Alaska's Winner 1965: Naples



Although I've been spending most of my time watching songs from the current year's crop of Eurovision hopefuls, my group of Alaskan jurors has been looking back at the songs from the contest in 1965.

The tenth Eurovision Song Contest took place in Naples on March 20th, 1965, put on by the Italian broadcaster, RAI.   All the countries who participated in 1964 returned and a new country debuted:

 

Butch Moore   "Walking the Streets in the Rain"   Ireland

  

And for a debuting country in the Eurovision Song Contest, Butch did a pretty good job.  He placed sixth overall in Naples--garnering votes from Yugoslavia, Portugal, and Italy.   He even did one better in our voting, with one of the Alaska judges declaring him "dreamy".

 

There was also a bit of scandal this year from the Swedes. 

 

 

Ingvar Wixell   "Absent Friends"   Sweden

 



Wixell performed his song in English, breaking an unwritten rule that songs at Eurovision would be performed in a national language.  That unwritten rule was quickly written into the rules for the following year's contest.

 

But when all of the dust settled, the winner of the Eurovision Contest was a young French girl singing an entendre laced song for Luxembourg, bringing the contest out of the 1950s and bringing it closer to the musical tastes of the time.

 

 





France Gall   "Poupée de cire, poupée de son"   Luxembourg

 

France Gall's performance won on the night in Naples, but it was performance that divided our jury on gender lines.  The men in the contest ranked it highly--considering it the best song in the contest.  The women, on the other hand,found Gall's overly childish performance grating, rating it at the bottom of their list, putting "Poupée" into ninth place in the the eyes of the Alaskan judges.

 

Our winner, however, is a little less surprising.

 

Kathy Kirby   "I Belong"   United Kingdom

 

 

Kirby's performance did well on the night in Naples, coming in second.  It scored well with all the jurors as well, making it "Alaska's Choice".



 

What is surprising are the two songs that were close runners up.

 

 

Conchita Bautista   "¡Qué bueno, qué bueno!"   Spain

 

 



 

Simone de Olivera    "Sol de inverno"   Portugal

 

These two songs from the Iberian Peninsula didn't do well during the voting in Naples--de Olivera received only one point from Monegasque juror while Bautista received the dreaded "nul points".  But forty-eight years later, their dramatic performances and powerful vocals put them second and third respectively. 

 

It proves why I love doing this blog...   It highlights performances and songs buried in the depths of Eurovision history.

 

Next up, 1966 and Luxembourg!

 

 



Alaska's Choice: London 1963

Now that the summer has started to end, the birch leaves are falling off the trees, and schedules have finally gotten back to normal, it's time to get back to my Eurovision blog with Alaska's Choice for 1963.

The 1963 Eurovision song contest took place on March 23, 1963, but breaking with tradition, France did not broadcast the contest, citing financial difficulties.   The slack was picked up by the country of the second place finisher, and the BBC picked up the slack for the second time, putting on one of the more memorable Eurovision Song Contests.

Instead of following the normal format of broadcasting a live concert, the director of the contest, Yvonne Littlewood, decided to use the state of art facilities to broadcast a contest that looked completely different than ever before.  Using boom microphones, a separate studio for the performers and audience, and a variety of staging effects to enhance the songs, the Eurovision Song Contest in 1963 became less a concert and more of a variety show.

A good example of this song is the winner of the 1963 contest.

Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann  "Dansevise"  Denmark

 

This song, had it been shot in a concert setting would have been lost, but the camera work brought an intimacy to the song that took it to the top of the heap that year. 

 

But it only came in fourth in our voting, with our top points going to this entry.

 

 

Esther Ofarim  "T'en vas pas"  Switzerland

 

And many Eurovision purists might agree with our choice, since there was controversy with the Danish win.  During the voting portion of the contest, the Norwegian spokesperson gave out strange votes with Switzerland receiving a number of votes.  After a bit of confusion, The Norwegians asked to be returned to after the rest of votes were given.  When the Norwegians did return, the voting was cleared up, and Switzerland received no points, handing the Danes the win.

 

Do I think this is the case.  No.  Do I prefer the Swiss song?  Yes.

 

But I do feel sorry for the Dutch entrant.

