John Charles Kenneth Gärdestad (9 May 1948 – 3 March 2018) was a Swedish songwriter, best known for writing lyrics for the songs of his brother,

Ted Gärdestad Ted Arnbjörn Gärdestad (; 18 February 195622 June 1997) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, musician and actor known internationally as Ted. Gärdestad began his acting career in 1966 and began playing music in 1971, signing with Polar Music. Ass ...

. He participated at Melodifestivalen 1979 as a songwriter for the winning song "

Satellit "Satellit" (), known in English as "Satellite", is a soft rock song written by Swedish composer and singer Ted Gärdestad and lyricist Kenneth Gärdestad. Originally performed by Ted, the song was performed in its native language as the entry ...

" performed by his brother. The song went on to

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster submits an origina ...

the same year, where it placed 17th. Gärdestad was also an architect, affiliated to the private

Kunskapsskolan Kunskapsskolan (translates as "the knowledge school") is a Swedish group of independent schools for students from grades 4–9 (ages 10–16) in elementary school. Some of the Swedish schools also include gymnasium (school), gymnasium schools fo ...

, where he designed the interior of several of its high schools. Gärdestad published the biography ''Jag vill ha en egen måne'' in 2005. In later years he became a mental health activist, and created the "Ted Gärdestad Stipend", a prize awarded to amateur singers and songwriter.

Music career

Gärdestad was a songwriter who co-wrote lyrics for many of his younger brother Ted Gärdestad's (1956–1997) songs. This included his

Melodifestivalen Melodifestivalen (; ) is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almo ...

song entries "

Oh, vilken härlig dag "Oh, vilken härlig dag" is a song written by Kenneth Gärdestad and Ted Gärdestad, and performed by the latter at Melodifestivalen 1973 where the song ended up 4th. The song was released as a single in February 1973, as well as the 1973 album '' ...

" in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

and "Rockin' 'n' Reelin'" in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. As such, Gärdestad also won Melodifestivalen 1979 with Ted's song "

". The song went on to represent Sweden in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1979 The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was the 24th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Jerusalem, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. Organised by the Euro ...

, finishing 17th during the final held in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. Gärdestad also competed in 2008 in the SVT music show ''

Doobidoo ''Doobidoo'' is a Swedish musical game show first aired on 26 August 2005 on the public service network SVT. There is also a Polish, TVP2, version called ''Dubidu'' - show host Piotr Gasowski - and an Australian version that goes by ''You may be ...

'' along with

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 ...

. He took part again in

in 2010, with lyrics for "Hur kan jag tro på kärlek?" performed by singer

Erik Linder Erik Linder (born in Tyresö, Stockholm County, Sweden on 22 February 1982) is a Swedish singer. He started singing very early. He took part in Talang 2009, the third season of the show on Swedish TV4 television channel. He reached semifinal ...

. The song placed fifth in the semi-final and was eliminated. In 2016, he was awarded the

Musikförläggarnas pris Musikförläggarnas pris is an annual award given to Swedish songwriters, producers and lyricists. The award was created in 2003 by the Musikförläggarna music organisation in Sweden and meants to highlight Swedish music and its creators. The awa ...

, an honorary award for "many years of work for Swedish music and for creating timeless stories which he shares". In 2018, he won an honorary

Grammis The Grammis (sometimes referred to as the Swedish Grammy Awards) are music awards presented annually to musicians and songwriters in Sweden. The oldest Swedish music awards were instituted as a local equivalent of the Grammy Awards given in t ...

award, citing "his many years in the music industry and for his work in it, and many wonderful lyrics."

Tributes to his brother

Gärdestad, with Keijo Liimatainen, wrote ''Jag vill ha en egen måne'' (2005), a biography about his brother Ted and the circumstances surrounding his suicide in 1997. In 2018, a biographical film about his brother, '' Ted: För kärlekens skull'', was released. Gärdestad took part in creating realistic scenes for the film and gave it his support. Peter Viitanen portrayed Kenneth Gärdestad in the film. Gärdestad was a special guest on the show ''

Så mycket bättre Så mycket bättre (, ) is a Swedish reality television show broadcast on TV4 (Sweden), TV4. The basic premise is that each participating musician performs their own version of a well-known song by another artist, with each episode focusing on ...

