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Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson in Minnesota, 2006
Benny Andersson in Minnesota, 2006
Background information
Birth name Göran Bror Benny Andersson
Born December 16, 1946 (1946-12-16) (age 61)
Origin Vällingby, Stockholm, Sweden
Genre(s) Folklore, Pop Music
Occupation(s) Composer, Producer
Instrument(s) Accordion, Piano
Years active 1964 - present
Label(s) Polar Music
Associated acts ABBA, Hep Stars, Orsa Spelmän

Göran Bror Benny Andersson (born in Stockholm, Sweden on December 16, 1946) is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA (1972-1982), and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!. Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers Events 755 - An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Vällingby (by most Swedes today understood as " Gruel Village" see history below is a suburban District in West Stockholm, Sweden ('stɔkhɔlm is Sweden 's Capital and its largest City. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the parliament, and the "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other History The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of Romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The accordion is a portable box-shaped Musical instrument of the hand-held Bellows -driven free-reed aerophone family sometimes referred to as a Squeezebox The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Polar Music is a Swedish Record company founded in 1963 by Stig Anderson and his friend Bengt Bernhag The Hep Stars was a Swedish pop group formed in 1963 The group were among the most successful of 1960s Swedish pop groups Orsa Spelmän is a Folk music sextet from Orsa in Sweden, which was founded in 1987. ('stɔkhɔlm is Sweden 's Capital and its largest City. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the parliament, and the "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Events 755 - An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance. Chess is a musical with Lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, formerly of ABBA Kristina från Duvemåla ("Kristina from Duvemåla" is a Swedish musical written by former ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus This article is about the stage musical For the film see Mamma Mia! The Movie. Currently active with his own band Benny Anderssons Orkester (BAO!), and co-producing forthcoming film Mamma Mia!. Benny Anderssons Orkester ( BAO) is a Swedish band with Benny Andersson as musical leader and Composer.

Contents

Early years

Andersson was born to 34-year-old constructional engineer Gösta Andersson and his 26-year-old wife Laila. His sister Eva-Lis Andersson followed in 1948.

Andersson's musical background comes basically from his father and grandfather; they both enjoyed playing the accordion, and at six, Benny got his own. The accordion is a portable box-shaped Musical instrument of the hand-held Bellows -driven free-reed aerophone family sometimes referred to as a Squeezebox Father Gösta and grandfather Efraim taught him Swedish folk music, traditional music, and the odd schlager. Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous Traditional music is the term now used in the terminology of Grammy Awards for what used to be called " folk music " Schlager ( German Schlager, literally "hitter" or more loosely translated "a hit" is a style of Popular music that is prevalent in Benny recalls the first records he bought were by Italian schlager singer Caterina Valente: "Du Bist Musik" and Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock"; this smörgåsbord of different kinds of music was to influence and follow him through the years. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Caterina Valente (born January 14, 1931 in Paris) is a singer dancer and actress "Du bist Musik" ( English translation "You Are Music" was the Austrian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980, performed in Smörgåsbord is a Swedish word which refers to a type of Scandinavian meal served Buffet -style in Swedish cuisine.

When Andersson was ten he got his own piano, and taught himself to play. He left school aged 15 and began to perform at youth clubs. This is when he met his first girlfriend Christina Grönvall, with whom he had two children: Peter (born 1963) and Helen (born 1965).

In early 1964, Benny and Christina joined a group with the odd name "Elverkets Spelmanslag" ("The Electricity Board Folk Music Group"), who by no means was a folk music ensemble: the name was a punning reference to their electric instruments. The repertoire was mainly instrumentals, and Benny recalls one of his standout numbers was "Baby Elephant Walk". "Baby Elephant Walk" is a tune written in 1961 by Composer Henry Mancini, for the 1962 release of the movie Hatari! He also wrote his first pieces of songwriting around this time for this band.

