs.com, received 3 February 2022
Cost: €7
Tracks: 'Dopo te (Après toi)' / 'Il principe'

Tschau Tschau Bambina - Caterina Valente

One of the big names in entertainment history is Caterina Valente. Bon on 14 January 1931 in Paris (France), she became a singer, guitarist, dancer, and actress. Valente is a polyglot; she speaks six languages, and sings in eleven. While she is best known as a European performer, Valente also spent part of her career in the United States, where she performed alongside Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Perry Como, and Ella Fitzgerald, among others. 

In 1959 she recorded a cover version of Domenico Modugno's 'Piove', also known as 'Ciao ciao bambina'. Caterina's version is in German, hence perhaps the transliteration to 'Tschau Tschau Bambina'. This copy is in perfect shape, which is rare for a 62 year old disc.

My collection: 7" single no. 6625
Found: Discogs.com, received 29 January 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Tschau Tschau Bambina' / 'Liebe kommt und Liebe geht'

Bambina (Volare Cantare) - Danny Marino

Danny Marino was born on 29 March 1936 as the son of Italian parents in Tunisia or Italy, at least he spent his youth in Tunisia as Salvatore Mezzasalma. After the age of 16 he went to Paris, where he studied philosophy at the Sorbonne. To finance his studies, he played music with a friend in bars and nightclubs. Around the mid-1950s, his Italian dance combo received good engagement offers from Hamburg, which he immediately accepted. In Hamburg he has already performed under his stage name Danny Marino. The people from Heliodor noticed him and signed him. 

In 1958 he released this single, a cover version of Domenico Modugno's 'Nel blu dipinto di blu', otherwise known as 'Volare' (yep, there it is again). I was lucky to find this copy with an original record company sleeve - try as you might, you couldn't find one like this very easily. 

As a pop singer and chansonnier, Danny was relatively popular because of his performances, but there were no chart successes for him. In 1962 he founded a restaurant with his brother Fabio and his wife, which became a well-known and popular meeting point. In the 1970s the success of the bars, there were already several, dwindled and they had to be closed down one by one. He then went to Agadir, Morocco, where he ran an advertising agency. Already severely marked by an illness, he returned to Germany around 2003, where he died in poverty on September 16, 2003 in the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf.

My collection: 7" single no. 6624
Found: Discogs.com, received 29 January 2022
Cost: €3,5
Tracks: 'Bambina (Volare Cantare)' / 'Bleib' bei mir, Forestiera' 

Hallelujah (Deutsche Original-Version) - Milk and Honey

When an artist decides to record a song in different languages, this leads to an uncoordinated and often slightly frustration search. So many times I've seen a single I want - but then it's priced so ridiculously that I won't even try to order it. This happened, too, with the German version of 'Halleluja', the song that made Milk and Honey the winners of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1979.

I already own the English and French versions, of course, but the German version was harder to come by. Recently I finally succeeded, also because the online dealer also had a few other interesting singles that I wanted to have. (Postage costs would otherwise make this single much too expensive.) It's interesting to think that I would have been searching for this one for 13 years (considering I bought the French version in 2009) but that's not really the case: I only found out about the German version last year.

My collection: 7" single no. 6623
Found: Discogs.com, received 29 January 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Hallelujah (Deutsche Original-Version)' / 'Halleluja (Original Hebrew Version)'

Allons, allons les enfants - Colette Deréal

Colette Deréal was born as Colette Denise de Glarélial on 22 September 1927. Her professional career started when she released a handful of EP's in 1959. Her final single releases happened in 1972. In 1961, she represented Monaca at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Allons, allons les enfants'. It is a happy little song, quite in contrast with the other three songs on this EP that sound a lot less accessible. At the close of voting, it finished in 10th place in a field of 16 competitors.

Colette passed away on 12 April 1988.

My collection: 7" single no. 6621
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 January 2022
Cost: €5
Tracks: 'Allons, allons les enfants', 'Lettre a Véronique' / 'Tu me feras danser', 'Tu dors'