(; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
term for a band that plays ("dance band music"). ' is often danced to in
pairs.
Jitterbug and
foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired by
swing
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing rid ...
,
schlager,
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...
,
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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
, and
rock. 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 country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establishe ...
and the
Swedish-speaking regions of Finland. When the music came to Norway it was first called "" (from the Swedish radio music chart
Svensktoppen, 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. 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 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.
In some cultures, the concept of ...
and
peace
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
. 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, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans ar ...
, 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
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
in Sweden, and in
Norwegian in Norway.
In the 1990s, special "dansband songwriters" broke through, among them
Lasse Holm,
Gert Lengstrand
Gert is a mainly masculine given name ( short form of Gerrit, Gerard, etc.) with some female bearers (short for Gertrude).
Since 1993 no one in Sweden has been baptised as Gert according to the Swedish Bureau of Census, so the name is becoming ...
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 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
, American and British pop music,
swing
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing rid ...
, and
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...
.
The golden era of dansband music was the 1970s, with bands like
Thorleifs
Thorleifs was a Swedish dansband, formed in 1962 in Norrhult, Kronoberg County, Sweden and led by Thorleif Torstensson. The band sings in Swedish and many other languages, and released some albums in German. It also took part in Melodifes ...
,
Flamingokvintetten
Flamingokvintetten is a Swedish dansband formed in Partille in 1960. The group consists of Hasse Carlsson (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Dennis Janebrink (bass guitar), Stefan Kardebratt (keyboards), Douglas Möller (lead guitar) and Ulf Ge ...
,
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", performed by Swedish dansband
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
, won the Swedish
Melodifestivalen 1977 and finished 18th (last) in the
Eurovision Song Contest 1977
The Eurovision Song Contest 1977 was the 22nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following the country's victory at the with the song " Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man. Organ ...
.
For tax reasons, it was possible to
write-off
A write-off is a reduction of the recognized value of something. In accounting, this is a recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, this is a reduction of taxable income, as a recognition of certain expenses ...
"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: Dancing in the boat, town hotel and dansband decline during the years of disco
By 1976–1977 pop groups like ABBA
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...
, The Bee Gees
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
and Boney M. came to dominate dance floors and pop charts with disco. 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 Vikingarna (Swedish for ''the Vikings'') may refer to:
* Vikingarna (band), a Swedish dansband
* Vikingarnas FK
Vikingarnas FK was a Swedish football club which was founded in 1908. The team was made up of the best players from IFK Stockholm and ...
. Performances often took place on boats and at town hotel
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an or ...
s, with male members appearing in a suit, which for many years would become a dansband stereotype
In social psychology, a stereotype is a 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 be, for exampl ...
.
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, 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 began broadcasting of "I afton dans
I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...
" from several dancing venues, and café programme
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other no ...
s in Sveriges Television invited dansbands as house bands. The early 1990s also saw a new period of popularity for Sven-Ingvars.
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
Tusen och en natt is a 1999 album from Swedish dansband Wizex. The album included Charlotte Nilsson's hit " Tusen och en natt/Take Me to Your Heaven", and the album sold 235,000 copies. The album peaked at #16 at the Swedish album chart.
Track ...
", winning both the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1999 and the Eurovision Song Contest 1999.
Vikingarna Vikingarna (Swedish for ''the Vikings'') may refer to:
* Vikingarna (band), a Swedish dansband
* Vikingarnas FK
Vikingarnas FK was a Swedish football club which was founded in 1908. The team was made up of the best players from IFK Stockholm and ...
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 Press and Broadcasting Authority ( sv, Myndigheten för press, radio och tv) is a Swedish administrative authority organized under the Ministry of Culture. The Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority decides on permits, fees and regis ...
(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
Per is a Latin Preposition and postposition, preposition which means "through" or "for each", as in per capita.
Per or PER may also refer to:
Places
* IOC country code for Peru
* Pér, a village in Hungary
* Chapman code for Perthshire, histor ...
, for example, has gained some fame by remixing dansband with hip-hop.
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 chart Svensktoppen 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.
Notable bands
* Arvingarna, Sweden
*Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate ...
, Sweden
* Benny Anderssons orkester, Sweden
*Berth Idoffs
Berth Idoffs is a dansband from Bromölla, Sweden, established in 1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
* January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the fir ...
, Sweden
* Black Jack, Sweden
* Blender, Sweden
*Carina Jaarneks orkester
Carina Jaarneks orkester was a dansband in the town of Ronneby, Sweden, scoring chart successes at Svensktoppen between the late 1980s and the early 2000s, with Carina Jaarnek acting as the band's singer. It was started in 1989. In 1991, the band ...
