33/917 Liane Augustin: Die ganze Welt braucht Liebe (Austria 1958)

In the early 1950's the singers representing their country were often experienced and classically trained professionals. They sang a song written for the occasion and rarely recorded the song or sung the song since. The eurosong 33 is apparently one of these.

The 1958 contest was only the third Eurovision Song Contest ever arranged. I find it therefore quite remarkable that the video recording of the contest from 55 years ago is such a good quality picturewise and specially soundwise.

With such a good and dynamic sound quality it is a joy to watch and listen to the contest, which gave us some of the first world wide Eurovision hits (Nel blu di pinto di blu from Italy and Dors mon amour from France).

The Austrian entry is not one of those. Liane Augustin, was a popular actress and singer from the last years of the 2nd world war until her untimely death in 1978 (at only 51 years of age). In Eurovision she sang beautifully the otherwise unremarkable ballad and received the unremarkable fifth position (among only 10 participants). Even with a good singer, the Austrian entry was overshadowed by other entries of this, rather good quality Eurovision Song Contest of 1958.

My points 2/5.

26/917 Corry Brokken - Heel de wereld (Netherlands 1958)

A random number generator chose as the first entry in my blog the Dutch entry from 1958, the 26th song ever to be sung in the Eurovision song contest. In the third year of the contest only 10 countries took part (one fourth of the number of contestants nowadays).

In the early years of Eurovision it was usual that the same artist represented his or her country several years in a row. Corry Brokken took the responsability to represent the Netherlands during first three years of the Eurovision history experiencing both the victory and the defeat.

After her victorious performance of Net als toen in 1957 she took the Eurovision stage again when the contest was arranged by the Dutch television in 1958. The song was in many ways similar to Net als toen as far as borrowing some melody passages from the winner of the previous year. Still, the result was last drawn last place with Luxembourg with only one point.

However, I find this song a charming ballad in the 1950's vein giving the singer possibility to sing both with tenderness and force. To me this is one of the better songs of the 1950's Eurovision Song contests.

It would take 18 years for Corry Brokken to appear on the Eurovision Stage again, and even then she did not sing a note as she took the responsability of the presenter of the 1976 contest in Hague.

My points 4/5