The Hootenanny Singers

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

The Hootenanny Singers were a popular Swedish folk group from Västervik, formed in 1961. Members included Björn Ulvaeus, who later played in ABBA, Johan Karlberg, Tonny Rooth and Hansi Schwarz. For an LP released in the United States in 1966 the group was called The Northern Lights. In 1964 they first appeared on the Swedish TV programme Hylands Hörna, with a song set to a text by the poet Dan Andersson, Jag väntar vid min mila.

Music and breakthrough

An early hit was Gabrielle, based on the Russian song May There Always Be Sunshine by Arkady Ostrovsky. Because there were no international copyright agreements at the time, songs from the Soviet Union were regarded as free to use. Stig Anderson and Bengt Bernhag of the production company Polar Music claimed the arrangement and lyric credits, which Russian media later called plagiarism. The song reached number five in Sweden and was also recorded in German, Finnish, Italian, Dutch and English.

Influence

Through many appearances on open-air stages in Sweden the group became popular. They had many hits on the Svensktoppen chart. Omkring tiggarn från Luossa stayed on that chart for fifty-two weeks, from November 1972 to November 1973, a record. Johan Karlberg stopped at the end of the 1960s to take over his father's business. The album På tre man hand from 1969 contains songs that Ulvaeus also released as a solo single. The group shows where one of the later ABBA members gained his first experience of songs and the stage.

Listening