Norske Favoritter

We went to Norway recently for a few days and I managed to buy some vinyl in various junk shops and markets. Hoping for amusing home grown Norwegian music but managed to buy two Swedish records by mistake much to the amusement of our hosts. Well, it is hard to tell them apart at first glance!
Anyway, this first record is actually Norwegian and a selection of songs that graced the Norwegian charts in the 60's I would guess. Nothing much special here but do listen to the last track by Arne Bendiksen which features some horrific yodelling!

Wikipedia says of Arne Bendiksen -

"Arne Joachim Bendiksen, born 19 October 1926 in Bergen, Norway, died 26 March 2009, was a Norwegian singer, composer and producer, described as "the father of pop music" in Norway.

In the 50s, 60s and 70s, he was a major figure in Norwegian popular music. First, as a member of the group The Monn Keys, later as soloist and composer for other artists. Besides writing his own songs, he also translated many foreign hits into Norwegian, making them Norwegian hits. Arne Bendiksen took part in the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest selections several times, both as an artist and as a songwriter. Three times he represented Norway in Eurovision as singer; in 1964 (Eurovision Song Contest 1964) with Spiral as soloist, in 1973 (Eurovision Song Contest 1973) with Å, for et spill and in 1974 (Eurovision Song Contest 1974) with Hvor er du?. Four times he took part as composer, most memorable as songwriter for Åse Kleveland's Intet er nytt under solenin 1966 (Eurovision Song Contest), finishing a strong third.

Beginning in 1964 he was the boss of his own record company. Thanks to him, popular artists like Wenche Myhre and Kirsti Sparboe reached fame. However, in the Eurovision Song Contest finals of 1969, Norway received a mere 1 point for the song Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli, which was composed by Arne Bendiksen and performed by Kirsti Sparboe.

Arne did not let this crush his spirits though, and he continued his dedicated work as a singer/songwriter throughout the 70s. In the 80s, he gave a shot at the popular children's cassette industry and released his major children's work Barnefest i Andeby - Children's party in Duckburg - a cassette filled with catchy songs about the various Disney characters inhabiting the fictional city of Duckburg. This popular cassette got a sequel, released especially for the Christmas season, called Jul i Andeby - Christmas in Duckburg.

In June 2006, his all-new self-composed children's musical stage debuted in the small elementary school Fjellstrand Skole in Nesodden, Akershus.

Arne Bendiksen died on 26 March 2009, after having been sick for a short period of time. The cause of death was heart failure."


Tracks are as follows -

1, En Student Fra Uppsala - Kirsti Sparboe
2. Ruby - Benny Borg
3. Ved Horisontens Rand - Finn Eriksen
4. Arizona - Lillian Askeland
5. Friarvise Fra Aust-Agder
6. Med Tuba Og Tyrolerhatt - Arne Bendiksen


Norske Favoritter - Side One