Lasse Lönndahl

Lasse Lönndahl
Lönndahl in 1959
Born
Lars Gunnar Lönndahl

(1928-08-19)19 August 1928
Stockholm, Sweden
Died26 December 2022(2022-12-26) (aged 94)
OccupationsActor, singer
Years active1947–2022
AwardsIllis quorum

Lars Gunnar "Lasse" Lönndahl (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈlǎsːə ˈlø̂nːdɑːl]; 19 August 1928 – 26 December 2022) was a Swedish singer and actor.[1][2] He was considered the best-known Swedish singer of the 1950s and 1960s with nicknames including "The Swedish Frank Sinatra" and "World's Oldest Teenager".[3] Even though by the mid-1970s his career had slowed down, he was still considered arguably Sweden's most popular singer of all time and was long a very popular figure in media.

Career

Lönndahl was born in Stockholm. His breakthrough was in 1949 with his first record, "Tangokavaljeren",[4] which reached No. 2 in Sweden. After that he became one of the leading faces in popular music, scoring 12 No. 2 hit singles in the 1950s. He also made some movies in the late 1950s.

In the 1960s, he became the first singer to have a No. 1 single on the new Swedish chart Svensktoppen (the most important Swedish chart) with the 1962 single "Midnattstango". It stayed a total of 18 weeks in the charts. Between the years 1962 and 1972 he had 35 songs on the chart, with a total of 37.[5]

Personal life

Lönndahl was born in Stockholm to a Swedish mother and an English father. His father left the family early and Lönndahl rarely saw him. Lönndahl remembers his father as a man who rarely worked and lived off his wife before absconding. After Lönndahl found fame, his father tried reconnecting with his son, asking him for money. Lönndahl however, never connected with his father again as he believed too much time had passed and that his father's appearance came much too late. In late 1970, Lönndahl's seven-year-old daughter Malin and her mother died in a car accident in Los Angeles, California.[6] After the incident, Lönndahl for a period of time went into a self-imposed exile to the United States, eluding the Swedish press. He subsequently returned to Sweden but refused to record new material, claiming it was too "onerous to be Sweden's greatest singer".[7]

Lönndahl died on 26 December 2022, at the age of 94.[2][8]

Awards

Lönndahl was awarded the Illis quorum in 1993.[9]

Discography

Albums

Year Title
1959 Hej där
1964 Med Towa & Lasse på Hamburger Börs (with Towa Carson)
1970 Möt mej efter dansen
Vi två förstår varandra (with Towa Carson)
Minns i November
1971 Som en saga
Towa, Lars & Jan (with Towa Carson and Jan Malmsjö)
En dag fylld av kärlek
1972 Romanser
1973 Lasses Låtlåda
1977 Melodibuketten
Det finns en sång
1983 Kvällens sista dans
1987 Fältslag för Svensk musik (with Thore Skogman and Ewa Roos)
Lars Lönndahl med Marcus Österdahls Kör och Orkester
1996 Reimers Bästa Droppar (Istället För Blommor) (with Jan Boquist Trio & Kör)
1998 Tiden går

EPs

Year Title
1955 Ur filmen "French Can Can"
Så skön som solen
1956 Livets lyckostunder
1957 Med 4 ess
Kärleksbrev i sanden
Ur filmen Pyjamas Leken
1958 I det blå
Piccolissima Serenata
1959 My Fair Lady (With Kjerstin Dellert, Towa Carson, Tosse Bark and Mats Olsson)
Piove…!
L.L.
Lasse
1960 Hello Young Lovers
1961 Blott för dej
Marie, Marie
Exodus
West Side Story (With Towa Carson and Jan Malmsjö)
Walt Disney Sångbok (With Towa Carson, Britt Damberg, Tosse Bark, Jan Malmsjö and Mats Olsson)
1962 Lars L
1963 Gröna, Gränna, Sköna, Sanna Sommar (With Towa Carson)
Ingen kan kyssa som du
Twist till menuett
1964 Cocktails för två
1965 En lilja är vit (With Towa Carson)
1966 Ernst Rolf Melodier
Tusen och en natt
Det händer väl kanske
1971 Tangokavaljeren

Singles

1950s

Year Title
1950 "Tangokavaljeren" (With the Harmony Sisters)[a]
1951 "En mörkröd ros" (With the Harmony Sisters)
"Om"
"Nattlig serenad"
"För ung"
"Poetens sång" (With Ragna Ravell)
"Under Paris himmel"
1952 "Blue Tango"
1953 "Röda rosor, röda läppar, purpurvin"
"Tänk jag drömde"
"Sången från Moulin Rouge"
1954 "That’s Amore" (With the Harmony Sisters)
"Ett vänligt litet ord" (With Ingrid Almquist)
"Legenden om Tina"
1955 "När natten kommer"
"Under samma himmel"
"För dej och mej"
1956 "Tro och kärlek"
"Får jag hålla din hand i min"
"Man måste vara två"[b]
"Livets lyckostunder"
1957 "Det blåser opp i Portugal"
"Cindy min Cindy"[c]
"En grabb i Neapel"
"Kärleksbrev i sanden"
"Signorina"
"Hernandos separée"
"Melodie d'amour"
1958 "I det blå"
"Jag ler mot drj"
"Kom tillbaka bella mia"
1959 "Piove"
"Li per li"
"Venus"
"Bella bambolina"
"Du kysser och bedrar mig"

