Fred Åkerström (27 January 1937 – 9 August 1985) was a Swedish folk

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themsel ...

and singer particularly noted for his interpretations of

Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as well ...

's music, and his own work of the typically Swedish song segment named ''visa''. These songs, ''visor'', are traditionally very narrative and the performance is "acted" to some degree. The singer is in context a ''vissångare'', a

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a '' trobair ...

character. Åkerström was also known for his actor's interpretations of Bellman's 18th century material, and his unusual ability to reach deep bass notes (especially on his interpretation of Bellman's song ''

Glimmande nymf Glimmande Nymf! blixtrande öga! (Gleaming Nymph, flashing eye!), is a song by the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman from his 1790 collection, ''Fredman's Epistles'', where it is No. 72. It is subtitled "''Lemnad vid Cajsa Lisas S� ...

'').

Life

Åkerström was born in Stockholm to a family of meager circumstances, which would later influence the social, economic, and political criticisms found in many of his works and public appearances. He may have aspired at an early age to become a ''vissångare,'' being a devoted listener to Ruben Nilson. After performances at the famous ''vispråmen "Storken,"'' he released his first record in 1963, ''Fred Åkerström sjunger Ruben Nilson.'' He was a contemporary of

Cornelis Vreeswijk Cornelis Vreeswijk (; ; 8 August 1937 – 12 November 1987) was a Dutch-born Swedish singer-songwriter, poet and actor. He emigrated to Sweden with his parents in 1949 at the age of twelve. He was educated as a social worker and hoped to becom ...

, and the two were at times very close, touring together and releasing a joint record, early in their careers. He became an alcoholic in later life. His daughter CajsaStina Åkerström is also a singer.

Bellman interpreter

Åkerström believed that Bellman had been misinterpreted by an earlier generation of artists: far from being a jolly and romantic person, Bellman was, Åkerström thought, an accurate social reporter of poverty, sickness, death and suffering. Like Vreeswijk, Åkerström was a major interpreter of

's songs, giving them "a new and more powerful expression" than they had had before, starting with his live performance of one of ''

Fredman's Epistles ''Fredmans epistlar'' (English: ''Fredman's Epistles'') is List of Fredman's Epistles, a collection of 82 poems set to music by Carl Michael Bellman, a major figure in Sweden, Swedish 18th century song. Though first published in 1790, it was cre ...

'', "

Nå skruva fiolen Nå may refer to: *''Nå'' is the Norwegian word for present, now *Nå, Ullensvang, a village in Ullensvang municipality, Vestland county, Norway *Nå (magazine), a Norwegian magazine that was published from 1952 until 1995 See also

*Na (disa ...

" in 1964. He published ten albums containing Bellman songs, of which three were dedicated to that subject: '' Fred sjunger Bellman'' in 1969; ''

'' in 1974; and '' Vila vid denna källa'' in 1977. His performances increased in intensity until it seemed to audience and critics that Åkerström was identifying himself with Bellman. In his book ''Ingenstans fri som en fågel'', Peter Mosskin wrote of Åkerström that no-one in two hundred years had succeeded better at bringing Bellman to life, making the story of his music an important element in Swedish cultural history. His later Bellman recordings combined his guitar with cello and flute. Political views In the late 1960’s, Åkerström was influenced by left wing politcs and started recording more political songs such as Kapitalismen (Capitalism) which originally was a danish protest song written by Per Dich. He also joined the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

(known then as KPML(r)) and published the songs under their record label Proletärkultur

Discography

*'' Fred Åkerström sjunger Ruben Nilson'' (1963) *'' Fred besjunger Frida'' (1964), ''visor'' by

Birger Sjöberg Birger Sjöberg (1885–1929) was a Swedish poet, novelist and songwriter, whose best-known works include the faux-naïf song collection ''Fridas Bok'' (Frida's Book) and the novel ''Kvartetten Som Sprängdes'' (The Quartet That Split Up), a ...

*'' Visor och oförskämdheter'' (1964), concert tour recordings with

och

Ann-Louise Hanson Ann-Louise Hanson (born in Kristianstad in 1944) is a Swedish singer who has been involved in the music industry since 1956. In 1960, she had her first hit, "Är du ensam i kväll?", a Swedish version of Elvis Presley's ''Are you lonesome tonig ...

*'' Visor i närheten'' (1965) ''visor'' by Fritz Sjöström *''

Doktor Dolittle ''Doktor Dolitle'' is an album by Swedish folk singer-songwriter and guitar player Fred Åkerström Fred Åkerström (27 January 1937 – 9 August 1985) was a Swedish folk guitarist and singer particularly noted for his interpretations of ...

'' (1965) *'' Dagsedlar åt kapitalismen'' (1967) *'' Fred sjunger Bellman'' (1969) Bellman interpretations *'' Mera Ruben Nilson'' (1971) *'' Två tungor'' (1972), includes song ''"Jag ger dig min morgon"'' *''

'' (1974) with Trio CMB (guitar, flute, cello) Bellman interpretations *'' Bananskiva'' (1976) *'' Vila vid denna källa'' (1977) with Trio CMB (guitar, flute, cello) Bellman interpretations *'' Sjöfolk och landkrabbor'' (1978) *'' Åkerströms blandning'' (1982)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akerstrom, Fred 1937 births 1985 deaths Singers from Stockholm Swedish songwriters Swedish guitarists Male guitarists 20th-century Swedish male singers 20th-century guitarists Interpreters of Carl Michael Bellman's works