Merci Chérie - Ronnie Tober

In 1966, Udo Jürgens won the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Merci Chérie'. Given the fact that Eurovision was very much a popular TV phenomenon, other artists were eager to release cover versions of the winning songs, and this is exactly what happened. 

In this case, it was Dutch singer Ronnie Tober who had a go at the song, and he had it translated into Dutch by René Pedde. The B-side was also a Eurovision song: the UK entry 'A man without love' by Kenneth McKellar became 'Een hart is geen hart' ('A heart is not a heart') after Gerrit den Braber had his way with the song. 

The orchestra on this single was led by Jack Bulterman, who, like Gerrit den Braber, was heavily involved with the jazz orchestra The Ramblers, one of the world's longest running orchestras ever. However, in 1966 the Ramblers were on hiatus, so it's not them who are playing on this disc.

My collection: 7" single no. 6657
Found: Discogs.com, received 19 March 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Merci Chérie (Dutch version)' / 'Een hart is geen hart (A man without love)'