1960s

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
SWE

Kvällstoppen[10]

SWE

Svensktoppen[11]

1960 "Flickor bak i bilen"
"Pappa Älskar Mamma" (With Anita Lonndahl)
"Aldrig på en Söndag"
1961 "Marie - Marie"
"Exodus"
"På en gård på söder"
1962 "Hello Young Lovers"
"Midnatts-tango" 19 1
"Regnet kommer snart"
1963 "Twist till menuett" 3
"Rosen och vinden" 10[12]
"Gröna, Gränna, Sköna, Sanna Sommar" (With Towa Carson)
"Trumslagarpojken" 14
"Och vinden ger svar" 6
"Wenn Zwei Verliebte Tanzen"
1964 "Visa mej hur man går hem" (With Towa Carson)
"Vilken härlig sommardag"
"Hello Dolly!" 3
"Söker du så finner du" 1
"I dina kvarter"
1965 "En röd blomma till en blond flicka"
"Om du vore här"
"Sång i solen" (With Towa Carson)
"En lilja är vit"
"Så nära som nu"
1966 "Utan Dej" (With Towa Carson)
"Det är grabben me' chokla' i" 10 Ernst Rolf Melodier
"Nå'n stans nå'n gång" 10
"Guantanamera" 7
"Du Lasse, Lasse Liten" (With the Osmond Brothers)
1967 "Kvällens sista dans" 1
"Den sista valsen" 7
"Möt Mej Efter Dansen" (B-side of "Den sista valsen") 9
"Du och jag och våren" 7
"Ett Vitt Litet Hus" (B-side of "Du och jag och våren") 6
1968 "Det måste vara underbart"
"Säg, Vad Har Hänt Med Vår Värld" (B-side of "Det måste vara underbart") 8
1969 "Vår egen melodi" 8
"Tretti' da'r har September" (B-side of "Vår egen melodi") 8
"Hjalp! Hjalp!" (With Towa Carson and Jan Malmsjö)

1970s

Year Title
1970 "Två solröda segel"
"Det skall bli vi" (With Towa Carson)
"Allting e' så underbart"
1971 "Jean"
"Som en saga"
"På en gammal bänk" (With Towa Carson)
"Jag är en gentleman"
"Potpurri" (With Towa Carson)
"Tiden går"
1973 "Hej Du Glada Sommar"

Filmography

  • 1952: 69:an, sergeanten och jag
  • 1956: Åsa-Nisse flyger i luften
  • 1957: Johan på Snippen tar hem spelet
  • 1959: Resa i toner
  • 1959: Swinging at the Castle
  • 1959: Sleeping Beauty (Swedish dubbing)[13]
  • 1960: Ung och grön
  • 1966: Dessa fantastiska smålänningar med sina finurliga maskiner
  • 1995: The Swan Princess (Swedish dubbing)[14]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Tangokavaljeren" was the B-side of "Säg det i toner" by the Harmony Sisters.
  2. ^ "Man måste vara två" was the B-side of "Får jag hålla din hand i min".
  3. ^ "Cindy min Cindy" was the B-side of "Det blåser opp i Portugal".

References

  1. ^ "Lars Lönndahl". Nationalencyklopedin (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Lasse Lönndahl är död". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 26 December 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  3. ^ Lagercrantz, Agneta (12 October 2010). ""Jag tror jag håller på att bli gammal"". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). ISSN 1101-2412. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Lasse Lönndahl var den tidens Håkan Hellström". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Rekordlistan". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). 8 February 2021. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  6. ^ Gänger, Hasse (28 September 2017). "Lasse Lönndahl, 89: Jag har inte hittat någon som passar". Allas (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Lasse Lönndahl: Jag fick tusentals med beundrarbrev i veckan – och jag svarade på vartenda ett". Sveriges Radio. Elfving möter. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  8. ^ "JUST NU: Sångaren Lasse Lönndahl död". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  9. ^ Magnusson, Bo. "September 2016". Edition Allegro Musik HB (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  10. ^ Kvällstoppen - Listresultaten vecka för vechildren and adolescents (PDF).
  11. ^ Radio, Sveriges. "Svensktoppen 2025-11-02 - Svensktoppen". www.sverigesradio.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  12. ^ biblioteket, Kungliga. "EXPRESSEN 1963-03-25". Svenska tidningar (in Swedish). Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  13. ^ "Törnrosa - Svenska röster och credits". Dubbningshemsidan (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  14. ^ "Svanprinsessan / The Swan Princess Swedish Voice Cast". WILLDUBGURU. Retrieved 5 December 2025.