Lars Lönndahl

Lars "Lasse" Lönndahl, born 19 August 1928, is a Swedish singer and actor,^[1] born in Stockholm. He is considered the most well-known Swedish singer of the 1950s and 1960s with nicknames including "The Swedish Frank Sinatra" and "World's Oldest Teenager". Even though by the mid 1970s his career had slowed down, he is still considered arguably Sweden's most popular singer of all time and was long a very popular figure in media.

Career

His breakthrough was in 1949 with his first record, "Tangokavaljeren", which reached #1 in Sweden. After that he became one of the leading faces in popular music, scoring 12 #1 hit singles in the 1950s. He also did some movies in the late 1950s.

In the 1960s, he became the first singer to have a #1 single on the new Swedish chart "Svensktoppen" (the most important Swedish chart) with the 1962 single "Midnattstango". It stayed a total of 18 weeks in the charts. Between the years 1962-1972 he had 35 songs on the chart.

Personal life

Lönndahl was born in Stockholm to a Swedish mother and an English father. His father left the family early and Lönndahl rarely saw him. Lönndahl remembers his father as a man who rarely worked and lived off his wife before absconding. After Lönndahl found fame, his father tried reconnecting with his son, asking him for money. Lönndahl however, never connected with his father again as be believed too much time had passed and that his father's appearance came much too late. During the end of 1970, Lönndahl's six-year old daughter and her mother died in a car accident in Los Angeles, California. After the incident, Lönndahl for a period of time went into a self-imposed exile to the United States, eluding the Swedish press. He subsequently returned to Sweden but refused to record new material, claiming it was too "onerous to be Sweden's greatest singer".^[2]

Number 1 hits

• 1949: "Tangokavaljeren"
• 1952: "Ett vänligt litet ord"
• 1953: "Sången från Moulin Rougue"
• 1953: "That's Amore"
• 1954: "Legenden om Tina"
• 1956: "Man måste vara två"
• 1957: "Kärleksbrev i sanden" ("Love Letters in the Sand")
• 1957: "Cindy Min Cindy"
• 1957: "Tulpaner från Amsterdam"
• 1958: "Volare" (I det blå)
• 1958: "Piccolissima Serenata"
• 1959: "I dina kvarter"
• 1959: "Flickor bak i bilen" ("Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Backseat")
• 1962: "Midnattstango"
• 1964: "Visa mig hur man går hem"
• 1964: "Söker du så finner du"
• 1966: "Tusen och en natt"
• 1967: "Kvällens sista dans"
• 1970: "Allting är så underbart"

Filmography

• 1952: 69:an, Sergeanten och Jag
• 1956: Åsa Nisse Flyger I Luften
• 1957: Johan På Snippen Tar Hem Spelet
• 1959: Resa I Toner
• 1959: Det Svänger På Slottet
• 1960: Ung och Grön
• 1966: Dessa Fantastiska Smålänningar Med Sina Finurliga Maskiner

See also

• List of Swedes in music

References