Lale Andersen

Lale Anderson (born March 23, 1905 in Bremerhaven, Germany – died August 29, 1972 in Vienna, Austria) was a German singer and songwriter, who is best known for being the first ever artist to record the song "Lili Marleen" on August 1, 1939 (originally titled "Lied Eines Jungen Wachtpostens"). Anderson initially only sold 700 copies of her recording. The song became tremendously popular on both sides of the front during World War II, when it was frequently played by Radio Belgrad in the then-occupied Yugoslavia.