Marlene Dietrich and a Niemen song: how "Czy mnie jeszcze pamiętasz?" reached the world

Among Czesław Niemen's works is a song that did not win recognition in Poland straight away, yet went on to have an international career thanks to one of the greatest stars of the 20th century. The story of "Czy mnie jeszcze pamiętasz?" ("Do You Still Remember Me?") is recalled by Gazeta.pl, and other Polish media confirm its main points.

Concerts in Warsaw

In January 1964, Marlene Dietrich came to Poland with Burt Bacharach, the composer and pianist who was then her accompanist and bandleader. The actress and singer gave six concerts in Poland. According to Polskie Radio, her Warsaw performances were preceded by the band Niebiesko-Czarni, with whom Niemen performed.

According to Polskie Radio, Dietrich approached Niemen and asked about the song "Czy mnie jeszcze pamiętasz?". TVN24, meanwhile, reports that she heard it during a performance at Warsaw's Sala Kongresowa and decided to buy the copyright to the song.

Recording in London

Dietrich recorded her own version in London, with Burt Bacharach's orchestra. The song was released under the German title "Mutter, hast du mir vergeben" (in Polish, roughly: "Matko, czy mi wybaczyłaś", or "Mother, have you forgiven me"). According to Polskie Radio, it was in this version that the song was sung around the world.

As Polskie Radio writes, the news that the star was interested in a song by a young Polish artist caused a sensation in Poland at the time.

How much did Dietrich pay?

A figure of 400 dollars appears in the sources. The Gazeta.pl headline suggests that this is what Niemen received. Polskie Radio (Trójka), however, states that the singer received half of the 400 dollars that Dietrich paid for the song. We were unable to access the full text of Gazeta.pl, so we do not decide which version is accurate.

Niemen in 1963 and 1964

A few weeks earlier, in December 1963, Niemen performed with the group Niebiesko-Czarni at the Olympia in Paris. The singer died on 17 January 2004, aged just under 65. His songs continue to be performed by successive generations of artists, and the 20th anniversary of his death was marked by, among other events, a concert in Poznań.

The description from the Gazeta.pl channel also mentions that the song did not immediately appeal to listeners, and that some thought the artist had many better songs in his repertoire. We were unable to verify this point in other sources.