Ralph Maria Siegel, born Rudolf Maria Siegel on June 8, 1911, in Munich, Germany, was a prominent German composer, lyricist, music publisher, writer, and tenor. He was the son of jurist and composer Rudolf Siegel and a great-grandson of the Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius. Siegel studied music in Cologne, Florence, Rome, and Berlin, receiving instruction from notable figures such as Ernst Toch and taking singing lessons.

Siegel began his artistic career as an operetta tenor, performing at renowned venues like the Metropoltheater and the Admiralspalast in Berlin. During the 1930s, he was a member of the supervisory board of GEMA and played a role in controlling the distribution of sheet music in Nazi Germany. His light-hearted music and banal lyrics were intended to provide entertainment and emotional cohesion during the war years. Siegel occasionally criticized other contemporary music styles as "degenerate art."

In 1941, Siegel joined the Theater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich and later served as the artistic director and head director at the Kurhaus-Theater in Göggingen near Augsburg from 1946 to 1949. He also worked as a director at the Corso-Theater in Berlin and the Deutsches Theater in Munich.

Siegel was a successful schlager composer and lyricist from the 1930s to the 1950s, collaborating frequently with composer Gerhard Winkler. Some of his well-known songs include "Capri-Fischer" (1943), "Es leuchten die Sterne" (1938), "Ich hab’ noch einen Koffer in Berlin" (1951), and "Das Chianti-Lied" (1939). He also adapted foreign songs into German, such as "C’est si bon."

In 1948, Siegel founded the Ralph-Maria-Siegel-Musik-Verlage in Munich, which he managed until his death. He composed film music for several German productions and translated foreign films into German. Siegel also created numerous stage works, including collaborations with Hellmut Seifert on pieces like "Alles für Eva" (1933) and "Charley’s Tante" (1959).

Ralph Maria Siegel passed away on August 2, 1972, in Munich. He was married to Ingeborg Döderlein, with whom he had one child, Ralph Siegel, who also became a notable figure in the music industry.