Ted Gärdestad

Ted Arnbjörn Gärdestad (; 18 February 195622 June 1997) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, musician and actor known internationally as Ted. Gärdestad began his acting career in 1966 and began playing music in 1971, signing with Polar Music. Assigned with in-house producers Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, Gärdestad released his first single, "Hela världen runt," in late 1971 and worked closely with the four members of ABBA to create his debut album '' Undringar'' (1972). As Polar Music's best-selling solo artist (aside from ABBA), he continued to work with the group members throughout the 1970s, releasing three more albums '' Ted'' (1973), '' Upptåg'' (1974) and ''Franska Kort'' (1976), which were moderately successful. In 1978, Gärdestad released his first English-language album, Blue Virgin Isles, which did not have success internationally, as his predecessor albums had in his home country.

In 1979, Ted and his brother Kenneth Gärdestad played at Melodifestivalen, the competition to select Sweden's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song " Satellit." They won the competition which allowed them to represent Sweden at Eurovision held in Jerusalem. Gärdestad attempted once more to enter a song at Melodifestivalen but was unsuccessful. He left the music industry shortly thereafter, to try acting. By the 1990s, he played with other musicians such as Harpo. Gärdestad toured extensively starting in 1994 until he died by suicide in 1997. A biographical film about Gärdestad was released in 2018, called '' Ted: För kärlekens skull.''

Early life

Ted Arnbjörn Gärdestad was born to Arne (1923–2016) and Margit Gärdestad (née Sjöholm; 1921–2008) on 18 February 1956 in Sollentuna, Stockholm County. He was the youngest of three siblings and had two older brothers; Kjell (1944–2000) and Kenneth (1948–2018). The family lived in Sollentuna during Ted's childhood.

Career

1962–1974

Ted Gärdestad began his career as a musician in 1962, playing accordion on Swedish television at the age of six years. His debuted as an actor in 1966 when he landed a part in the television advent calendar series ''En småstad vid seklets början'' (''A Small Town at the Turn of the Century''). In 1970, Gärdestad had a minor role in the American film '' Story of a Woman'' alongside Bibi Andersson, Robert Stack and James Farentino. Gärdestad was also a promising tennis player. At 14 he ranked second in his age group in Sweden after Björn Borg, and once considered a career as a professional tennis player but instead chose a career in music. In 1971, 15-year-old Ted and his eight-year-older brother Kenneth Gärdestad contacted the record company Polar Music and showed an audition tape to Stig "Stikkan" Anderson,Benny Andersson