Building bridges 2023 with Donato Plögert

Germany 12 points is something we don't hear that often. So Eurovision fan Donato Plögert wrote a song about it. Please, Vote For Me (Even if I'm from Germany) is out now through all your favourite digitessen.

I moved up the 2019 Donato Plögert post about his Eurocovers album (see below video). 

Here's the Eurovers post about Donato Plögert's Eurovision covers album.

Originally posted on 11-11-2019

A Song can be a bridge, Eurovision fans know that. Die-hard Eurocovers fans also know Donato Plögert, the German singer, actor, entertainer, multi-talent whose German language versions of Eurovision Cult classics have earned him a loyal following among fans.

Now the hardest working man in German theater has released a digital album with all of his Eurovision coverversions to date and a few we haven't heard before.

From the first ones from his 1996 album Eins Blieb Ungesagt up to his version of the first Portuguese winner Amar Pelos Dois titled Mein Herz Schlägt Für Zwei. This man loves Eurovision.

That last one may have been a winner, but Donato Plögerts selections are mostly lesser known fan favorites including some that didn’t do too well at Eurovision (Willeke says hi).

To be fair,  there is quite a bit of Drama and some are an acquired taste. The album can certainly not be accused of relying on the easy boom bang-a-bangy Eurovision classics. It's great these songs get a second chance in life. 

2003 cdsingle Verliebt wie noch nie

The album is titled Ein Lied Kann Eine Brücke Sein (Vom Grand Prix De La Chanson Zum Song Contest) and is out now through digital sources.

It includes 19 Eurovision songs, five Preselection songs and a bonus track.

This is a digital album, but many songs have appeared on some of his 15+ albums and over 20 singles. Below is the tracklist with  some details on Plögerts first CD releases so if you really don’t like digital music you can try to hunt these down.

But for the rest of us, have a listen at your streamers of buy the songs from your favorite digitessen.

Here are the tracks and some info.

01. Wunder gibt es immer wieder - Germany 1970 (Katja Ebstein)

02. Kleines Kind - Malta 1992 (Little child - Mary Spiteri)
03. Zeit im Traum - Iceland 1987 (Haegt og hljott - Halla Margret)

--- From Plögert’s first CD Eins Blieb Ungesagt (1996, Red Clouds 2501)
04. Rhapsodie - Italy 1992 (Rapsodia - Mia Martini)

--- From 1997 CD Wenn Ich Nur Wüsste
05. Versuch's mal mit mir - Denmark 2005 (Talking to you - Jacob Sveistrup)

--- From a cdsingle from 2006 (Donato Plögert Musik ‎DPM 003)
06. Im Lauf der Zeit - France 2002 (Il faut du temps - Sandrine François)

--- From a 2003 cdsingle also including track 24 below (QED QSV 296)
07. Ich liebe dich - Germany (Preselection 1975, Katja Ebstein)
08. Wo ist das Licht? - The Netherlands 1994 (Waar is de zon - Willeke Alberti)

--- From the CD Sowas Vergisst Man Nicht! (1999, Pool Berlin 65253)

09. Was wird aus mir? - Slovenia 1995 (Prisluhni mi - Darja Svajger)

--- From his first CD Eins Blieb Ungesagt (1996, Red Clouds 2501) also including the Italian version (track 22 below).
10. Frauen regier'n die Welt - Germany 2007 (Roger Cicero)
11. Als ob du bei mir bist - Netherlands (Preselection 1998, Alsof je bij me bent - Nurlaila)
12. Liebe, sie bleibt - Sweden 1998 (Kärleken är - Jill Johnson)

--- From digital single Liebe lässt sich nie verbieten (2016)
13. Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein - Germany 1975 (Joy Fleming)
14. Ewiges Licht - (Preselection 1996, Eternal love - Alfred Rapa)

--- From Plögerts first CD Eins Blieb Ungesagt (1996, Red Clouds 2501)
15. Mein Herz liebt für zwei - Portugal 2017 (Amar pelos dois - Salvador Sobral)

--- from the CD Banane (2017)
16. Und wenn der Tag beginnt - Spain 1989 (Nacida para amar - Nina)

--- from the CD Sowass Vergisst Man Nicht! (1999, Pool Berlin 65253)

17. Verliebt wie noch nie - Norway 2003 (I’m not afraid to move on - Jostein Hasselgård)

--- Two versions of this song can be found on a cdsingle from 2003 (QED QSV 326)
18. Ich bin Mensch wie du - Cyprus 1994 (Ime anthropos ki egos - Evridiki)

--- from the 2000 cdsingle Die Frau In Ihm (Town DTM 01485)
19. Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück - Germany 1956 (Walter Andreas Schwarz)

--- from the CD Sowass Vergisst Man Nicht! (1999, Pool Berlin 65253)

20. Und das nennst du leben - Malta (Preselection 1999, The right time - Lawrence Gray)

--- From the album Ich Bin Geboren Um Zu Leben, 2015, digital)
21. Zwei kleine Italiener - Germany 1962 (Conny Froboess)
22. Sempre cosi - Slovenia 1995 - Italian Version

--- From his first CD Eins Blieb Ungesagt (1996, Red Clouds 2501)
23. Mich jibt's nur in Berlin - Italy 1991 (Comme e’ddoce’o mare - Peppino di Capri)

--- CD Mittenmang (Berlin für Anfänger und Unersättliche) (2004, Rampenlicht 220026)

24. Fuego de amor - Malta (Preselection 1996, Eternal love - Alfred Rapa, Spanish)

25. Sing ein Lied (für Europa)! - Bonustrack

The Liverpool Collection 2023

Links and sources

Thanks to Frank! Thanks to Rick!