 

 Annie Palmen  "Een speeldoos"  the Netherlands

 

 

Annie Palmen tied for last in the contest, getting no votes from the jury, receiving the dreaded "nul points".  Sadly, she didn't fare much better from the Alaska voters, coming in dead last here too. 

 

I could write more, but some I've already written about--like the Austrian song that came in second in our poll, or about  two other singers who will be featured in later posts.

 

So that's Alaska's Winner for 1963., stay tuned for our choice for 1964.

Alaska's Winner 1962: Luxembourg

After letting my jury take a few weeks off after the 2012 contest it was time for us to go back fifty years to the knockoff Dior dresses and Sinatra-like crooning of the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest.

Since Luxembourg's entrant won the previous years contest, Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion hosted the contest from their studio, Villa Louvigny, on March 1962.

No new countries entered, so the same sixteen countries in 1961 participated this year.  Some countries even sent the same singer.

Fud Leclerc  "Ton Nom"  Belgium

Leclerc made his fourth and final appearance representing Belgium in the 1962 contest, coming in last place, garnering nul points from the European juries.  We were kinder to him.  He came in ninth.

We were much less kind to this song:

Camillo Felgen  "Petit bonhomme"  Luxembourg

The European juries though this was the third best song in the contest.  The Alaskan jury put him last, the second time Felgen has come in last in our voting.

But for the winner of the contest, we agreed with the voters on the night.  The French entry was the winner.

 Isabelle Aubret  "Un premier amour"  France

Aubret's song was a runaway winner in the European juries, but it came in first in what is our closest vote ever.  Aubret just pipped this song for first place:

Lola Novaković  "Ne pali svetla u sumrak"  Yugoslavia

At the end of the voting of our voting, the two songs were tied, with an equal number preferring each of the two songs, so I had to invite another person to vote--and Aubret won by just one point.

So, Alaskans agreed with Europe again, and next is 1963, one of the more interesting contests in Eurovision history, so look for our post in the next few weeks.

Alaska's Choice: 2012 Baku

Unlike most Eurovision fans, the 2012 Contest ended back on May 26th, when Sweden won for the fifth time with the following song:

Loreen  "Euphoria"

It is a worthy winner and although it's not my favorite, it is a worthy winner.  I still consider it a catchy (albeit somewhat generic) song, and the staging was masterfully done.  Instead of the traditional arena camerawork that typified the other songs, "Euphoria" was shot in closeup. 

With the focus on the closeups, the song felt like a throwback to earlier contests and at the same time seemed extremely fresh.  In other words it was distinct an memorable in a way that the other songs were not.

But like I've been doing with all the other years of the song contest, I decided to ask a group of Alaskans what they think.  It's an excuse for me to throw a party, get together with the people that are important in my life, and share one of my favorite things.  As the lovely Janet S. has said to me, Eurovision is my Super Bowl.

So while chowing down on homemade pizza and a Sacher torte, we decided our winner of this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

Instead of the lovely Loreen, the Alaskan group voted for this song:

Pasha Parfeny   "Lăutar"   Moldova

Moldovan entries always do well with my friends, and this year the combination of attractive singer, quirky song, and dancers in adorable outfits hit the sweet spot with most of the viewers at my party.  I don't blame them; I'm a fan of Moldovan songs as well.  But as you know, it didn't hit my sweet spot. 

I was more surprised by the song that came in second with the voting:

Kurt Calleja   "This Is The Night"  Malta

I think the this rated so well with the jury because of the group's dance moves, which I fully expect to see done by a couple of my friends in a burlesque show in the next couple of months. 

Italy, Sweden and Norway finished off our top five,--five choices that were very different than the rest of Europe.

Sadly, my favorite, Macedonia didn't fare well.  After the rest of the voting came through, Kaliopi came in seventh.    (I'm sad about that, but at least she would have gotten four points from our jury, which isn't something to sneeze at.)

The bottom included some surprises:  Spain, Albania, Denmark, Greece, and last and certainly least, Ireland.  (And I'm happy that the jury can recognize dreck when they see it.)

And now, time to look forward to 2013 and Sweden.

Or maybe December and Rotterdam. 

Alaska's Winner: 1957 Frankfurt am Main

Ten countries submitted songs to this contest-the seven from 1956 along with Austria, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. The contest was broadcast from Frankfurt am Main, Germany  and each country performed one song,  supposed to clock in at a time of three minutes.

