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(; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish term for a band that plays (; "dance band music"). ' is often danced to in pairs.
Jitterbug Jitterbug is a generalized term used to describe Swing (dance), swing dancing. It is often synonymous with the lindy hop dance but might include elements of the Jive (dance), jive, east coast swing, collegiate shag, Charleston (dance), charlesto ...
and
foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...
music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired by schlager,
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
,
rock'n'roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and ...
and some swing. The main influence for rock-oriented bands is the rock music of the 1950s and 1960s. The terms ' and ' were coined around 1970, when Swedish popular music developed a signature style. The genre developed primarily in Sweden, but has spread to neighbouring countries
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
and the Swedish-speaking regions of Finland. When the music came to Norway it was first called "" (from the Swedish radio music chart
Svensktoppen ''Svensktoppen'' () is a weekly record chart airing on Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedish language. Svensktoppen has aired since 1962, except for the years 1982–1985. In the years leading up to the January 20 ...
, which was a major arena for dansband music before its rules changed in January 2003). A dansband often travels by bus, performing several times every week year-round, outdoors in the summertime and indoors in the wintertime. Performances are also often held on cruise ships. Several dansbands are named after their lead singer (whose name is sometimes shortened), followed by "'" ("orchestra"). The tradition originates from the old dance orchestras, often named after their
Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...
. The possessive suffix "s" is often replaced by "z" in dansband names. Some dansbands are named after earlier members. The main audience for dansband music is middle-aged adults. The music is often performed live by the bands at venues where the main interest of the audience is dancing, rather than watching the performance on stage. However, many dansbands also record albums and singles.


Lyrics

Dansband lyrics are often upbeat, and are mostly about love,
friendship Friendship is a Interpersonal relationship, relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. Althoug ...
and
peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...
. Other lyrics are about dancing. Some lyrics are inspired by national romanticism, with lyrics about things such as old memories from the past,
nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
, or native districts. Romantic dansband lyrics are reminiscent of pop, where the singer declares his or her love for the person being sung to, but are often more focused on growing old together and living together until one of them dies. The Norwegian dansband Ole Ivars has also, with much humour, written lyrics that are more about society than traditional dansband lyrics. The lyrics are often in Swedish in Sweden, and in Norwegian in Norway. In the 1990s, special "dansband songwriters" broke through, among them Lasse Holm, Gert Lengstrand and Torgny Söderberg. For many years, the same persons wrote songs for most of the major names, but soon dansband musicians became more involved in songwriting.


History


1970s: Dancing in Folkets park

Before dansband music became popular, many jazz orchestras played a " schlager-inspired" dance music. Many people believe that the development of the dansbands during the 1950s and 1960s depended on the decreasing interest for jazz, it being replaced by pop and rock as the most popular music among young people. Many Swedish dansbands of the time were known as pop groups during the 1960s, a gestation period shared with the
showband The Irish showband () was a dance band format popular in Ireland from the 1950s to the 1980s, with its peak in the 1960s. These bands typically had seven to ten members, including a rhythm section and a brass section with various combinations o ...
scene in Ireland, which had many similarities with its Nordic counterpart, especially in the influences referenced in creating a homegrown music scene such as
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, American and British pop music, swing, and
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
. The golden era of dansband music was the 1970s, with bands like Thorleifs, Flamingokvintetten, Ingmar Nordströms, Wizex and Matz Bladhs. There were at most around 800 full-time working dansbands in Sweden; by the late 1990s this number was down to around 500. The term was coined in Sweden in 1976, to sound more modern and tougher than the earlier (dance orchestra), but later many of the bands have begun to call themselves "live bands". In 1977, the song "
Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
", performed by Swedish dansband
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
, won the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1977 and finished 18th (last) in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977. For tax reasons, it was possible to write-off "fantasy" outfits in declaring of income, on the grounds that it would not be possible to wear such outfits in everyday life. This led to many bands wearing highly extravagant matched outfits in their stage performances.Svenska Dagbladet – Vad gör man inte för ett avdrag
Article by Per Gudmundson (Swedish)


