Conception

The song was written by the prolific duo of composer Ralph Siegel and lyricist Bernd Meinunger, and owes a considerable debt to disco music, specifically of the Boney M. tradition. As the name suggests, it is in praise of the titular Mongol warrior, with verses extolling his military ("and about his enemies he only laughed / because nobody could resist his strength") and sexual ("he fathered seven children in one night") prowess. Indeed, the entirety of his band are the subjects of this paean, being described as exceptional drinkers with a devil-may-care attitude to life ("and the devil gets us early enough").^[2]

Eurovision

On 17 March 1979, "Dschinghis Khan" competed in Vorentscheid 1979, the national final organized by Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) for ARD to select their song and performer for the 24th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The song won the competition so it became the West German entry for the contest.^[3] In addition to the German original version, the group also released the song in English.^[2]

On 31 March 1979, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem hosted by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority (IBA), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Dschinghis Khan performed their song ninth on the night, following Switzerland's "Trödler und Co" by Peter, Sue & Marc and Pfuri, Gorps & Kniri and preceding Israel's "Hallelujah" by Milk and Honey. Norbert Daum conducted the event's live orchestra in the performance of the German entry.^[4] At the close of voting "Dschinghis Khan" had received 86 points, placing fourth in a field of nineteen.^[5]

Aftermath

The song had a lasting success in Japan. In 2014 it was certified gold for 100,000 digital downloads, after first being released digitally in 2006.^[6]

In 2020, the Dschinghis Khan lineup led by Wolfgang Heichel and Stefan Track re-recorded the song and filmed its music video in Mongolia, featuring Heichel interacting with a Mongolian tribe.^[7]

Frederik version

Finnish singer Frederik covered the song as "Tsingis Khan" in his 1979 album Tsingis Khan, with Finnish lyrics by Juha Vainio. According to the website of Frederik, the composer of the original song, Ralph Siegel, considered the Frederik version to be even better than the original.^[15] Siegel offered Frederik to also cover the song "Hadschi Halef Omar", which he did as "Sheikki Ali Hassan" in a 1980 single. "Tsingis Khan" peaked at No. 14 on the Finnish Singles Chart and was certified Gold.

Frederik's version of the song is also used as ring entry theme by Russian boxer Denis "Tsingis Khan" Shafikov.

Berryz Kobo version

The Japanese girl idol group Berryz Kobo also released a cover of the song, albeit with toned-down lyrics, which do not make mention to the more explicit details pertaining to war, rape or the consumption of alcoholic beverages found in the 1979 original.

This single release marks the group's first cover song to be slotted as an a-side in a single. There are two versions to this single, a limited edition with a DVD (PKCP-5112~3) and a regular edition (PKCP-5114 – first pressing containing a photo card and a ticket for a raffle to attend an event promoting the single).^[17]

The song was used as the main song to the group's musical, Dschinghis Khan ~Wa ga Tsurugi, Nessa wo Some yo~ (ジンギスカン～わが剣、熱砂を染めよ～), running through January 2008.^[18]

The single debuted at number 4 in the Oricon Daily Singles Chart and ranked 5th for the week.^[19] It was Berryz Kobo's highest selling single until the release of "Motto Zutto Issho ni Itakatta / ROCK Erotic" in 2013.

In 2009, the single was released in Thailand. It became one of the top songs of the year, ranking 26th in the Channel V Thailand's Asian Top 50 Year-End Chart of 2009.

Dschinghis Khan × Berryz Kobo single

"Dschinghis Khan Tartar Mix" (ジンギスカン　タルタルミックス, Jingisu Kan Tarutaru Mikkusu) is a single by the collaboration unit Dschinghis Khan×Berryz Kobo (ジンギスカン×Berryz工房). It was released on September 17, 2008, following the success of Berryz Kobo's version. The title track "Dschinghis Khan Tartar Mix" features a mix of both groups' vocal tracks. The single also includes both Berryz Kobo and Dschinghis Khan's versions. The music video for the new song had Berryz Kobo digitally placed into a video of an old Dschinghis Khan performance, so that the two groups seem to appear together at the ZDF-Hitparade television show.

The single peaked at No. 35 on Oricon's weekly singles chart, staying in the list for three weeks.^[22]

Other covers

• Swedish dansband Vikingarna released a Swedish-language version of the song, "Djingis Khan", on the 1979 album Kramgoa låtar 7^[24] and as a 1979 single with "Annie's sång" acting as B-side. They also scored a Svensktoppen hit with the song for 10 weeks between 24 June-26 August 1979, including topping the chart.^[25]
• Spanish singer Iván published a version with unrelated lyrics under the title "Sin Amor" (1979).^[26]
• Hong Kong Cantopop singer George Lam released a Cantonese cover of the song "Cheng Ji Si Han" (成吉思汗),^[27] which is included in his 1979 album Choice (抉擇).
• In Chile, the musical group Malibú published a version in Spanish, called "Genghis Khan" (1979).
• A Thai language version of this song was released by the Thai band Royal Sprites in 1979.^[28]
• "Yidden", a cover with unrelated Yiddish lyrics, first recorded by Mordechai Ben David in 1986, is a popular Jewish line dance.^[29]
• Another version of this song was performed by Die Apokalyptischen Reiter on the Dschinghis Khan EP (1998).
• The Korean dance/hip-hop group Koyote have also made a cover of the song, "Aja! Aja!" (아자! 아자!), which appears on their 2007 compilation album Dance Best and 9.5.
• A spoof version of this song is routinely performed by the comedy group Blondon Boys, in the Chilean variety late show Morandé con Compañía. It is called "Somos heterosexuales por opción" ("We are heterosexual by choice").
• Turkish parody group, Grup Vitamin covered this song as Hayriye^[30] in their 1994 album, Aşkın Gözyaşları (Tears of Love in Turkish).^[31]