Amar PelosDois Eurocovers

Donato Plögert website, discography/shop, Facebook

The 10.000 coverversions project

German Classics: Zwei Kleine Italiener - Lauku Muzikanti

Todays German Classic is a Latvian coverversion of Zwei Kleine Italiener, made famous by Conny Fröboess in 1962.

Lauku Muzikanti (Country Musicians) are a Schlager band from Latvia founded in 1987. They have recorded hundreds of songs since then and are still going strong, although the line up has changed on many occasions.

Zwei Kleine Italiener becomes Vecie Draugi (Old friends)  in the hands of the Muzikanti and it is from the 1997 album Šeit Un Šonakt (And here tonight). 

Latvian coverversions of Eurovision songs seem almost non-existant.  There's not even a hand full and most (2) are by this band. They also recorded Julie (Yugoslavia 1983)

More Zwei Kleine Italiener at Eurocovers:

Norwegian, and at Conny's Birthday post.

I have also updated the Zwei Kleine Italiener document.

You can find all info on Conny's own versions and 120 coverversions here (word document).

Zwei Kleine Italiener - Happy Birthday Conny!

O.K., I'm a bit late, but belated best wishes go to Conny Froboess who celebrated her 65th birthday last month.
Conny Froboess was a German teen idol in the late 50s and early 60's and scored hitsingles and hitmovies in several European countries.
Only eight years old she scored her first hit with Pack die Badehose ein, a chirpy song about packing up your swimsuit for a day out at the beach. The song, written by her father, was covered in many languages in every beach loving country.

Hits like Teenager Melodie, Kleine Lucienne and Midi Midinette followed but it's of course the Eurovision entry Zwei kleine Italiener that remains her biggest evergreen.
Conny Froboess recorded the song in German, Dutch (pictured), English and Italian. A rumoured French version has not yet emerged.
The song only ended 6th at the contest but it became a big hit in Europe. I blame Conny for my love affair with Eurovision as I was exposed to the song while happily frolicking in the womb. It was a #1 hit in my country when I was born.
Zwei kleine Italiener is written by Christian Bruhn (Music) and Georg Buschor (lyrics)

Coverversions
Zwei kleine Italiener is a top 20 most covered Eurosong with currently 105 coverversions listed. The most famous cover is of course by the other Connie, Connie Francis, who recorded the song in Italian (single MGM K 2065). The song was covered in at least 12 languages, but I haven't found an English coverversion yet.
Eurovision singers that have covered Zwei kleine Italiener are Gitte, Lisa Del Bo, Mary Roos, Mathé Altéry, Colette Déreal, Anita Thallaug (see below), Monica Aspelund (with the Four Cats) and the German group Wind (although no original members were in the group when they recorded the Italiener).

Tohama
Tohama (1920 - 1995) was born in France as Nadia Altman, and the age of 12 she moved to Brussels, Belgium.
Her father was painter Alexandre Altman who'se work I don't know, but he has streets named after him, so he must have done something right.
Nadia adopted the name Tohama (Tahitian for I love you) as her artists name in 1937, the year she released her first record Le Vent M'a Dit Un Chanson. (A song made famous in German by Zarah Leander).

Tohama released many 78's from the late 30's to well into the 50's, both romantic songs and comedy songs including popular hits like Gigi, Le petit cousin, Suzanna Youpi You La la and Dis-moi oui, Dis-moi non. Even though she toured the world her fame was restricted to France, Belgium and Canada. Her work up to the mid 50's has been released on several compilation CDs but the Eurocovers from the early 60's are hard to find items on the original vinyl releases only.
At the dawn of the 70's she packed in her career and Tohama died in 1995 aged 75.

I know five Eurovision songs covered by Tohama, al songs in French
1959 France - Oui, Oui Oui Oui (original by Jean Philippe)
- released 7" single (Decca 922988)1960 France - Tom Pillibi (Jacqueline Boyer's winner)
- released on EP (Decca 460.734)1960 U.K. - Looking High, High, High by (Brian Johnson)
- Qu'il est Haut Haut Haut, on same EP as Tom Pillibi1960 Germany - Bonne nuit, ma cherie (Wyn Hoop)
- on EP Itsy Bitsy Petit Bikini (Decca edge 71420)1962 Germany - Zwei kleine Italiener by Conny Froboess
- Cheveux Fous et lèvres roses (Details wanted)

Another celebrated version is the Swedish version by Tina och Marina. Tina and Marina named themselves after the characters in the song. It was released on various EPs and singles including a solo EP by Margareta Rudebro, who is Tina (Karussell).

Zwei kleine Italiener - The List
As usual, I have prepared a list with all versions of the song I know about. There are details on Conny's own versions and on 105 coverversions. It's a word document and you can get it  here (Updated April 2011)
Looking for…As I am a sucker for Eurocovers from Brasil there's one version of the Italiener I'm especially looking for. A Portuguese language version titled Os dois Italianinhos was released on an EP in 1963 by Brasilian singer Meire Pavão with Conjunto Alvorada.



EUROCOVERS vs THE MAN
The Man has got to Eurocovers. Blogger has been forced to remove some Eurocovers posts from the blog. I don't exactly know who filed the complaints (the promised letters haven't arrived yet) but I'm not going to make too big a deal of it.
The main posts that have been removed are the Belgrade Weeks post about Lane Moje (Serbia Montenegro 2004) and the 10.000 coverversions top post about Domenico Modugno's Volare.
Especially the latter is a shame as it's a bit silly to have a top 10 without it's #1.
On the bright side, I know of several artists who are in the process of recording Volare after they read the Eurocovers posts about it.
Concluding: Some posts may be gone and therefor some links may not work. I still hope to bring you interesting articles on Eurocovering artists, the latest release news and must read web tips.