1980s: Dansband decline during the years of disco

By 1976–1977, pop groups like
ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...
,
The Bee Gees ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...
and Boney M. came to dominate dance floors and pop charts with
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
. Some dansbands, like Sten & Stanley, "became turncoats", performing their own disco covers, and followed the disco fashion. However, most of these changes failed and "Dansband death" became a common expression. Several dansbands disbanded and soon only the full-time bands remained, highlighted by Matz Bladhs and Vikingarna. Performances often took place on boats and at town hotels, with male members appearing in a
suit A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit, is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt su ...
, which for many years would become a dansband
stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...
. In 1987, the song " Fyra Bugg & en Coca Cola" (renamed "Boogaloo" because of commercial controversy about the lyrics), performed by Swedish dansband singer
Lotta Engberg Anna Charlotte "Lotta" Engberg (born Pedersen; 5 March 1963) is a Swedish singer. She represented Sweden in Eurovision Song Contest 1987 with "Boogaloo (song), Boogaloo" after winning Melodifestivalen 1987. She also tried many times in Melodif ...
, won the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1987 and finished 12th in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, Lotta Engberg gained popularity in the Nordic region with a sound including several catchy and joyful melodies as the lead singer in Lotta & Anders Engbergs Orkester.


1990s: I afton dans, rebirth and strong media attention

In the late 1980s, the decline of discothèques once again gave dansbands more space. They became more visible in the media.
Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio Aktiebolag, AB (; "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio programming, radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a television ...
began broadcasting of " I afton dans" from several dancing venues, and café programmes in
Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television aktiebolag, Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksd ...
invited dansbands as
house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...
s. The early 1990s also saw a new period of popularity for
Sven-Ingvars Sven-Ingvars is a Swedish pop music, pop/rock music, rock group from Slottsbron, Sweden. The band was formed in 1956 by Sven Svärd (drums), Ingvar Karlsson (guitar and accordion), Sven-Erik Magnusson (vocals, guitar, and clarinet). Later the b ...
. In 1993, the song " Eloise", performed by Swedish dansband Arvingarna, won the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1993 and finished 7th in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993. Arvingarna had a more pop and rock-oriented dansband sound, and gained popularity among many teenagers. In 1999, Wizex singer Charlotte Nilsson performed the song "", with lyrics in English known as " Take Me to Your Heaven", winning both the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1999 and the Eurovision Song Contest 1999. Vikingarna was one of the more popular dansbands in Sweden before being disbanded in 2004, but during the late 1990s and early 2000s (decade), they also toured (Germany) and recorded albums in German. After a substantial decrease in the broadcasting of dansband music on radio and television in Sweden during the early 2000s (decade), despite their continuing popularity with the wider public, the dansbands declared that they were being discriminated against in August 2007, since Sveriges Radio plays many different genres of music, especially if the songs are written or performed by Swedes. The dansbands reported Sveriges Radio to Granskningsnämnden för radio och TV (the Swedish Broadcasting Commission) in what became known as ("the dansband rebellion"), which was covered widely by the mass media. However, a few days later the commission decided not to take up the matter. In recent years, artists have begun to mix dansband music with other genres. Per Arnez, for example, has gained some fame by remixing dansband with
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
.


Sub-genres

Dansband has been split into many sub-genres, arguably due to the aging audience and the influence of pop-music. * , Swedish for 'mature', is the older form of dansband, characterized by slower tempo and easier rhythms. The bands playing usually play covers of songs from the 1950s and 1960s. * , Swedish for 'modern', exists as a contrast to , in that it is the most modern and recently crafted songs and styles. It features songs played at a higher tempo with influences from contemporary pop music.


Svensktoppen and Bingolotto

The Swedish
Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio Aktiebolag, AB (; "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio programming, radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a television ...
chart
Svensktoppen ''Svensktoppen'' () is a weekly record chart airing on Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedish language. Svensktoppen has aired since 1962, except for the years 1982–1985. In the years leading up to the January 20 ...
was dominated by dansbands between 1993 and 2002. When the rules were changed in January 2003 to allow songs in languages other than Swedish, dansband music started to decline and was replaced with conventional pop and rock. Dansband music also dominated the musical interludes in Bingolotto until Leif "Loket" Olsson resigned as presenter in 1999.


References


External links

{{Commons category, Dansbands
American photographer Peter Beste's in-progress portfolio of Danseband Culture
Dansband music Music of Sweden