Jonas Petter Berggren (born 21 March 1967) 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 ...

musician and singer-songwriter and record producer, also known as Joker. He started writing songs when he was seven, and continues to write for the

band Ace of Base, which he is a founding member of, as well as other bands. He was born in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Sweden.

Biography

Early life

Jonas Petter Berggren was the first child of three siblings, his younger sisters are

Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Places Germany * Linn (Gangkofen), a part ...

and

Jenny Jenny may refer to: * Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people * Jenny (surname), a family name Animals * Jenny (donkey), a female donkey * Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of ...

. Jonas was born with a

cleft lip A cleft lip contains an opening in the upper lip that may extend into the nose. The opening may be on one side, both sides, or in the middle. A cleft palate occurs when the palate (the roof of the mouth) contains an opening into the nose. The te ...

, undergoing three surgeries within his first year. He became interested in music when he was 10, after his father started teaching him to play the guitar.

Career

As the founding member of Ace of Base, Berggren has written all of their biggest hits, including "

All That She Wants "All That She Wants" is a song by Swedish group Ace of Base. It was released in Scandinavia in 1992 as the second single from their first studio album, ''Happy Nation'' (1992), and in the following year, it was released as the first single from ...

", " The Sign", and " Beautiful Life". He also plays the guitar and keyboards. Working under the artist name of "Joker" (or, in some later works, JP), Berggren nowadays also has his own studio, called The Barn. The former female members of Ace of Base,

and

Jenny Berggren Jenny Cecilia Petrén, (née Berggren; born 19 May 1972), professionally known as Jenny Berggren and Jenny from Ace of Base is a Swedish mezzo-soprano singer and former lead singer in the Swedish pop band Ace of Base. Since 1995, she has also be ...

, are his

sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

. He also worked with

DJ Bobo Peter René Baumann (born 5 January 1968), better known under his stage name DJ BoBo, is a Swiss singer-songwriter, rapper, dancer, and music producer. He has sold 14 million records worldwide and has released 12 studio albums as well as several ...

Army of Lovers Army of Lovers is a Swedish dance- pop group which formed in 1987 and had a number of hits in Europe throughout the 1990s. Some of their biggest successes include the song "Crucified", which was a big hit in Europe, charting 31 weeks in the E ...

, E-Type and

Meja Meja Anna Pernilla Kullersten (formerly Beckman; born Anna Pernilla Torndahl, 12 February 1969) is a Swedish composer, artist and singer. Among her best known songs are "Private Emotion", a duet with Ricky Martin from his multi-Platinum album ...

. Jonas was also the producer and composer for the album ''

Pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

'' by Swedish pop group Yaki-Da, in 1995.

Writing for Ace of Base

Berggren has contributed to writing all Ace of Base's material, except the following: *"

Don't Turn Around "Don't Turn Around" is a popular song written by Albert Hammond and Diane Warren. It was originally recorded by Tina Turner as the B-side to the single " Typical Male" in 1986. It has since been included on the rarities disc of the 1994 compi ...

" (

Cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. Wa ...

Albert Hammond Albert Louis Hammond OBE (born 18 May 1944) is a British-Gibraltarian singer, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific songwriter, he also collaborated with other songwriters such as Mike Hazlewood, John Bettis, Diane Warren, Holly Knight ...

) *"Edge of Heaven" (Ulf, John Ballard, & StoneStream) *"Strange Ways" (Malin) *"Ravine" (Jenny) *"Perfect World" (Ulf, John Ballard, & StoneStream) *"Whispers in Blindness" (Malin) *"Wave Wet Sand" (Jenny) *"Que Sera" (Ulf, John Ballard, & StoneStream) *"Just 'N' Image" (Malin) *"Experience Pearls" (Jenny) *"Mercy Mercy" (Ulf and John Ballard) *"He Decides" (Jenny) *"

Everytime It Rains Originally written for Annie Lennox, "Everytime It Rains" is the fourth single released from Swedish band Ace of Base's album ''Flowers'' in the UK, featured on a re-release of the album. The song was written by Rick Nowels, Billy Steinberg ...

" (B. Steinberg, R. Nowels, M. Vidal) *"I Pray" (Ulf and John Ballard) *"Don't Go Away" (Ulf and John Ballard) *" Cruel Summer" (Cover: S. Dallin, S. Fahey, S. Jolley, A. Swain & K. Woodward) *"Wonderful Life" (Cover:

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

) *"Juliet" (Cover; Henry Bergström & Peter Bergström)

Personal life

He married Norwegian hairdresser Birthe Haugland on 12 July 2000 whom he met during a cruise in Norway in the summer of 1996. Together they have four children: Julia, born in 1999, Gabriel, born in 2001, Amanda, born in 2006, and Molly, born in 2008.

References

External links

Ace of Base official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berggren, Jonas 1967 births Living people Musicians from Gothenburg Ace of Base members Swedish guitarists Male guitarists Swedish keyboardists Swedish songwriters Swedish male musicians