Towa Carson

Towa Carson (actual name Birgit Rose-Marie Anlert, née Carlsson), born on 31 March 1936 in Eskilstuna, Sweden, is a Swedish schlager singer.^[1] She debuted in 1954 and had the most success in the 1950s and 1960s, when she recorded many duets with Lasse Lönndahl. She participated in the Swedish song contest Melodifestivalen (which serves as a national preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest) in 1967 (Du vet var jag finns, third place) and 1968 (two songs: Alla har glömt took fourth place, while Vem frågar vinden took the fifth). Unlike many other Scandinavian schlager-singing stars, she never sought international career, despite allegedly receiving offers from the US and West Germany.

In 2004, at the age of 68, she teamed up with fellow veteran Melodifestivalen participants, Siw Malmkvist and Ann-Louise Hanson, to enter the contest again. The trio, under the name Hanson, Carson & Malmkvist, gained media attention due to the average age of the ladies far exceeding 60. Their song, C'est la vie, written by the prolific Swedish composer Thomas G:son, was a mix of a typical schlager tune with uptempo dance beat. The ladies advanced from their semifinal round thanks to their popularity with televoters and took the tenth place on the final night, with an energetic performance including Siw's spectacular kicks. They also appeared at one of that year's Allsång på Skansen events.

In 2006, Towa Carson celebrated her 70th birthday. She is married to Bengt Anlert, a former soccer player for AIK. The unusual first name she uses on stage stems from her father calling her "Min lilla Tova" when she was a little girl, with reference to her tangled hair ("tova" means "tangle" in Swedish).

Kvällstoppen

• 1964 - Visa mej hur man går hem (with Lars Lönndahl) - 12#
• 1964 - Jag måste ge mej av - 3#
• 1965 - En lilja är vit (with Lars Lönndahl) - 13#
• 1967 - Laxå (with Mats Olsson) - 20#
• 1969 - Casatchok - 11#

References

• This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding Swedish Wikipedia article as of 22 September 2006.
• Aftonbladet report on Hanson, Carson & Malmkvist advancing to the Melodifestivalen final (Swedish)
• Helsinborgs Dagblad report on Towa's 70th birthday (Swedish)
• Västerviks-Tidningen report on Towa's 70th birthday (Swedish)
• Official Melodifestivalen 2004 contestant page for Hanson, Carson & Malmkvist (Swedish)

External links

• Video clip of Hanson, Carson & Malmkvist performing C'est la vie at the Umeå round of Melodifestivalen 2004 Semifinals on YouTube
• Music sample from Towa's 1976 record - Tillbaka Igen