Margrethe "Maggie" Björklund is a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

guitarist and singer-songwriter who composes, plays, and sings music in the

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

and

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

genres. She began her career playing electric guitar in the female band The Darleens and briefly for the experimental pop band Miss B Haven. Björklund then started playing pedal steel guitar as a studio musician and has released two solo recordings.

Early life

Maggie Björklund was born in

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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and grew up near

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. She took piano lessons, but switched to guitar as soon as she could. She moved to Hollywood and attended the

Musicians Institute Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachelor ...

, where she was introduced to

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

. She returned to Denmark after a year.

Career

Back in Denmark, she formed the all-female country band Darleens, and they recorded three albums for Sony Records. After Darleens split up, she took pedal steel guitar lessons from Jeff Newman in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. Her 2011 debut ''Coming Home'' was produced by Johnny Sangster ( The Tripwires). The record featured members of

Calexico Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...

, and guest vocalists Mark Lanegan (

Screaming Trees Screaming Trees was an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bass player Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel had been replaced by Barrett Martin by the time ...

Jon Auer Jonathan Paul "Jon" Auer (born September 29, 1969) is an American musician who co-founded the power pop band The Posies, along with Ken Stringfellow. Auer and Stringfellow also participated in the rejuvenated Big Star and in 2003 released ''Priv ...

(

The Posies The Posies were an American power pop group. The band was formed in 1986 in Bellingham, Washington, United States, by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. Their music has its origins in Merseybeat and the Hollies. They are ...

), and Rachel Flotard ( Visqueen). After the album's release, she played pedal steel with

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

's all-female backing band, the Peacocks. In 2011 and 2012 she performed at

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. She also toured with

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are often ...

and with

Exene Cervenka Exene Cervenka (born Christene Lee Cervenka; February 1, 1956) is an American singer, artist, and poet. She is best known for her work as a singer in the California punk rock band X. Music career The 21-year-old Cervenka met 23-year-old ...

from the band X. For her sophomore album ''Shaken'', released in 2014, she enlisted

John Convertino Calexico is a Tucson, Arizona-based Americana, Tex-Mex, indie rock band. The band's two main members, Joey Burns and John Convertino, first played together in Los Angeles as part of the group Giant Sand. They have recorded a number of albums on Q ...

(

), Barb Hunter ( Afghan Whigs), and Jim Barr ( Portishead).

John Parish John Parish (born 11 April 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. Parish is best known for his work with singer-songwriter PJ Harvey. He has also worked with such artists as Eels, Aldous Harding, Tracy Chapm ...

(producer for Sparklehorse) was producer, and Kurt Wagner ( Lambchop) provided a guest vocal. The songs reflected the impact of the death of her mother.

Discography

Maggie Björklund

;LPs: * 2011: ''Coming Home'' (

Bloodshot Records Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, which specializes in alternative country. History Bloodshot Records was founded in 1994 by Nan Warshaw, Rob Miller, and Eric Babcock, who knew each other from jobs i ...

BS 174) * 2014: ''Shaken'' (Bloodshot Records BS 221) ;Singles: * 1996: ''Margrethe Björklund'' CD Single (self-released MB 9601) ;Appears on: * 1994: Kirsten Siggaard - ''Sirenernes Favn'' (Scandinavian Records 966 031-2) * 2002: Superheroes - ''Superheroes'' (Crunchy Frog FROG 027-2) * 2004: Sara Indrio - ''Dark Clouds, Silver Linings'' (Playground Music Scandinavia - TPCD-401) * 2005: Jens K - ''Luksus Og Laser'' (Playground Music PGMJKCD 1001) * 2006:

Mark Pickerel Mark Pickerel is an American musician best known as the original drummer for the alternative rock band Screaming Trees. He is also an active session musician and has released several solo albums as a singer/guitarist. Biography Originally fro ...

& His Praying Hands - ''Snake In The Radio'' (

BS 129) * 2007: Ginman / Jimmy Jørgensen - ''Deep'' (Universal Denmark 174 800-5) * 2010: Rusty Willoughby - ''Cobirds Unite'' (self-released) * 2011:

- ''The Excitement of Maybe'' (Bloodshot Records BS 177) * 2012:

Giant Sand Giant Sand is an American musical group from Tucson, Arizona, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The group started as Giant Sandworms in the late 1970s post-punk and paisley underground scenes. They later s ...

- ''Tucson'' (

Fire Records Fire Records was an American independent record label, set up in 1959 by Bobby Robinson. Amongst others, it released records by Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, Buster Brown and Arthur Crudup. At one point it was thought Fire had issued the la ...

FIRECD262) * 2013: Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hands - ''Tess'' (Candy Cross PWCCR 1301) * 2014:

Gruff Rhys Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (; born 18 July 1970) is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He formed ...

- ''American Interior'' (Turnstile TS008LP) * 2014:

- ''

Lazaretto A lazaretto or lazaret (from it, lazzaretto a diminutive form of the Italian word for beggar cf. lazzaro) is a quarantine station for maritime travellers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings ...

'' (

Third Man Records Third Man Records is an eclectic, vinyl-focused independent record label founded and owned by Jack White, Ben Blackwell and Ben Swank. The company operates out of three locations—Nashville, Tennessee, Detroit, Michigan, and Soho, London—with ...

– TMR-271) * 2015: Giant Sand - ''Heartbreak Pass'' (

New West Records New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real music ...

NW5105) * 2016: Jack White - '' Acoustic Recordings 1998-2016'' (Third Man Records TMR-387)

Darleens

;LPs: * 1991: ''Darleens'' (Columbia 469259 1) * 1993: ''Twisted'' (Columbia 473751 2) * 2003: ''This Is Darleens'' (Rocky Love Records, Music NetWork Records SMEK 03) ;EPs: * 1992: Cold Cold Christmas (Columbia 658808) * 2001: Soft and Sweet ;Singles: * 1991: ''I Cry Over You'' (Columbia 657583 7) * 1993: ''All Is Right'' (Columbia 659604 1)

References

External links

*
Maggie Björklund
at

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Björklund, Maggie Danish women singer-songwriters Danish guitarists Living people Bloodshot Records artists Steel guitarists Musicians from Copenhagen 20th-century Danish women singers 21st-century Danish women singers Year of birth missing (living people)