Another sad story comes from Lys Assia. In the age of 94 she has died. Lys Assia has been the first Eurovision winner in 1956 with the song “Refrain”. In the year after she came second. After all the years Lys Assia has often been seen at the Eurovision venues, once overhanded the trophy to Alexander Rybak in 2009 or has been guest of honour in the 50th anniversary show of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Another sad story comes from Lys Assia. In the age of 94 she has died. Lys Assia has been the first Eurovision winner in 1956 with the song “Refrain”. In the year after she came second. After all the years Lys Assia has often been seen at the Eurovision venues, once overhanded the trophy to Alexander Rybak in 2009 or has been guest of honour in the 50th anniversary show of the Eurovision Song Contest. Furthermore she visited the shows whenever it was possible. Even if she was getting old, she was still young at heart and showed her positive attitude to her beloved competition.

Lys Assia was born in 1924 in Rupperswill, Switzerland. She took ballet lessons and was singing. In 1942 she received her first record contract. In Paris she had the opportunity to replace Josephine Baker due to illness and could convince. Lys’s first hit was “O mein Papa”. She became very popular in Switzerland and Germany. In 1956 she represented Switzerland at the Grand Prix d’Eurovision de la Chanson and won it straight away. Since then she was the prominent face of this competition. Later on Lys also appeared in several movies, went abroad with her husband, but never give up singing.

We will all miss this lovely lady. Rest in peace dear Lys.

Author: Bernd LemmermannEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Public relations, Editor, Journalist

About me:
As one of the founders of eurovisionlive.com I am responsible for the interviews with the singers and the editorial content. My passion for the Eurovision Song Contest exists since my early childhood. The exotic music, different cultures and languages have given a lot of inspiration to me. Since my very first ESC in Dublin 1994 I particularly appreciate the get together and friendship of all the nationalities and Riverdance was a thrill!