In March 1964, "Elverket Spelmanslag" was up against another band in a talent contest, The Hep Stars. The Hep Stars was a Swedish pop group formed in 1963 The group were among the most successful of 1960s Swedish pop groups When Benny stepped in as the Hep Stars' keyboardist in October of that year, he knew this was what he wanted to do.

The Hep Stars years (1964-1969)

The Hep Stars got their breakthrough in March 1965 with their massive hit "Cadillac", eventually becoming the most celebrated of the Swedish 1960s pop bands. Andersson consolidated his place as the band's keyboardist and musical driving force as well as a teen idol. The band performed mostly covers of international hits, but Andersson soon started writing own material, and gave the band the classic hits "No Response", "Sunny Girl", "Wedding", "Consolation", "It's Nice To Be Back" and "She Will Love You" amongst others.

Before ABBA (1969-1972)

Andersson met Björn Ulvaeus in June 1966, and the two started writing songs together, their first being "Isn't It Easy To Say", eventually recorded by The Hep Stars. Björn Kristian Ulvaeus, bjœɳ ɵlˈveɵs (born April 25 1945 is a Swedish Musician, Composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group He also had a fruitful songwriting collaboration with Lasse Berghagen, with whom he wrote several songs and submitted "Hej, Clown" for the 1969 Melodifestivalen - the Swedish Eurovision Song Festival finals. Lars "Lasse" Nils Berghagen (born May 13 1945 in Enskede) is a Swedish Singer, Songwriter, Composer Melodifestivalen (mɛlʊˈdiːfɛstɪˌvɑːlɛn English "The Melody Festival" is an annual Music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters The song finished in second place. During this contest he met vocalist Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and they soon became a couple. Anni-Frid Princess Reuss von Plauen (born Anni-Frid Lyngstad 15 November 1945 in Bjørkåsen Ballangen, Norway) is a Norwegian Around the same time his songwriting companion Ulvaeus met vocalist Agnetha Fältskog. Agnetha Åse Fältskog (aŋneta osɛ fɛltskug (born Agneta Åse Fältskog) is a Swedish pop Singer-songwriter and Record

The personal relationships and Andersson and Ulvaeus' songwriting collaboration has led quite naturally to the very close co-operation which the four friends had during the following years. Benny and Björn scored their first hits as songwriters in the spring of 1969: "Ljuva Sextiotal" (a hit with Brita Borg) and "Speleman" (a hit for The Hep Stars). As the two couples began supporting each other during recording sessions, the sound of the girls' voices convinced the songwriters to model their 'group' on the like of MOR acts Blue Mink, Middle of the Road and The Sweet. Blue Mink was a British five-piece pop group from 1969 to 1973 Middle Of The Road was a Scottish pop group who enjoyed great success across Europe in the early 1970s Sweet (referred to as The Sweet on albums before 1974 and singles before 1975 were a popular 1970s British band. Thus, ABBA came to life.

The ABBA years (1972-1982)

The foursome's breakthrough came with winning the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden with "Waterloo" on April 6, 1974. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. " Waterloo " first called "Honey Pie" was the first single from Swedish pop group ABBA 's second album Waterloo, their first for Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. During the next eight years, Andersson (together with Ulvaeus) wrote music to and produced eight studio albums with ABBA. The group achieved great success globally and scored a chain of #1 hits.

After ABBA: "Chess" , "Kristina" and "Mamma Mia!"

After ABBA broke up in 1983, Andersson continued writing music with Ulvaeus. Their first project was the stage musical Chess, written with Tim Rice. Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance. Chess is a musical with Lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, formerly of ABBA Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944 is an English Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award The "Chess" concept album - with vocals by Elaine Paige, Barbara Dickson, Murray Head and Swedes Tommy Körberg and Björn Skifs - was released in October 1984, selling two million copies worldwide. Elaine Paige OBE (née Bickerstaff born 5 March 1948 is an English Singer and actress, best known for her work in Musical theatre Barbara Ruth Dickson OBE (born Dunfermline, Fife, 27 September 1947) is a Scottish singer whose hits include " I Know Murray Head (born Murray Seafield Saint-George Head, 5 March 1946, London) is an English Actor and Singer, Tommy Körberg (ˈtɔmːʏ ˈɕɶːrˌbærj in Swedish ( Norsjö, July 4 1948) is a Swedish Singer, Actor, and Musician Björn Nils Olof Skifs (born 20 April 1947 in Vansbro Dalarna Sweden) is a Swedish Singer, Songwriter, The Paige/Dickson duet "I Know Him So Well" became a major #1 hit, and Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok" gave Andersson/Ulvaeus a US #3 hit. I Know Him So Well is a song from the Concept album and subsequent musical Chess by Tim Rice, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus " One Night in Bangkok " is a song originally released in 1984 by Murray Head.

