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Blue Swede

 
Artist: Blue Swede

Group Members:

Bengt Palmers, Björn Skifs

Similar Artists:

Performed Songs By:

M. James, Mark James
See Blue Swede Lyrics
  • Formed: 1973, Sweden
  • Genres: Rock
  • Representative Albums: "The Golden Classics of Blue Swede
  • Representative Songs: "Hooked on a Feeling", "Never My Love", "Gotta Have Your Love

Biography

Blue Swede succeeded with a few singles during the 1970s which were covers of other artists' material rather than any original songs. A cover of the late-'60s B.J. Thomas feel-good single "Hooked on a Feeling" hit the top of the charts in the U.S. in the mid-'70s with Björn Skifs singing lead vocals. The single also hit number one in Holland, Australia, and Canada. It barely missed the top spot in the U.K., kept out of number one by Jonathan King's rendition. Late in the '90s, a new generation was exposed to Blue Swede's version when a partial clip was featured on the television program Ally McBeal.

Blue Swede next hit the Top Ten in the U.S. with a cover of "Never My Love," which was originally recorded by the Association. A medley that combined "I'm Alive" and "Hush" fared better in Scandinavia than anywhere else. The Hollies originally recorded the former song, and the latter was done by Deep Purple. ~ Linda Seida, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: Blue Swede
Top
Blue Swede
Origin Stockholm, Sweden
Genre(s) Pop rock
Pop
Years active 1973 – 1975
Label(s) Capitol
Former members
Björn Skifs
Bosse Liljedahl
Anders Berglund
Hinke Ekestubbe
Jan Guldback
Michael Areklew
Thomas Berglund

Blue Swede was a Swedish rock band from the early to mid 1970s, that succeeded with a few singles which were covers of other artists' material.

Career

Blue Swede was first formed in 1973, when Björn Skifs, a top vocalist in Sweden, was looking for a band to accompany him during his concerts.[1] The band was originally called "Blåblus" (Swedish for "blue denim shirt") and featured Skifs singing the lead vocals. The band got their international breakthrough in 1974 with their cover of the 1969 B. J. Thomas song "Hooked on a Feeling". Released that same year on their album Hooked on a Feeling, Blue Swede's version was adapted from British pop eccentric Jonathan King, using his ooga-chaka ooga-chaka background on a version he had earlier recorded of the same song.[citation needed] "Hooked on a Feeling" was released in Sweden in May 1973 and in the United States in February 1974, and reached #1 for one week in the U.S. staying in the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 18 weeks.[1] The R.I.A.A. granted gold disc status on 28 March 1974.[1] The track also topped charts in Canada, Australia and the Netherlands.[1]

The group had a U.S. Top 10 hit with a cover of The Association's "Never My Love". Also of note, the group recorded a medley that combined "Hush" by Deep Purple and "I'm Alive" by Tommy James and the Shondells (not The Hollies' song of the same name), and which achieved its greatest success in Scandinavia.

"Hooked on a Feeling" received much attention in the 1990's, when it was featured in Quentin Tarantino's first hit film Reservoir Dogs.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. pp. 325. ISBN ISBN 0-214-20512-6. 

 
 

 

Copyrights:

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