Lasse Lönndahl

Lars Gunnar "Lasse" Lönndahl (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈlâsːɛ ˈlœ̂ndɑːl, -sːə]; 19 August 1928 – 26 December 2022) was a Swedish singer and actor.[1][2] He was considered the most well-known Swedish singer of the 1950s and 1960s with nicknames including "The Swedish Frank Sinatra" and "World's Oldest Teenager".[3] Even though by the mid-1970s his career had slowed down, he was still considered arguably Sweden's most popular singer of all time and was long a very popular figure in media.

Lasse Lönndahl
Lönndahl in 1959
Born
Lars Gunnar Lönndahl

(1928-08-19)19 August 1928
Stockholm, Sweden
Died26 December 2022(2022-12-26) (aged 94)
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active1947–2022
AwardsIllis quorum

Career

Lönndahl was born in Stockholm. His breakthrough was in 1949 with his first record, "Tangokavaljeren",[4] which reached No. 2 in Sweden. After that he became one of the leading faces in popular music, scoring 12 No. 2 hit singles in the 1950s. He also made some movies in the late 1950s.

In the 1960s, he became the first singer to have a No. 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 and 1972 he had 35 songs on the chart, with a total of 37.[5]

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 he believed too much time had passed and that his father's appearance came much too late. In late 1970, Lönndahl's seven-year-old daughter Malin and her mother died in a car accident in Los Angeles, California.[6] 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".[7]

Lönndahl died on 26 December 2022, at the age of 94.[2][8]

Awards

Lönndahl was awarded the Illis quorum in 1993.[9]

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: Swinging at the Castle
  • 1960: Ung och grön
  • 1966: Dessa fantastiska smålänningar med sina finurliga maskiner

See also

References
  1. "Lars Lönndahl". Nationalencyklopedin (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  2. "Lasse Lönndahl är död". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 26 December 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  3. Lagercrantz, Agneta (12 October 2010). ""Jag tror jag håller på att bli gammal"". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). ISSN 1101-2412. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  4. "Lasse Lönndahl var den tidens Håkan Hellström". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  5. "Rekordlistan". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). 8 February 2021. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  6. Gänger, Hasse (28 September 2017). "Lasse Lönndahl, 89: Jag har inte hittat någon som passar". Allas (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  7. "Lasse Lönndahl: Jag fick tusentals med beundrarbrev i veckan – och jag svarade på vartenda ett". Sveriges Radio. Elfving möter. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  8. "JUST NU: Sångaren Lasse Lönndahl död". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  9. Magnusson, Bo. "September 2016". Edition Allegro Musik HB (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
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