Mary Roos
Encyclopedia
1949-1970
Schwab was born in BingenBingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the...
. At the age of nine, she recorded her first song "Ja die Dicken sind ja so gemütlich" as Die kleine Rosemarie. It was no major commercial success. In 1958, she also appeared in the film Die Straße. Over the following years she would release many records and she also appeared in many singing competitions. Her first chart success came in 1965, when the single "Geh nicht den Weg" peaked at #36. In 1969, she took part in the Grand Prix RTL International with the song "Die Legende der Liebe". The same year, she reached the single charts again - "Das hat die Welt noch nicht erlebt" peaked at #19. Her first major was achieved in 1970 with the song "Arizona Man". It peaked at #9 in the single charts and remains her only top ten hit to date. The same year, she took part in the German national final
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1970
Germany was represented by Katja Ebstein, with the song "Wunder gibt es immer wieder", at the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 21 March in Amsterdam. "Wunder gibt es immer wieder" was the winner of the German national final, held on 16 February...
for the 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...
for the first time. She was chosen to take part in the last minute - Edina Pop had to withdraw from the competition as she fell ill and Mary Roos was chosen to sing "Bei jedem Kuss" instead. She finished joint second among the six participants; nevertheless, the song was never recorded.
1971-1983
In the early 70s, Roos got her own TV show on German television. At the same time, she tried to start a career in France, where she played the lead role in the musical "Un enfant dans la ville" next to Michel FugainMichel Fugain
Michel Fugain is a French singer and composer. Originally he released music along with his singers and dancers entitled "Le Big Bazar" but went for a more solo approach 1977. In 1969 he published his first album: Je n'aurai pas le temps...
. In 1972, she entered the German national final for the Eurovision Song Contest
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972
Germany was represented by Mary Roos, with the song "Nur die Liebe läßt uns leben", at the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 25 March in Edinburgh. "Nur die Liebe läßt uns leben" was the winner of the German national final, Ein Lied für Edinburgh, held on 19 February...
the second time. With her song "Nur die Liebe läßt uns leben
Nur Die Liebe Läßt Uns Leben
Nur die Liebe läßt uns leben was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972, performed in German by Mary Roos....
" she finished second after the first round of voting only one point behind Cindy & Bert
Cindy & Bert
Cindy & Bert are a German schlager vocal duo from Völklingen, Saarland consisting of Jutta Gusenberger and Norbert Berger...
but got the overall victory after the second round of voting. After the reprise of the winning song, she was booed off stage and her victory caused a stir in Germany as she was not the winner of the first round of voting and because of her mediocre vocal performance. In a later interview, she stated that she did not expect to win at all and that she was already removing her make-up when she was called back on stage. However, at the Eurovision Song Contest 1972
Eurovision Song Contest 1972
The Eurovision Song Contest 1972 was the 17th edition series. Monaco was unable to host this year's Eurovision as they were unable to provide the resources. They approached French TV, who agreed to produce the contest, but only if the contest was staged in France and not the planned Monte Carlo...
in Edinburgh, she finished third. The song was a minor hit in Germany peaking at #17 in the single charts. Over the 1970s she kept releasing singles and albums and was a frequent guest in music shows, although she did not have any major hits anymore. In 1975, she took part in the German national final
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975
West Germany was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1975, held in Stockholm, Sweden.The German national final to select their entry, Vorentscheid 1975: Ein Lied für Stockholm, was held on 3 February at the Hessischer Rundfunk Studio 1 in Frankfurt am Main, and was hosted by journalist Karin...
again and finished third with "Eine Liebe ist wie ein Lied". Her fourth participation in the national final took place in 1982
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982
West Germany was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, held in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom....
, where she competed among others against her then husband Werner Böhm. She performed the duet "Lady" with David Hanselmann and finished sixth out of the twelve participants, however, the song was commercially the second most successful one of the year.
In 1982 she covered F. R. David's song "Words
Words (F. R. David song)
"Words" is a 1982 romantic song by F. R. David, which sold 8 million copies worldwide and peaked at #2 on the British charts in spring of 1983. It was a huge European hit, peaking at #1 in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria and Norway. It also went to #1 in South Africa in late 1982 and spent...
".
1984-today
In 1984, Roos took part in the German national finalGermany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984
Germany was represented by Mary Roos, with the song "Aufrecht geh'n", at the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 5 May in Luxembourg City. "Aufrecht geh'n" was the winner of the German national final, held on 29 March...
for the Eurovision Song Contest for the fifth and last time so far and she sang herself to victory again: "Aufrecht geh'n
Aufrecht Geh'n
Aufrecht geh'n was the German entry in the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest, performed in German by Mary Roos. The song was composed by Michael Reinecke with lyrics by Michael Kunze, who previously had written the lyrics to Silver Convention's 1977 entry "Telegram"...