'Chess' was staged in London's West End Prince Edward Theatre in May 1986, and ran for almost three years. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London 's "Theatreland" The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster. A Broadway staging in April 1988 received disastrous reviews, and closed after just two months. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located

In 1985, Andersson produced and released an album with brother and sister Anders and Karin Glenmark, featuring new songs by Andersson/Ulvaeus. Anders Glenmark (b November 20, 1953 in Tomelilla, Sweden) is a Swedish pop and rock singer as well as one of Sweden's Karin Glenmark, born 8 April 1952, is a Swedish pop and rock singer The duo named themselves Gemini, and a second album with more music by Björn and Benny was released in April 1987, containing the big hit "Mio My Mio"; also to be found on the soundtrack to the film Mio in the Land of Faraway, which Andersson co-produced the music to. " Mio My Mio " ( Swedish: "Mio min Mio" is a song performed by Swedish group Gemini for the 1987 film Mio in the Land of Faraway Mio in the Land of Faraway ( Mio min Mio; Мио мой Мио - Mio moy Mio) is a Fantasy film directed by Vladimir Grammatikov and starring

In 1987, Andersson released his first solo album "Klinga Mina Klockor" ('Chime, My Bells'). All the music was written by and performed by himself on accordion, backed by the Orsa Spelmän ('Orsa Folk Musicians) on fiddles. A second solo album followed: November 1989.

In 1990, Andersson scored a Swedish #1 hit with "Lassie", sung by female cabaret group, the Ainbusk Singers, for whom he also wrote the Svensktoppen hits "Älska Mig" and "Drömmarnas Golv". Svensktoppen is a Record chart at Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003 the Songs had to be in the Swedish language. He decided to produce an album with Josefin Nilsson from this quartet, resulting in the 1993 English-language album Shapes, featuring ten new Andersson/Ulvaeus compositions. The shape ( OE sceap Eng created thing) of an object located in some space refers to the part of space occupied by the object as determined

From the late 1980s, Andersson had worked on an idea for an epic Swedish language musical based on his affection for traditional folk music, and in October 1995, "Kristina från Duvemåla" premiered in Sweden. Kristina från Duvemåla ("Kristina from Duvemåla" is a Swedish musical written by former ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus The musical was based on The Emigrants novels by Swedish writer Vilhelm Moberg. The Emigrants is the collective name of a four novel suite by the Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg: The Emigrants Vilhelm Moberg ( August 20, 1898 - August 8, 1973) was a Swedish author and historian best known for his series of four novels The musical ran successfully for almost five years, before closing in June 1999. It currently holds in workshops for an English production on Broadway: "Kristina".

Andersson's next project was Mamma Mia!, a musical built around 24 of ABBA's songs, which has become a worldwide box-office blockbuster with versions in several languages currently being played in many countries, including the UK (West End premiere in April 1999, USA (Broadway premiere in 2001) and Sweden (Swedish language premiere in 2005). This article is about the stage musical For the film see Mamma Mia! The Movie. West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London 's "Theatreland" Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located The word premiere (or première, from the French première, "first" generally means "a first performance" "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the

For the 2004 semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, staged in Istanbul thirty years after ABBA had won the contest in Brighton, Benny appeared briefly in a special comedy video made for the interval act, entitled "Our Last Video". Each of the four members of the group appeared briefly in cameo roles, as did others such as Cher and Rik Mayall. Cher ( IPA: /ʃɛr/ born Cherilyn Sarkisian, May 20 1946 Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall (born 7 March, 1958) is an English Actor, Writer and Comedian. The video was not included in the official DVD release of the Eurovision Contest, but was issued as a separate DVD release. It was billed as the first time the four had worked together since the group spilt. In fact, they each filmed their appearances separately.

