Aage Samuelsen

Aage Samuelsen, also known as "" 'brother Aage', (23 January 1915 – 29 November 1987) was a Norwegian Pentecostal Christian evangelist, singer and composer.

Biography He was the son of factory worker and navvy Karl Hjalmar Samuelsen and Anna Samuelsen née Hansen, a cleaner. His mother was musical and bought him a guitar when he was 15. Samuelsen learned to play both harmonica and guitar and sang and composed songs all his life. At the age of 18, he helped start a dance band/jazz band that traveled and performed, including with Excelsior Band. Samuelsen had problems with alcohol abuse at times.

In 1931 a revival swept through the town, started by Thor Sørlie, who had worked closely with Norwegian Pentecostal founder Thomas Ball Barratt.

Samuelsen attracted attention with his style. Meetings he led were well attended and often covered by the press. Samuelsen was interviewed several times in the press and on the radio. He maintained his personal style and was not afraid to speak out. He also took part in humorous features, including the radio program , where he sang a self-deprecating song with Leif Juster to the tune of . Later, there was also a split between Samuelsen and Maran Ata, and he formed Vekkeropet Maran Ata, which, however, never became anything other than an apparent organizational foundation for the person of Aage Samuelsen.

Samuelsen believed that he was the inspiration for the main character in the 1966 feature film Broder Gabrielsen, and took great offense at this.

In his later years, a new interest in Samuelsen as a person and in his singing emerged. He was invited to perform at the festival and similar events, but it was primarily the artist and entertainer Aage Samuelsen people wanted to hear, not the preacher. He recorded about 30–40 singles, 15 78-records and 17 LP records. His albums sold well, and his religious recordings even entered the Norwegian official charts.

The most famous of his songs, , is included in the hymnals and .

In Samuelsen's autobiography ('The Lord's merry troubadour') he wrote of his life as an artist, preacher and also about his long-term alcohol abuse.

Towards the end of his life he bought the Dalen Hotel in Telemark, and had great plans to turn it into a center for Christian activities. Inexperienced as he was in business, he fell victim to several dubious "investors", and the whole project ended in financial chaos.

Samuelsen died of a heart attack in 1987. He was buried at Nordre Gravlund in Skien. Politician Kåre Kristiansen officiated at the funeral.

Discography