In memoriam: Eurovision 2007 singer Roger Cicero dead at 45 

by • Eurovision News, Germany • Tags: , ,
 

Roger Cicero, who represented Germany at Eurovision 2007 with the jazzy “Frauern regier’n die Welt” has passed away at the age of 45. As Spiegel Online reports, he died of a stroke last Thursday.

“We are stunned and incredibly sad,” his management wrote in a statement. “Our thoughts are with his family.”
His death follows a long battle with acute fatigue syndrome and suspected myocarditis, a troublesome heart condition, which led the singer to cancel a series of concerts last November. He had planned to resume the sold-out tour in April.
The son of Romanian pianist Eugen Cicero, he made his first public appearance as a singer at the tender age of 11. He soon became a household name in the German jazz world, performing alongside legends such as the Horst Jankowski trio as well as his father’s band, the Eugen Cicero trio. Roger quickly developed his own brand of jazz, playing on swinging 40’s and 50’s jazz, but with German lyrics. His first solo album, released in 2006, included his German-language cover of Frank Sinatra’s hit “Fly Me to the Moon”. He recorded 4 more albums and headlined the world-famous “Montreux Jazz Festival” with his Big Band in 2010 and in 2012.
In 2007, Roger and his band went to Eurovision with the song”Frauern regier’n die Welt”, which described how women truly rule the world. Despite his unique and charismatic performance — which included him swinging with his white hat — Europe frowned on Roger, placing him 19th in the finals. But his song has become a cult classic among many Eurovision fans anyway, and remains one of Germany’s most memorable entires of the 00s. Nothing beats heartfelt 50’s jazz!
Eurovision aside, Roger was also a skilled actor, and appeared in the German film “Hilde” which tells the story of the German singer/actress Hildegaard Knef. He also voiced and sang as Prince Naveen in the German dub of Disney’s “Princess and the Frog”.
He is survived by a son Lois. We at wiwibloggs send our deepest condolences to Roger’s family and friends.