A film version of Mamma Mia! is scheduled to premiere on July 18, 2008. This article is about the stage musical For the film see Mamma Mia! The Movie. Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common In April/May 2007, Andersson worked on the film soundtrack, re-recording the old ABBA songs with musicians from the old ABBA recording sessions.

Andersson currently performs folk music on the accordion together with the Orsa Spelmän fiddlers, and since the late 1990s mostly with his own band of 16 musicians, BAO!; "Benny Anderssons Orkester" (Benny Andersson's orchestra/band) with vocalists Helen Sjöholm (from Kristina from Duvemåla) and Tommy Körberg (of Chess fame), with lyrics sometimes written by his song-writing partner and best-friend of 40 years, Björn Ulvaeus. Orsa Spelmän is a Folk music sextet from Orsa in Sweden, which was founded in 1987. Benny Anderssons Orkester ( BAO) is a Swedish band with Benny Andersson as musical leader and Composer. Marie Helen Sjöholm (Swedish heˈleːn ˈɧøːˌhɔlm (born 10 July 1970) is a Swedish singer Actress and Musical theatre performer Tommy Körberg (ˈtɔmːʏ ˈɕɶːrˌbærj in Swedish ( Norsjö, July 4 1948) is a Swedish Singer, Actor, and Musician

BAO! recently achieved a new 'record' in Sweden on the Svensktoppen chart by staying there for 184 weeks (as of January 15, 2008) with the song "Du Är Min Man" ('You Are My Man'), sung by Helen Sjöholm. Marie Helen Sjöholm (Swedish heˈleːn ˈɧøːˌhɔlm (born 10 July 1970) is a Swedish singer Actress and Musical theatre performer The song was No. 1 for 38 weeks between 2004-05. [1]

Film music

Benny Andersson has written music to several films for screen and television; the first attempt in the early 1970s for the obscure Swedish movie The Seduction Of Inga: the film flopped, but the 'Björn & Benny' single "She's My Kind Of Girl" surprised the composers by being released in Japan and becoming a Top 10 hit (the song re-named in Japan as "The Little Girl Of The Cold Wind"). For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.

In 1987, Andersson wrote music and co-produced the soundtrack with Anders Eljas for the film Mio in the Land of Faraway, based on Swedish author Astrid Lindgrens Mio, my Mio. Mio in the Land of Faraway ( Mio min Mio; Мио мой Мио - Mio moy Mio) is a Fantasy film directed by Vladimir Grammatikov and starring Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren ( Née Ericsson 14 November 1907 &ndash 28 January 2002 was a Swedish children's book author and Screenwriter Mio my Mio is a Children's book by Astrid Lindgren. It was first published in 1954 in Sweden, with the Swedish title The title song became a huge hit in Sweden for Gemini. Gemini are a Swedish brother and sister duo consisting of Karin Glenmark and Anders Glenmark.

In 2000, Benny wrote the music for fellow Swede (no relation) Roy Andersson's film Songs from the Second Floor (the music later re-recorded (featuring new lyrics) with BAO! with vocals by Helen Sjöholm). Roy Andersson (born 31 March 1943) is a Swedish Film director, best known for his films A Swedish Love Story and Songs from the Second Floor ( Sånger från andra våningen) is a 2000 Swedish Dark comedy directed by Roy Andersson.

Currently, Andersson is working on the soundtrack to the film version of Mamma Mia!