The problem is that a number of countries didn't follow that rule, and this contest set records for song length.

Nunzio Gallo  "Corde Delle Mia Chitarra"  Italy

Italy's Nunzio Gallo sang a song that lasted 5 minutes and 9 seconds, the longest song ever performed at the Eurovision Song Contest, and was cited as the reason that a strict 3 minute rule has been in place since.

But Nunzio's longwinded song was balanced out by the United Kingdom's entrant

Patricia Bredin  "All"

Coming in at only 1 minute and 52 seconds, it's the shortest song ever performed in the Eurovision Song Contest.

But there's a story even more importantly to Eurovision lore, the first scandal associated with the contest happened in the performance of one of the songs.

Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler  "Skibet skal sejle i nat"

Although now, this love song about a man leaving his love to go in a sea voyage seems tame, the prolonged kiss at the end supposedly scandalized viewers who were watching on television sets throughout Europe.

But none of these were the winner, with the juries--ten listeners in each country selecting their favorite song--favored the Dutch song by a margin of almost two to one margin.

Corry Brokken  "Nel als toen"

And suprisingly, Alaska's Choice is the same as the juries.  If fact our top three were identical to the juries, with Paule Desjardins from France coming second and the kissing Danes third.  I guess it proves there is some kinship between the 49th State and Europe.

So congratulations to the Netherlands and their win.  I can't wait to find out who we choose as the winner in 1958...

Alaska's Winner: 1956 Lugano

Who would have thought that from humble beginnings as a radio program in the mid 1950s, the Eurovision Song Contest would go on to enthrall people throughout the world? 
Yet somehow, the idea of Marcel Benzençon, a Swiss telecommunications manager, of creating a "light entertainment program" in the style of the San Remo Song Festival, that could be broadcast to all the member nations of the European Broadcasting Union back in 1955 had continued to this day.

The first Eurovison Song Contest was much different than the current spectacle.  Instead of the 43 countries participating in this year's contest, only 7 countries competed in Lugano, Switzerland, each entering two songs.

After all 14 songs were performed, the judges--two for each country--voted, selecting:

Lys Assia  "Refrain"   Switzerland

Unfortunately, the rest of the placings are unknown, the results of the voting never released, so we have no idea who actually won the contest.

However, when a group of Alaska's voted, poor Lys was left out in the cold--coming in fourth place.

A score sheet was sent out to a number of Alaskans along with a link to the fourteen songs in running order.  They were asked to score the songs on both performance and lyrics on a scale from one to ten, with the worst score being 2 and the best being 20.

The results of the poll brought a very different winner.

Freddy Quinn  "So geht das jede Nacht"    Germany

 

Freddy's song was the the only song that was popular with all the voters, scoring well with all the judges.  So, congratulations to Germany and Freddy Quinn, the first Alaska's Choice in the Eurovision Song contest.

But don't feel too sorry for Lys Assia.  She's still around, in fact she entered this year's Swiss finals with this number.

Lys Assia  "C'était ma vie"

 

She didn't win, but you have to admire her chutzpah.

Alaska's Winner: Introduction

For the past few years, usually on the weekend of the Eurovision Song Contest, I throw a party, invite some friends around, cook a mess of food, and otherwise have a great time watching Europe present the "best" songs that they can come up with.

It's a blast, but there's one thing that we don't understand in the Last Frontier.  Why do you choose the songs that you do?

Case in point:

In the last Eurovision Song Contest, the Azerbaijani entry won the kit and caboodle.

Ell and Nikki  "Running Scared"

In our voting, this song came in dead last.  She was flat, and the two of them had absolutely no chemistry on stage whatsoever.    The collective groan from the group in Anchorage when it won over the rest of the songs was audible.

Our choice was one that barely made it to the middle of the table, the Serbian entrant

 

Nina  "Caroban"

Nina, was cute, the staging was peppy, she stayed on key, it was in a language other than English, and the song is damn infectious.  In other words, everything that Ell and Nikki's song wasn't.

It's really rather frustrating.

So some of my friends and I have decided to go back through all the years of Eurovision and crown our own winner--Alaska's Choice.  Watch this blog in the next week or two for the first entrant, our choice for the winner of the very first Eurovision Song Contest, all the way back in 1956.