'' in 2016, which was broadcast on Swedish national television station

TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to: *TV4 (Polish TV channel), a private Polish television station *TV4 (Swedish TV channel), a Swedish television network **TV4 AB, owners of the Swedish television station *SABC TV4, a channel operated by the South African st ...

. The last episode of the 2016 season featured the season's chosen singers performing several of his brother's well-known hits, including "Helt nära dig" (interpreted by

Little Jinder Astrid Maria Josefine Jinder (née Stove; born 20 February 1988), better known by her stage name Little Jinder, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and record producer. Biography She is the daughter of Björn Stove and Åsa Jinder and granddaugh ...

), "Sommarlängtan" (by

Magnus Carlson Magnus Carlson (born 3 August 1968) is a Swedish singer, composer, songwriter, DJ, and record collector. After playing in various cover bands in the nineties he formed the indie group, Weeping Willows. Their 1997 debut album was an instant s ...

), "Himlen är oskyldigt blå" (by

Jill Johnson Jill Anna Maria Johnson (born 24 May 1973) is a Swedish country and pop singer, songwriter and TV-host. She performed in the Melodifestivalen 1998 contest, winning with the song " Kärleken är" ("Love Is"), and represented Sweden at the Euro ...

), "505 to Casablanca" (by

Freddie Wadling Berndt Arvid Freddie Wadling (2 August 1951 – 2 June 2016) was a Swedish singer born in Gothenburg, whose over-thirty-year musical career extended from punk to classical ballads. Band member Wadling played bass in a number of bands during ...

), "Sol, vind och vatten" (by

Lisa Ekdahl Lisa Ekdahl (born 29 July 1971) is a Swedish popular music singer and songwriter. She has so far released 10 albums, most of them in Swedish, but some entirely in English. Her voice has been described as "child-like" and "soft, supple and smoot ...

), "I den stora sorgens famn" (by

Tommy Nilsson Erik Tommy Nilsson (born 11 March 1960) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. He represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989, coming fourth. He is also a member of the rock group Easy Action. Music career In the late 1970s, Nil ...

) and "För kärlekens skull" (by

Danny Saucedo Daniel Gabriel Alessandro Saucedo Grzechowski (born 25 February 1986), known professionally as Danny Saucedo or simply Danny, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. He rose to fame as one of the finalists in '' Idol 2006'', the Swedish version of ...

Architecture work

Gärdestad was head architect at

from 2008 until his death, and designed many of the schools' rooms. Kunskapsskolan (literally ''The Knowledge School'') is a Swedish network of independent schools that provides education for students from grades 4 to 9 (ages 10 to 16). It also provides gymnasium schools for grades 10 to 12 (ages 16 to 19) in different areas of Sweden. Designed by Gärdestad, the architecture is very open, with glass and colourfully painted walls.

Activism

Gärdestad worked to educate and create understanding about psychological illness after his brother Ted's mental illness and suicide in 1997. He was the creator of the annual "Ted Gärdestad Stipend" awarded to amateur singers and songwriters since 1999 to promote their work. The prize includes a tribute concert.

Personal life

Gärdestad's brother Ted was a noted Swedish singer, who represented Sweden in Eurovision with one of Kenneth's songs. Their other brother Kjell (1944–2000) was also a songwriter who co-wrote the song "Viking" with Ted.

Death

Kenneth Gärdestad revealed in 2014 that he was suffering from skin cancer and latent

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

. He died on 3 March 2018, aged 69.

Bibliography

Awards

*2016 –

*2018 – Honorary Grammis award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardestad, Kenneth 1948 births 2018 deaths Deaths from cancer in Sweden Melodifestivalen winners People from Sollentuna Municipality Swedish architects Swedish male songwriters