Marianne Mendt
Encyclopedia
Marianne Mendt is an Austria
n jazz
singer and actress, best known for her participation in the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest
.
, who wrote for her the song "A Glock'n", which was used as the theme tune for a television drama and reached #12 when released as a single in 1970.
Marianne Mendt published several 'Austrian versions' of well-known jazz and pop songs like Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
("I kann net lang mit dir bös' sein"), Spinning Wheel
("A g'scheckert's Hutschpferd") and Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In
("Der Wasserkopf").
to represent Austria with the song "Musik
" in the 16th Eurovision Song Contest
, held in Dublin on 3 April. It marked Austria's return to Eurovision following a two-year absence. "Musik" - the only song performed at Eurovision to date in the Viennese German
dialect - was drawn as the show's opening song, and at the end of voting could only manage 16th place of the 18 entries, after a somewhat nervous and hesitant performance from Mendt.
Mendt remains an active performer, regularly appearing at concerts and jazz festivals in Austria.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer and actress, best known for her participation in the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
.
Early career
Mendt trained as a jazz singer and toured as a singer and bass player, with group the Internationals, around Europe. Back in Vienna she was noticed by talent-spotter Gerhard BronnerGerhard Bronner
Gerhard Bronner was an Austrian composer, writer, musician and a cabaret artist, known for his contribution to Austrian culture in the post-World War II period....
, who wrote for her the song "A Glock'n", which was used as the theme tune for a television drama and reached #12 when released as a single in 1970.
Marianne Mendt published several 'Austrian versions' of well-known jazz and pop songs like Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" is a song written by Joe Zawinul in 1966 for Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and his album Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club. The song is the title track of the album and became a surprise hit, reaching #11 on the Billboard charts in Feb. 1967...
("I kann net lang mit dir bös' sein"), Spinning Wheel
Spinning Wheel (song)
"Spinning Wheel" is the title of a popular song from 1969 by the band Blood, Sweat & Tears. The song was written by band member and Canadian musician David Clayton-Thomas and appears on their self-titled album....
("A g'scheckert's Hutschpferd") and Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In
Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In
"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair by James Rado & Gerome Ragni , and Galt MacDermot , released as a single by The 5th Dimension. The song peaked at number one for six weeks on the U.S...
("Der Wasserkopf").
Eurovision Song Contest
In 1971, Mendt was chosen by broadcaster ORFORF (broadcaster)
Österreichischer Rundfunk, ORF, is the Austrian national public service broadcaster.Funded from a combination of a television licence fees and revenue from limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media...
to represent Austria with the song "Musik
Musik (song)
"Musik" was the Austrian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1971, performed in Viennese by Marianne Mendt....
" in the 16th Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1971
The Eurovision Song Contest 1971 was the sixteenth Eurovision Song Contest and the first held in Dublin, Ireland. The new voting system that was introduced in this Eurovision did have one big problem: some juries gave fewer points out than others...
, held in Dublin on 3 April. It marked Austria's return to Eurovision following a two-year absence. "Musik" - the only song performed at Eurovision to date in the Viennese German
Viennese German
Viennese German is the city dialect spoken in Vienna, the capital of Austria and is counted among the Bavarian dialects. Even in Lower Austria, the state surrounding the city, many of its expressions are not used, while farther to the west they are often not even understood.- Linguistic...
dialect - was drawn as the show's opening song, and at the end of voting could only manage 16th place of the 18 entries, after a somewhat nervous and hesitant performance from Mendt.
Later career
Mendt combined her singing career with acting in productions at the large Vienna theatres. In the 1990s, Mendt's acting career came to the fore, notably in the role of Gitti Schimek in TV drama Kaisermühlen Blues which ran from 1992 until 2000.Mendt remains an active performer, regularly appearing at concerts and jazz festivals in Austria.