{{short description|Lithuanian–German schlager singer (born 1943)}} {{Infobox person |image=2018-08-19 ZDF Fernsehgarten Lena Valaitis-1739.jpg |caption=Valaitis at [[ZDF Fernsehgarten]] in 2018 |birth_date={{Birth date and age|1943|09|07|df=yes}} |birth_place=[[Klaipėda|Memel]], [[Klaipėda Region|Memel Territory]], [[Nazi Germany|Germany]]<br />(now Klaipėda, [[Lithuania]]) |occupation=Singer }}
'''Lena Valaitis''' (born 7 September 1943) is a [[Lithuania]]n–[[Germany|German]] [[Schlager music|schlager]] singer who had her greatest success during the 1970s and 1980s. She finished second at the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1981]].
==Early life and education== Valaitis was born on 7 September 1943 in [[Klaipėda|Memel]], which was in the reclaimed [[Klaipėda Region|Memel Territory]] of [[East Prussia]] by [[Nazi Germany|Germany]]. Her father, a soldier of the [[Wehrmacht]], was killed during [[World War II]]. At the end of the war, Valaitis, her mother, and her brother arrived as refugees in [[West Germany]]. She first attended [[Volksschule]] in [[Memmingen]] and then the "Lithuanian [[Gymnasium (school)|Gymnasium]] Hüttenfeld" in {{ill|Hüttenfeld|de}}, [[Hesse]]. Valaitis left for training with the [[Deutsche Bundespost]] in [[Frankfurt]], where she received private singing lessons.
==Personal life== Valaitis has two sons. Her first son, Marco, was born in 1973 during her first marriage. In 1979, she married actor {{ill|Horst Jüssen|de}}, with whom she had her second son, Don David, born in 1983. Valaitis currently lives in [[Munich]], [[Bavaria]].
==Career== Valaitis began her musical career by joining the band Frederik Brothers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Lena Valaitis|url=https://eurovisionuniverse.online/encyclopedia/lena-valaitis/|access-date=2021-12-12|website=Eurovision Universe|language=en-GB}}</ref> She signed a record contract with [[Philips]] in 1970 and released her first single, "Halt das Glück für uns fest", on 13 June 1970. She made her first television appearance in the same year, appearing on ''ZDF-Drehscheibe'', a musical program on [[ZDF]]. Valaitis achieved her first hit with 1971's "Ob es so oder so, oder anders kommt". Under the production of [[Jack White (producer)|Jack White]], she hits in the following years with "So wie ein Regenbogen", "Bonjour mon amour", and "Wer gibt mir den Himmel zurück".
In 1976, Valaitis reached the Top 20 of the German singles chart for the first time with "Da kommt José der Straßenmusikant" and "Ein schöner Tag", a German version of "[[Amazing Grace]]". She sang "Du machst Karriere" in the German finals of the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1976]], achieving seventh place. She also sang the [[chanson]] in the 1977 feature film ''{{Interlanguage link|Maiden's War|de|Der Mädchenkrieg (Film)}}''.
Valaitis is perhaps best known for her performance in the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1981]]. She represented Germany with the song "[[Johnny Blue (song)|Johnny Blue]]", which finished second<ref name=":0" /> to the [[United Kingdom|British]] entry, "[[Making Your Mind Up]]" by [[Bucks Fizz (band)|Bucks Fizz]]. In the following years she made additional recordings, including a duet with the Greek-born German singer [[Costa Cordalis]] in 1984.
Her last Eurovision attempt was in 1992 with "Wir sehen uns wieder", which came third in the German selection show, ''[[Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1992|Ein Lied Für Malmö]]''. Valaitis left show business in the end of 1993, but began releasing new material in the 2000s. She released "Ich lebe für den Augenblick" in 2001 and "Was kann ich denn dafür", a duet with the Austrian singer [[Hansi Hinterseer]], in 2002. Valaitis recorded another duet with Hinterseer, "{{Lang|de|[[Muss i denn|"Muss i' denn zum Städtele hinaus"]]}}" (the folk song on which [[Wooden Heart]] was based), in summer 2006.
