Siw Gunnel Margareta Malmkvist (born 31 December 1936) is a Swedish schlager singer and actress popular in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

and

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. She had a number one hit in West Germany in 1964 with "''Liebeskummer lohnt sich nicht''" (''"Lovesickness Is Not Worthwhile"''), and on 18 July 1964 she became the first Swede to have a hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, when "Sole Sole Sole", a duet with Italian singer

Umberto Marcato Umberto is a masculine Italian given name. It is the Italian form of Humbert. People with the name include: * King Umberto I of Italy (1844–1900) * King Umberto II of Italy (1904–1983) * Prince Umberto, Count of Salemi (1889–1918) * Umberto I ...

, entered the chart, peaking at No. 58.

Early life

Malmkvist was born in

Landskrona Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...

Skåne County Skåne County ( sv, Skåne län, link=no ), sometimes referred to as Scania County in English, is the most southern county, or , of Sweden, basically corresponding to the traditional province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronobe ...

, the youngest child of Sigrid and Albert Malmkvist. She had eight siblings, and her early childhood was marked by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; although Sweden was a neutral country, the risk of invasion was felt acutely in Landskrona, located only 22 km from the Danish capital on the other side of Öresund. Albert Malmkvist was called up as a soldier.

Career

In 1955, the 18-year-old Malmkvist won a talent show, which resulted in her being hired as a singer by Arne Domnérus. Her first recording, ''Tweedle Dee'', was released in the same year. She was signed by the record company Metronome in 1958, being touted as the new

Alice Babs Hildur Alice Nilsson (26 January 1924 – 11 February 2014), known by her stage name Alice Babs, was a Swedish singer and actress. She worked in a wide number of genres – Swedish folklore, Elizabethan songs and opera. While she was best known i ...

, and in 1959 she became a TV host, in the entertainment ''Stora Famnen'' created by

Lennart Hyland Otto Lennart Hyland (24 September 1919 – 15 March 1993), was a Swedish TV-show host and journalist and one of the most popular and renowned TV personalities in the history of Swedish television. His biggest success as an entertainer was unquestio ...

. Having had some 40 hits on Swedish radio chart

Svensktoppen ''Svensktoppen'' () is a weekly record chart airing at Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedish language. Svensktoppen has aired since 1962, except for the years 1982-1985. The last years before the January 2003 cha ...

and 20 on the German singles chart, she has altogether recorded about 600 songs (and has made recordings in ten different languages: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, German, English, French, Italian and Spanish) throughout the past five decades, which makes her one of the most productive and successful Swedish female singers. Her biggest success in Sweden is "Tunna Skivor", the Swedish version of

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

' "

Everybody's Somebody's Fool "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" is a song written by Jack Keller and Howard Greenfield that was a No. 1 hit for Connie Francis in 1960. A polka-style version in German, "Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel", was the first German single recorded and ...

". It was #1 for two months (15/8-15/10) according to the Swedish music paper Show Business "Best selling records chart". As an actor, Malmkvist has performed in stage plays, musicals and in films. She played Pippi Longstocking in the popular children musical production of

Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on- ...

's ''

Pippi Longstocking Pippi Longstocking ( sv, Pippi Långstrump) is the fictional main character in an eponymous series of children's books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Pippi was named by Lindgren's daughter Karin, who asked her mother for a get-well story wh ...

'' in 1980, appeared in the musical version of '' Some Like It Hot'' (see ''

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

'') and she played the part of Luisa in the original Swedish – and European – production of

Maury Yeston Maury Yeston (born October 23, 1945) is an American composer, lyricist and music theorist. He is known as the initiator of new Broadway musicals and writing their music and lyrics, as well as a classical orchestral and ballet composer, Yale Uni ...

's musical ''

Nine 9 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...

'' in 1983. In 2002, she appeared as the Mother in Hasse Alfredson's stage play ''Lille Ronny'' at Maximteatern. Together with actor Thorsten Flinck, she recorded a popular Swedish cover of

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

's 1995 hit "

Where the Wild Roses Grow "Where the Wild Roses Grow" is a murder ballad by Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and pop singer Kylie Minogue. It is the fifth song and lead single from the band's ninth studio album, ''Murder Ballads'' (1996), released on ...

". In 2008 and 2009, she played the part of Fräulein Schneider in the musical ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

'' at Stockholms Stadsteater, directed by

Colin Nutley Colin James Nutley (born 28 February 1944) is an English director successful in the Swedish film industry. Career Nutley went to Portsmouth Art College and began his career in British television as a graphic designer. He then turned to drama an ...

. Malmkvist has been a contestant in the Swedish

Melodifestivalen Melodifestivalen (; literally "the Melody Festival") is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song ...

, which is the qualifying contest for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

, as well as at the European event, several times. She represented Sweden at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1960 The Eurovision Song Contest 1960 was the fifth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on Tuesday 29 March 1960 at the Royal Festival Hall in London, United Kingdom, and hosted by British television presenter and actress Catherine ...

in London with "

Alla andra får varann Sweden chose its entry for Eurovision Song Contest 1960 by the national final, Melodifestivalen 1960. The winning song, "Alla andra får varann" was performed once by Östen Warnerbring and once by Ingrid Berggren. However Sveriges Radio decid ...

". In the following year Malmkvist sang "

April, april Sweden chose their entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 1961 through Melodifestivalen 1961. The song "April, april", performed once with Siw Malmkvist, once with Gunnar Wiklund, won. However, none of them was considered acceptable for singing ...

" together with Gunnar Wiklund at that year's

; the song won, and was performed by Barbro "Lill-Babs" Svensson as the Swedish representative at the international Contest, held in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

. At the

Eurovision Song Contest 1969 The Eurovision Song Contest 1969 was the 14th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Madrid, Spain, following the country's victory at the with the song "La, la, la" by Massiel. Organised by the European Broadcasting Uni ...

in Madrid, Malmkvist sang the

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

entry "

Primaballerina "Primaballerina" (from Italian for "prima ballerina, first ballerina" – the second highest female ballet dancer) is a 1969 in music, 1969 song performed in German language, German by Swedes, Swedish singer Siw Malmkvist and written by Hans Blum ...

", which finished in the 9th place. She performed the song "

C'est la vie C'est la vie may refer to: * C'est la vie (phrase), ''C'est la vie'' (phrase), a French phrase, translated as "That's life" Books * C'est la Vie (comic strip), ''C'est la Vie'' (comic strip), an English-language comic strip by Jennifer Babcock * ...

" together with

Towa Carson Birgit Rose-Marie Anlert (née Carlsson, born 31 March 1936), known professionally as Towa Carson, is a Swedish schlager singer. She debuted in 1954 and had the most success in the 1950s and 1960s, with hits such as ''"De tre klockorna"'' (S ...

and Ann-Louise Hanson, at

Melodifestivalen 2004 Melodifestivalen 2004 was the selection for the 44th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the 43rd time that this system of picking a song had been used. Five heats had taken place to select the ten songs for the fina ...

. Malmkvist was supposed to be a celebrity dancer in '' Let's Dance 2020'' on

TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to: *TV4 (Poland), a private Polish television station *TV4 (Sweden), a Swedish television network **TV4 Group, owners of the Swedish television station *South African Broadcasting Corporation TV4, a channel operated by the st ...

, but because of the coronavirus restrictions she could not participate.

Citations

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malmkvist, Siw 1936 births Living people People from Landskrona Municipality Swedish women singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Sweden Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Germany Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1960 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1969 Melodifestivalen contestants Melodifestivalen winners Swedish musical theatre actresses Schlager musicians