, Sweden
* Chiquita, Sweden
*Drängarna
Drängarna (''The Farmhands'') is a Swedish rock- pop/dansband that was formed in 1995, with group members are Peter i Österöd ( Peter Simson), Sunna Robert, Lasse i Torp ( Lars McLachlan) and Olav i Fossen ( Olav Fossheim). Drängarna now consi ...
, Sweden
* Fede Finn & Funny Boyz, Denmark
*Flamingokvintetten
Flamingokvintetten is a Swedish dansband formed in Partille in 1960. The group consists of Hasse Carlsson (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Dennis Janebrink (bass guitar), Stefan Kardebratt (keyboards), Douglas Möller (lead guitar) and Ulf Ge ...
, Sweden
*Four Jets
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest co ...
, Norway
* Gluntan, Norway
* Kandis, Denmark
*Kim & Hallo
Kim or KIM may refer to:
Names
* Kim (given name)
* Kim (surname)
** Kim (Korean surname)
*** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties
**** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948
** Kim, Vietnamese ...
, Denmark
* Kjell Roos Band ("Roosarna"), Sweden
* Larz-Kristerz, Sweden
* Lasse Stefanz, Sweden
* Lotta & Anders Engbergs Orkester, Sweden (1989–1994)
* Lotta Engbergs, Sweden (1994–2002)
* Ole Ivars, Norway
* Perikles, Sweden
*Contrazt
Contrazt is a Norwegian dansband from Solør, formed in 2004. The group originated when Hanne Mette Gunnarsrud and Leif Dybendal from the duo Fullt og helt decided to expand and change the name. Three new guys joined when the group Contrazt occu ...
, Norway
* Rolandz, Sweden
* Sten & Stanley, Sweden
* Streaplers, Sweden
* Sven-Ingvars, Sweden
*Thorleifs
Thorleifs was a Swedish dansband, formed in 1962 in Norrhult, Kronoberg County, Sweden and led by Thorleif Torstensson. The band sings in Swedish and many other languages, and released some albums in German. It also took part in Melodifes ...
, Sweden
*Tommys
Tommys is a dansband from Vaasa, established in 1980. Hans Martin was the singer from establishment until the year 2000. During the 1980s, the band mostly played throughout Ostrobothnia, and Swedish-speaking parts of southern Finland. In Swede ...
, Finland
*Vikingarna Vikingarna (Swedish for ''the Vikings'') may refer to:
* Vikingarna (band), a Swedish dansband
* Vikingarnas FK
Vikingarnas FK was a Swedish football club which was founded in 1908. The team was made up of the best players from IFK Stockholm and ...
, Sweden
* Wizex, Sweden
Famous songs
*"" (Smiling golden-brown eyes), based on "Beautiful Brown Eyes
"Beautiful Brown Eyes" is a country song written by Alton Delmore, originally inspired by his oldest daughter. One of the best known versions of the song was originally arranged by Fiddlin' Arthur Smith & Alton Delmore of The Delmore Brothers ...
", by Vikingarna Vikingarna (Swedish for ''the Vikings'') may refer to:
* Vikingarna (band), a Swedish dansband
* Vikingarnas FK
Vikingarnas FK was a Swedish football club which was founded in 1908. The team was made up of the best players from IFK Stockholm and ...
, 1977
*"" (Cry no tears), by Thorleifs
Thorleifs was a Swedish dansband, formed in 1962 in Norrhult, Kronoberg County, Sweden and led by Thorleif Torstensson. The band sings in Swedish and many other languages, and released some albums in German. It also took part in Melodifes ...
, 1974
*"" (I want to be yours, Margareta), by Sten & Stanley, 1976
*"" (The last sweet years), by Lasse Stefanz & Christina Lindberg, 1989
*"" (Nothing can stop us now), by Black Jack, 1990
*"" (Two dark eyes), by Sven-Ingvars, 1991
*"", by Arvingarna, 1993
*"" (Can you love somebody at a distance), by Vikingarna Vikingarna (Swedish for ''the Vikings'') may refer to:
* Vikingarna (band), a Swedish dansband
* Vikingarnas FK
Vikingarnas FK was a Swedish football club which was founded in 1908. The team was made up of the best players from IFK Stockholm and ...
, 1998
*"" (I thought angels existed), by Ole Ivars & Kikki Danielsson, 1999
*"Take Me to Your Heaven
Tusen och en natt is a 1999 album from Swedish dansband Wizex. The album included Charlotte Nilsson's hit " Tusen och en natt/Take Me to Your Heaven", and the album sold 235,000 copies. The album peaked at #16 at the Swedish album chart.
Track ...
", by Charlotte Perrelli, 1999
References
External links
{{Commons category, Dansbands
American photographer Peter Beste's in-progress portfolio of Danseband Culture
Dansband music
Swedish music