==Singles== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 1970 "Halt das Glück für uns fest" * 1970 "Und das Leben wird weitergehen" * 1971 "Ob es so oder so oder anders kommt" * 1971 "Alles was dein Herz begehrt" * 1971 "Die kleinen Sünden und die kleinen Freuden" * 1972 "Und da steht es geschrieben" * 1972 "Lächeln ist der Weisheit letzter Schluß" * 1973 "So wie ein Regenbogen" * 1973 "Die Welt wird nicht untergeh´n" * 1973 "Ich freu' mich so auf morgen" * 1974 "Bonjour mon amour" * 1974 "Wer gibt mir den Himmel zurück" * 1974 "Ich möchte die Gitarre sein" * 1975 "Was der Wind erzählt" * 1975 "Immer die schönen Träume" * 1975 "Im Regen kann man keine Tränen sehen" * 1976 "Da kommt José, der Straßenmusikant" * 1976 "Ein schöner Tag" ([[Amazing Grace]]) * 1976 "Komm wieder, wenn du frei bist" * 1977 "Heinz, lass doch die Pauke stehn" * 1977 "...denn so ist Jo" * 1977 "Cheri je t´aime" * 1978 "Ich spreche alle Sprachen dieser Welt" * 1978 "Oh Cavallo" * 1978 "Ich bin verliebt" * 1979 "Auf der Strasse ohne Ziel" * 1979 "Nimm es so wie es kommt" * 1980 "Jamaika Reggae Man" * 1981 "[[Johnny Blue (song)|Johnny Blue]]" * 1981 "Johnny Blue (English Version)" * 1981 "Rio Bravo" * 1982 "Highland oh Highland" (with the [[Germany national football team]]) * 1982 "Gemeinsam mit Dir" * 1982 "Gloria" * 1983 "Worte wie Sterne" * 1984 "So sind meine Träume" * 1984 "Wenn der Regen auf uns fällt" duet with [[Costa Cordalis]]) * 1985 "Mein Schweigen war nur Spiel" * 1986 "Männer sind ´ne verückte Erfindung" * 1987 "Ich liebe dich" * 1988 "Nastrowje Mr. Gorbatschow" * 1992 "Wir sehn uns wieder" * 1993 "Menschen mit Herz" * 2001 "Ich lebe für den Augenblick" (German version of "[[There You'll Be]]" by [[Faith Hill]] from the movie "[[Pearl Harbor]]") * 2002 "Was kann ich denn dafür" (duet with [[Hansi Hinterseer]]) * 2002 "Und wenn ich meine Augen schließ" * 2003 "Still rinnt die Zeit" * 2004 "Morgen soll die Hochzeit sein" * 2005 "Komm lass uns tanzen (Arabische Nächte)" * 2006 "Muss i denn zum Städtele hinaus" (duet with Hansi Hinterseer) * 2010 "Und ich rufe Deinen Namen" * 2011 "Ich muss immer an Dich denken" * 2012 "Ein schöner Frühlingstag" {{div col end}}
==Discography== <!-- LP albums --> {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 1972 ''Die Welt der Stars und Hits'' * 1974 ''Wer gibt mir den Himmel zurück'' * 1975 ''Star für Millionen'' * 1975 ''Da kommt Lena'' * 1976 ''Meinen Freunden'' * 1976 ''Komm wieder, wenn du frei bist'' * 1977 ''...denn so ist Lena'' * 1978 ''Ich bin verliebt'' * 1978 ''Stardiscothek'' * 1979 ''Nimm es so, wie es kommt'' * 1981 ''Johnny Blue - Meine schönsten Lieder'' * 1982 ''Lena'' * 1989 ''Weihnachten mit Lena Valaitis'' * 2010 ''Liebe ist'' * 2012 ''Ich will alles'' {{div col end}}
== References == {{Reflist}}{{Commons category|Lena Valaitis}}{{s-start}} {{succession box |before=[[Katja Ebstein]]<br />with ''[[Theater (song)|Theater]]'' |title=[[Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest]] |years=[[Eurovision Song Contest 1981|1981]] |after=[[Nicole (German singer)|Nicole]]<br />with ''[[Ein bißchen Frieden]]''}} {{s-end}}
{{Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest}} {{Eurovision Song Contest 1981}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valaitis, Lena}} [[Category:1943 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Musicians from Klaipėda]] [[Category:Musicians from East Prussia]] [[Category:German people of Lithuanian descent]] [[Category:German women pop singers]] [[Category:Schlager musicians]] [[Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants]]