Fred Åkerström | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Åkerström in 1968 | |
| Born | Bo Gunnar Åkerström (1937-01-27)27 January 1937 Stockholm, Sweden |
| Died | 9 August 1985(1985-08-09) (aged 48) Karlskrona, Sweden |
| Other names | Fred Åkerström |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Folk music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter, actor |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1963–1985 |
Musical artist | |
Fred Åkerström (bornBo Gunnar; 27 January 1937 – 9 August 1985) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, and actor. Often deemed as the all-time greatest interpreter ofCarl Michael Bellman, he is noted for hisbass-baritone voice and immersive performances. Debuting during thefolk music revival in the early 1960s, Åkerström recorded manysentimental ballads and became a major voice in Swedishprotest song movement.
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 aspired at an early age to become avissångare, after having heard local singer-songwriter Ruben Nilson (1893-1971). After performances at the famousVispråmen Storken, a barge in Stockholm where folksingers performed, he released his first record in 1963,Fred Åkerström sjunger Ruben Nilson. He was a contemporary ofCornelis Vreeswijk, and the two were at times very close, touring together and releasing a joint record early in their careers.[1] He became an alcoholic in later life. His daughterCajsaStina Åkerström is also a singer.[2]
Like Vreeswijk, Åkerström was a major interpreter ofCarl Michael Bellman's songs, giving them "a new and more powerful expression" than they had had before, starting with his live performance of one ofFredman's Epistles, "Nå skruva fiolen" in 1964. 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.[3] Åkerström published ten albums containing Bellman songs, of which three were dedicated to that subject:Fred sjunger Bellman in 1969;Glimmande nymf in 1974; andVila vid denna källa in 1977. His performances increased in intensity until it seemed to audience and critics that Åkerström was identifying himself with Bellman.[4][5] In his bookIngenstans fri som en fågel,[6] 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.[5] His later Bellman recordings combined his guitar with cello and flute.[7]
In the late 1960s, Åkerström was influenced by left wing politics and started recording more political songs such as Kapitalismen (Capitalism) which originally was a danish protest song written by Per Dich.[8] He also joined theCommunist Party (known then as KPML(r)) and published the songs under their record label Proletärkultur[8]
Fred Åkerström lämnade snart KFML(r) och återvände till nöjets estrader där han gjorde succé med sånger av Bellman.
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