Lars Lönndahl

Lars Gunnar "Lasse" Lönndahl (; 19 August 1928 – 26 December 2022) was a Swedish singer and actor. He was considered the best-known Swedish singer of the 1950s and 1960s with nicknames including "The Swedish Frank Sinatra" and "World's Oldest Teenager". Even though by the mid-1970s his career had slowed down, he was still considered arguably Sweden's most popular singer of all time and was long a very popular figure in media.

Career Lönndahl was born in Stockholm. His breakthrough was in 1949 with his first record, "", which reached 2 in Sweden. After that he became one of the leading faces in popular music, scoring 12 No.2 hit singles in the 1950s. He also made some movies in the late 1950s.

In the 1960s, he became the first singer to have a No.1 single on the new Swedish chart Svensktoppen (the most important Swedish chart) with the 1962 single "". It stayed a total of 18 weeks in the charts. Between the years 1962 and 1972 he had 35 songs on the chart, with a total of 37.

Personal life Lönndahl was born in Stockholm to a Swedish mother and an English father. His father left the family early and Lönndahl rarely saw him. Lönndahl remembers his father as a man who rarely worked and lived off his wife before absconding. After Lönndahl found fame, his father tried reconnecting with his son, asking him for money. Lönndahl however, never connected with his father again as he believed too much time had passed and that his father's appearance came much too late. In late 1970, Lönndahl's seven-year-old daughter Malin and her mother died in a car accident in Los Angeles, California. After the incident, Lönndahl for a period of time went into a self-imposed exile to the United States, eluding the Swedish press. He subsequently returned to Sweden but refused to record new material, claiming it was too "onerous to be Sweden's greatest singer".

Lönndahl died on 26 December 2022, at the age of 94.

Awards Lönndahl was awarded the Illis quorum in 1993.

Discography Albums

EPs

Singles

1950s YearTitle1950"Tangokavaljeren" (With the Harmony Sisters)1951"En mörkröd ros" (With the Harmony Sisters)"Om""Nattlig serenad""För ung""Poetens sång" (With Ragna Ravell)"Under Paris himmel"1952"Blue Tango"1953"Röda rosor, röda läppar, purpurvin""Tänk jag drömde""Sången från Moulin Rouge"1954"That’s Amore" (With the Harmony Sisters)"Ett vänligt litet ord" (With Ingrid Almquist)"Legenden om Tina"1955"När natten kommer""Under samma himmel""För dej och mej"1956"Tro och kärlek""Får jag hålla din hand i min""Man måste vara två""Livets lyckostunder"1957"Det blåser opp i Portugal""Cindy min Cindy""En grabb i Neapel""Kärleksbrev i sanden""Signorina""Hernandos separée""Melodie d'amour"1958"I det blå""Jag ler mot drj""Kom tillbaka bella mia"1959"Piove""Li per li""Venus""Bella bambolina""Du kysser och bedrar mig"

1960s YearTitlePeak chart positionsAlbumSWE Kvällstoppen SWE Svensktoppen 1960"Flickor bak i bilen"——"Pappa Älskar Mamma" (With Anita Lonndahl)——"Aldrig på en Söndag"——1961"Marie - Marie"——"Exodus"——"På en gård på söder"——1962"Hello Young Lovers"——"Midnatts-tango"191"Regnet kommer snart"——1963"Twist till menuett"—3"Rosen och vinden"—10 "Gröna, Gränna, Sköna, Sanna Sommar" (With Towa Carson)——"Trumslagarpojken"14—"Och vinden ger svar"—6"Wenn Zwei Verliebte Tanzen"——1964"Visa mej hur man går hem" (With Towa Carson)——"Vilken härlig sommardag"——"Hello Dolly!"—3"Söker du så finner du"—1"I dina kvarter"——1965"En röd blomma till en blond flicka"——"Om du vore här"——"Sång i solen" (With Towa Carson)——"En lilja är vit"——"Så nära som nu"——1966"Utan Dej" (With Towa Carson)——"Det är grabben me' chokla' i"—10Ernst Rolf Melodier"Nå'n stans nå'n gång"—10"Guantanamera"—7"Du Lasse, Lasse Liten" (With the Osmond Brothers)——1967"Kvällens sista dans"—1"Den sista valsen"—7"Möt Mej Efter Dansen" (B-side of "Den sista valsen")—9"Du och jag och våren"—7"Ett Vitt Litet Hus" (B-side of "Du och jag och våren")—61968"Det måste vara underbart"——"Säg, Vad Har Hänt Med Vår Värld" (B-side of "Det måste vara underbart")—81969"Vår egen melodi"—8"Tretti' da'r har September" (B-side of "Vår egen melodi")8"Hjalp! Hjalp!" (With Towa Carson and Jan Malmsjö)——

1970s YearTitle1970"Två solröda segel""Det skall bli vi" (With Towa Carson)"Allting e' så underbart"1971"Jean""Som en saga""På en gammal bänk" (With Towa Carson)"Jag är en gentleman""Potpurri" (With Towa Carson)"Tiden går"1973"Hej Du Glada Sommar"

Filmography 1952: 1956: 1957: 1959: 1959: Swinging at the Castle 1959: Sleeping Beauty (Swedish dubbing) 1960: 1966: 1995: The Swan Princess (Swedish dubbing)