Awards

Together with Ulvaeus, Andersson was nominated for a Drama Desk Award in a category "Outstanding Music" (for the musical Chess), and for a Tony Award in a category "Best Orchestrations" (for musical Mamma Mia!). This article is about the stage musical For the film see Mamma Mia! The Movie. The Drama Desk Award, created in 1955, is an award which recognizes shows produced on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-off-Broadway, and The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American Theatre and are presented Original cast recordings of both musicals were nominated for a Grammy Award. The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys —are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences

During his post-ABBA career Andersson won four Swedish Grammis awards, and together with Ulvaeus received the "Special International" Ivor Novello award from 'The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters', the Music Export Prize from the Swedish Government, as well as the "Lifetime Achievement" award from the Swedish Music Publishers Association (SMFF). The Grammis Awards are the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy Awards The awards ceremony is generally held each year in February in Stockholm. David Ivor Davies (15 January 1893 &ndash 6 March 1951 better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh Composer, Singer and Actor, who In 2002, Andersson was given an honorary professorship by the Swedish Government for his "ability to create high-class music reaching people around the world".

Private life

Andersson was engaged to Lyngstad for about nine years. They married in October 1978 but divorced in 1981. He married Swedish TV presenter Mona Nörklit in November 1981, and had a son, Ludvig (born January 1982). Ludvig has since followed in his father's footsteps in forming his own band, Ella Rouge.

Discography

ABBA

Original albums
Compilation and foreign language albums

Benny Anderssons Orkester

Björn & Benny

Gemini

Hep Stars

Musicals

Orsa Spelmän

Solo albums

See also

External links

Ring Ring is the first Album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in Scandinavia and a limited number of other territories including Waterloo is Swedish pop group ABBA 's second Album, originally released in Sweden on March 4, 1974. Arrival is the fourth Album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in 1976 (see 1976 in music) The Album, also known as ABBA - The Album, is the fifth Album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in 1977 Voulez-Vous is the sixth studio Album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in 1979. Super Trouper was Swedish pop group ABBA 's seventh studio album first released in 1980 (see 1980 in music) The Visitors is the eighth and final studio album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in 1981. Greatest Hits is a compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music) Greatest Hits Vol 2 was a compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in October 1979 to coincide with their tour of North America and Europe Gracias Por La Música is a 1980 Album by Swedish pop group ABBA (see 1980 in music) The Singles The First Ten Years was a double compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in 1982 ABBA Gold Greatest Hits is a compilation album of recordings by Swedish pop group ABBA, released by PolyGram in 1992 the first compilation More ABBA Gold More ABBA Hits was another compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA. " Thank You for the Music " was the twenty-sixth and final UK single for Swedish pop group ABBA, released in November 1983 to promote the Epic Records compilation ABBA Oro Grandes Éxitos is a greatest hits album by ABBA, first released by Polydor in the United States in 1993, in which the songs are The Definitive Collection is a 2001 Greatest hits Compilation album of all the singles released by Swedish pop group ABBA. Number Ones is a compilation album of recordings by Swedish pop group ABBA, released by the Universal Music Group in 2006. For other uses see The Complete Studio Recordings The Complete Studio Recordings is a Box set of all the studio albums released Benny Anderssons Orkester is an Album by Benny Anderssons Orkester, released in 2001 BAO! is an album by Benny Anderssons Orkester, released in 2004 BAO 3 is an Album by BAO, released on October 24 2007. The album has managed to reach #3 at the Swedish album chart Gemini are a Swedish brother and sister duo consisting of Karin Glenmark and Anders Glenmark. Gemini are a Swedish brother and sister duo consisting of Karin Glenmark and Anders Glenmark. Chess is a musical with Lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, formerly of ABBA Kristina från Duvemåla ("Kristina from Duvemåla" is a Swedish musical written by former ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus This article is about the stage musical For the film see Mamma Mia! The Movie. Klinga mina klockor is an album by Benny Andersson released in 1987 November 1989 is an album by Benny Andersson released in 1989 This is a list of Swedish composers musicians and singers: Composers Johan Agrell (1701-1765 full name Johan Joachim Agrell This article is about the stage musical For the film see Mamma Mia! The Movie.
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