Bjørn "Lillebjørn" Falk Nilsen (born 21 December 1950) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and folk musician. He was born in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, and is considered by some to be the leading "voice of Oslo", thanks to numerous classic songs about the city from the 1970s and onwards.
He also makes up the Norwegian
supergroup Gitarkameratene
Gitarkameratene is the name of a Supergroup (music), supergroup of well-known Norwegian recording and touring artists. The group included Lillebjørn Nilsen, Halvdan Sivertsen, Jan Eggum and Øystein Sunde. The name ''Gitarkameratene'' means approx ...
with
Jan Eggum
Jan Eggum (born 8 December 1951) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. He has been characterized as a "face for the melancholy", and the themes in his songs are often broken hearts, loneliness, and sorrow. Sometimes his lyrics include social critici ...
,
Halvdan Sivertsen
Halvdan Sivertsen (born 5 January 1950) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was born in Tromsø, but raised and lives in Bodø. He has won Spellemannprisen awards five times, twice with his group Gitarkameratene, and received the ...
and
Øystein Sunde
Øystein Olaf Sunde (born 24 January 1947) is a Norwegian folk singer and guitarist. He is known for his high-speed guitar and banjo style and his satirical lyrics. Although often regarded as a comedian, Sunde is a versatile guitarist who has p ...
.
In 1987 he received the
Fritt Ord Honorary Award Fritt Ord Award consists of two prizes awarded by the Fritt Ord Foundation (''Stiftelsen Fritt Ord''). Two prizes are awarded in support of freedom of speech and freedom of expression; the Fritt Ord Award ( no, Fritt Ords pris) and the Fritt O ...
.
Nilsen has collaborated with his friend and idol
Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...
on numerous occasions. He adapted Pete Seeger's song ''
My Rainbow Race'' into Norwegian as ''Barn av regnbuen'' ("Children of the Rainbow").
Anders Behring Breivik
Fjotolf Hansen (born 13 February 1979), better known by his birth name Anders Behring Breivik () and by his pseudonym Andrew Berwick, is a Norwegian far-right domestic terrorist, known for committing the 2011 Norway attacks on 22 July 2011. On ...
said that he hated that song, and saw it as a symbol of "
cultural Marxism
The term "Cultural Marxism" refers to a far-right antisemitic conspiracy theory which claims that Western Marxism is the basis of continuing academic and intellectual efforts to subvert Western culture. The conspiracy theory misrepresents the ...
" and multiculturalism. In response, on 26 April 2012, over 40,000 Norwegians sang it publicly outside his trial.
"VIDEO: Norwegians Stand Up To Killer's Hate By Joining In Song"
NPR, 26 April 2012
Discography
Albums
;with The Young Norwegians
*1967: ''Things on Our Mind''
*1969: ''Music''
;with Ballade!
*1978: ''Ballade! På turné''
*1980: ''Ballade! Ekstranummer''
*2005: ''Ballade!s samlede'' (compilation)
;with Gitarkameratene
Gitarkameratene is the name of a Supergroup (music), supergroup of well-known Norwegian recording and touring artists. The group included Lillebjørn Nilsen, Halvdan Sivertsen, Jan Eggum and Øystein Sunde. The name ''Gitarkameratene'' means approx ...
*1989: ''Gitarkameratene''
*1990: ''Typisk norsk''
*2010: '' Kanon''
;with Andy Irvine
*2010: '' Abocurragh'' ilsen plays on one track.*2021: ''Live in Telemark''
;Solo
*1971: ''Tilbake''
*1973: ''Portrett''
*1974: ''Haba Haba''
*1974: ''Hei fara! Norske folkeviser''
*1975: ''Byen med det store hjertet''
*1979: ''Oslo 3''
*1980: ''Live at Sioux Falls (USA)''
*1980: ''Ballade! Ekstranummer''
*1982: ''Original Nilsen''
*1985: ''Hilsen Nilsen''
*1988: ''Sanger''
*1993: ''Nære Nilsen''
;Re-released albums
*1995: ''Haba Haba''
*2001: ''Portrett''
*2003: ''Byen med det store hjertet'' (Re-release)
*2003: ''Tilbake'' (Re-release)
*2003: ''Portrett'' (Re-release)
;Compilation albums
*1978: ''Lillebjørn Nilsens beste''
*1984: ''Lillebjørn Nilsens utvalgte''
*1986: ''Tekst og musikk: Lillebjørn Nilsen''
*1996: ''40 spor: Nilsens 40 beste''
*2010: ''Stilleste gutt på sovesal 1'' (10 CDs and a DVD)
Singles
;with The Young Norwegians
*1966: "Plenty Nothingness and Love" / "Det står ein friar uti garde"
*1966: "Joys of Love" / "Jug of Punch"
*1967: "Vuggevise for André" / "Goodbye to Your Sparkling Blue Eyes"
*1968: "Nightingale" / "Grannie" with Kari Svendsen
;with Gitarkameratene
Gitarkameratene is the name of a Supergroup (music), supergroup of well-known Norwegian recording and touring artists. The group included Lillebjørn Nilsen, Halvdan Sivertsen, Jan Eggum and Øystein Sunde. The name ''Gitarkameratene'' means approx ...
*1990: "Barn av regnbuen"
;Solo
*1973: "Barn av regnbuen" / "Alle duene"
*1974: "Haba Haba" / "Kirsebærtreet"
*1982: "Tanta til Beate"
*1988: "Se deg aldri tilbake"
*1993: "Fort gjort å glemme" / "Så nære vi var"
*1993: "1000 søte damer"
*2006: "Oleanna" (with Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...
) (live)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsen, Lillebjorn
Living people
1950 births
Norwegian singer-songwriters
Norwegian guitarists
Norwegian male guitarists
Norwegian male singers
Norwegian multi-instrumentalists
Spellemannprisen winners
Musicians from Oslo
Grappa Music artists