Germany: Joy Fleming passes away aged 72

by Stratos Agadellis 2,113 views

Another unpleasant news is around today regarding a former Eurovision participant. It is with sadness that we report that the German singer Joy Fleming, who represented her country in 1975 passed away last night, as both her son and her manager have confirmed.

About her life

Joy Fleming was born in 1944 in Rockenhausen. From a very young age, she had decided that she would become a singer. At the age of 14, she won a local theatric contest and afterwards, in 1966 she created the band Joy & The Hit Kids together with her friends, which band she left in 1972.

From 1971, Fleming continued her career as a solo singer and met success with the Mannemer Neggabriggebluus (officially: Neckarbrückenblues), who is sung with a text by Carl J. Schäuble in Mannheimer Idiom. During those years, she was singing jazz and blues in the pubs of the German city of Mannheim.

In 1976, she got married to her manager and second husband, Bernd Liebenow, with whom she has two sons. After her marriage, she toured the world and received numerous awards, including the Outstanding Award from Tokyo.

In 1990, she founded along with her former husband Bernd Liebenow and her pianist Claude Schmidt her own record label under the label Rö-Mo Records and Rött’l Mouse-Verlag as well as the music group United Wanderers.

During the last few years, she lived in Hilsbach with the French composer and musician Bruno Masselon, running her own music studio.

She left behind four children; three sons and one daughter.

Joy Fleming at Eurovision

The artist went on to represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 in Stockholm, performing her song Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein, where she received a 17th place out of 19 participants.

11 years later, in 1986, she tried again to represent her country at Eurovision with the song Miteinander, together with the singer Marc Berry.

In 2001, she was ended as the runner-up of the German national final. Then she sang Power of trust, along with the singers Lesley Bogaert and Brigitte Oelke.

Her last Eurovision bid took place the following year. In 2002, Joy Fleming finished again in 2nd place at the national final with the band Jambalaya.

We are sending our condolences to the family of Joy Fleming.