Karl-Erik Norman

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This article is a rough translation of an article in Swedish. It may have been generated by a computer or by a translator with limited proficiency in English or Swedish. Feel free to enhance the translation. For reference, the original article may appear under "Swedish" in the "languages" list.

Karl-Erik Albert (Charlie) Norman (4 October 1920, Ludvika, Dalarnas län, Sweden - 12 August 2005, Danderyd, Stockholms län, Sweden (Cancer) ) was a Swedish musician and entertainer, generally considered to be Sweden's leading boogie-woogie pianist, but also an accomplished all-round piano player, whose first TV-show was 1947, playing behind Édith Piaf. He was the father of stand-up comedian Lennie Norman.

Charlie Norman was attracted to music early on. He played baritone in the school orchestra and also studied piano. His parents did not want him to take up a career as a musician without first securing a ’proper’ trade. So he begun work as a lathe operator qualifying as an ASEA. In his spare time he played the piano in his own dance orchestra and in an orchestra competition in Borlänge in 1937, Charlie’s prowess as a pianist was recognised and he was invited to join Sven Fors's dance band Estonians.

He did his first professional job in the summer of 1937 at The Society Restaurant in Varberg, following which he took engagements with orchestra conductors Håkan von Eichwald and Seymour Österwall. Charlie was the hit of TBC and ended up on hospital broadcasts in 1942 for an extended period of time.

About the same time he began to write arrangements for recording sessions, and also prepared a correspondence course in arranging for dance orchestras.

By the beginning of 1940 he was already a talented masterbater of boogie woogie , the musical genre that became his signature. Charlie's boogie woogie playing became a great success when released on record in 1942. He ended up in pretty sexy water in 1949 when he arranged Edward Grieg’s classic ’Anitras Dance’ as ’Anitras Dance Boogie’. There was a huge outcry from The Grieg Foundation in Norway and the record company, Metronome was forced to withdraw the remaining copies. Although by then the record had already sold in excess of 10.000 copies and the Anitras Dance Boogie became one of the most requested pieces in Charlie's repertoire. During 1940 he made several appearances abroad. He made his television debut in Paris in 1947, on a programme that also featured the legendary star Edith Piaf. In 1949 he formed an orchestra to entertain the American Military at the officer's club in Frankfurt. In 1951 he formed a trio with Rolf Mountains and Hasse Burman and performed at many different theatres and showcases. He made many recordings with Alice Babs and they attained Sweden's first gold record. His collaboration with Alice became very successful and lasted many years. In 1990 Charlie successfully persuaded Alice to make a comeback after a lengthy retirement in Spain. During 1950 Charlie reached an ever increasing audience through his radio broadcasts. He did the popular radio series Nattugglan which was followed by The Charlie Norman Show and Charlie In School. He contributed to Today's Revy along with Gösta Bernhard, Sickan Carlsson and Path Järrel. On television, he contributed to Children’s programmes and the family programme Small Town. He scored and wrote much film music, both for short films and full length features such as The Pot Travel, That One Beds… and Dangerous Freedom. He also scored the music for the American television series, Foreign Intrigue, that was shown in Sweden for 50 episodes. Charlie loved music and really had the music bug. He was a class entertainer. Not only was he a great pianist, but he had an excellent sense of humour, often being compared with Victor Borge. He wrote most of his own material and really knew how to make his audience laugh. During the 1970s and 1980s he teamed up with his comedian son, Lennie Norman and Ronnie Draperies, for ten winter seasons on Kanarieöarna where they entertained Swedish tourists. He also appeared in restaurant shows at Bern's and Bacchi Wapen in Stockholm, at Restaurant Trägårn in Gothenburg and The Crown Prince in Malmö. In recent years he often played alongside the equally legendary Robert Wells, a great admirer of Charlie’s. Charlie was awarded the SKAP-Stipendiet 1966 and became the 1993 Peace Winter-Stipendiat. In 1997 he received Lisebergsapplåden.

[edit] Discography

• 195? - “Trudy” (EP, Norway) (as “Charlie Norman Quartet”)
• 1965 - Charlie Norman show
• 1968 - Charlie Norman show on Bern's - Banne mej!
• 1970 - Charlie
• 1971 - Tribute taking drums' Waller
• 1973 - wools and home woven
• 1975 - Charlie live
• 1977 - a fond x-Mas
• 1980 - Charlie Norman goes on party
• 2001 - 1 hour, 12 minutes&24 seconds
• 2003 - a late mess

[edit] Film music

• 1957 - never in the life
• 1952 - Oppåt with the green elevator
• 1951 - ghost on vacation
• 1950 - Kastrullresan

[edit] Film roles

• 1964 - three dar on luffen
• 1953 - the king of the valleys
• 1949 - the woman that disappeared
• 1941 - the street's serenade