" narrowly won the ticket to the Eurovision Song Contest 1984
Eurovision Song Contest 1984
The Eurovision Song Contest 1984 was the 29th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 5 May 1984 in Luxembourg. The presenter was Désirée Nosbusch. Nosbusch, only 19 years old at the time, hosted the show in a lax manner, which was quite unusual for this show back then...
. At the contest, the song only received 34 points and finished 13th among the 19 contestants. Mary Roos was blamed for a bad vocal performance which she says was caused by an emotional crisis after her separation from her husband Werner Böhm. "Aufrecht geh'n" would also be her last appearance in the single charts until 1999, when she released a German cover version of Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
's song "Believe
Believe (Cher song)
"Believe" is a song by American recording artist Cher. It was released on November 24, 1998 as the lead single from her twenty-third studio album of the same name. It was written by Brian Higgins, Stuart McLennen, Paul Barry, Steven Torch, Matthew Gray, and Timothy Powell and produced by Mark...
" ("Leider lieb ich dich noch immer"). Today, she still has many live concerts and is said to be one of the most-booked singers of the schlager genre.
In 1985 Roos covered some C. C. Catch and Modern Talking
Modern Talking
Modern Talking was a German dance pop duo consisting of Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen. Their music has often been classified as Europop. They have been referred to as Germany's most successful pop duo, and have had a number of hit singles, reaching the top 5 in many countries...
's songs in German, including You're My Heart, You're My Soul
You're My Heart, You're My Soul
"You're My Heart, You're My Soul" is the first single by German europop duo Modern Talking released off their debut album "The 1st Album". The single was released on 29 October 1984 but entered the top-10 in Germany on January 28, 1985, almost three months after its release date...
, I Can Lose My Heart Tonight
I Can Lose My Heart Tonight
"I Can Lose My Heart Tonight" is the first single by pop singer C. C. Catch from her debut studio album Catch the Catch, and was released in 1985 by Hansa. It was written by Dieter Bohlen for Modern Talking, but he thought that it wasn't good enough for band...
etc.
Personal life
From 1981 to 1989, Roos was married to party singer Werner Böhm (known as Gottlieb Wendehals). She is the sister of Tina York, another popular schlager singer in Germany.Charted singles
| Year | Single | Charts DEU Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Geh nicht den Weg | 36 |
| 1969 | Das hat die Welt noch nicht erlebt | 19 |
| 1970 | Das beste an Dir | 33 |
| Arizona Man | 9 | |
| 1971 | Am Anfang war die Liebe | 36 |
| 1972 | Nur die Liebe läßt uns leben Nur Die Liebe Läßt Uns Leben Nur die Liebe läßt uns leben was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972, performed in German by Mary Roos.... |
17 |
| Er bleibt hier (für immer) | 39 | |
| 1973 | Fremdes Mädchen | 45 |
| Geh nicht den Weg | 36 | |
| Lieber John | 40 | |
| 1975 | Eine Liebe ist wie ein Lied | 50 |
| Stop, mach das nochmal | 40 | |
| 1979 | Ich werde geh'n heute Nacht We Don't Talk Anymore "We Don't Talk Anymore" is a song recorded by Cliff Richard that reached number one in the UK singles chart in August 1979, remaining there for four weeks... |
25 |
| 1982 | Lady | 31 |
| 1984 | Aufrecht geh'n Aufrecht Geh'n Aufrecht geh'n was the German entry in the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest, performed in German by Mary Roos. The song was composed by Michael Reinecke with lyrics by Michael Kunze, who previously had written the lyrics to Silver Convention's 1977 entry "Telegram"... |
56 |
| 1999 | Leider lieb ich Dich noch immer Believe (Cher song) "Believe" is a song by American recording artist Cher. It was released on November 24, 1998 as the lead single from her twenty-third studio album of the same name. It was written by Brian Higgins, Stuart McLennen, Paul Barry, Steven Torch, Matthew Gray, and Timothy Powell and produced by Mark... |
87 |
Albums
- Lieber John (1973)
- Mary Roos (1976)
- Ich bin Mary (1977)
- Maryland (1978)
- Was ich fühle (1981)
- Leben spür'n (1982)
- Alles was ich will (1987)
- Mehr als ein Gefühl (1992)
- Rücksicht (1995)
- Heiß und kalt (1997)
- Mittendrin (1997)
- Schlager-Party mit Mary Roos (1999)
- Meine Besten (2000)
- Roosige Zeiten (2000)
- Leben für Musik (2001)
- Achterbahn (2003)
- Augenblicke (2003)
- Herzen zu verschenken (2003)
- Mein Porträt (2003)
- Leben (2005)
- Meine größten Hits (2006)
- Immer wieder (2006)
- Was ich fühle (2007)
- Hautnah (2007)
Sources
- Biography on mary-roos.de
- Jan Feddersen: "Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein", 2002