Emil Norlander (1865-1935) was a Swedish journalist, author, songwriter and producer of musical revues.Emil Norlander riksarkivet.se. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
Career Originally a dentist, by the late 1890s Norlander was working as a columnist on a Stockholm newspaper. Following this, he became a contributing writer and editor of the humor magazines Nya Nisse and Kasper. He wrote more than twenty books, the most famous being Anderssonskans Kalle (Anderson's Charlie), the tale of a mischievous boy in turn-of-the-century Stockholm. Anderssonskans Kalle by Emil Norlander, (Stockholm: Gullberg & Hallberg, 1901).
Starting in 1899, Norlander wrote and produced over sixty revues as well as many popular comedies. His most famous revue was Den förgyllda lergöken (The gilded toy ocarina). He wrote the lyrics for many comic songs, including Fia Jansson and Amanda Lundbom. His New Year's variety shows were held at Södra Teatern, one of Stockholm's most prestigious venues. Emil Norlander och hans visor; en skildring by Björn Hodell, (Stockholm: Svenska visförlaget, 1949).
After 1920 Norlander's popularity waned as the Swedish public embraced a new generation of entertainers. His last big hit was Den gula paviljongen (The yellow pavilion) in 1923. When the "Revue King" finally retired, he was succeeded by Karl Gerhard and Ernst Rolf.
Songs During his lengthy career Norlander wrote the lyrics for hundreds of songs, collaborating with Kal Dompan, David Hellström, Arthur Högstedt, John Redland, Max Uyma and other Swedish composers. For some of his songs he borrowed well-known melodies from abroad: Fredssång (Silver Threads Among The Gold), Lycklige John (Lucky Jim) and Kärlek På Italienska Och Svenska (Santa Lucia).280 Samlade sånger, schlager, slagdängor med musik by Emil Norlander, (Stockholm: Elkan & Schildknecht, 1930).
In a rare departure from musical comedy, Norlander penned the lyrics to Fredssång (Peace Song), which begins with the lines: Varför skola mänskor strida, varför skall det flyta blod. (Why should people fight, why should blood flow.) Hundra svenska skillingtryck och kupletter collected by Stephanie and Christer Topelius, (Stockholm: Tidens förlag, 1991). This pacifist anthem, written at the time of the First World War, has been recorded numerous times and published in a variety of songbooks. The singer Sven-Bertil Taube released a memorable version of the song in 1972.Ett Samlingsalbum by Sven-Bertil Taube (Stockholm: EMI, 1976).
In the 1910s and 1920s Emil Norlander was introduced to Swedish-American audiences through recordings on the Columbia, Edison and Victor labels. Among those recording his songs in America were Ingeborg Laudon, Bert Leman, Gösta Nyström, Elis Olson-Ellis, Hjalmar Peterson, Calle Sjöquist and Charles G. Widdén.Ethnic Music on Records: A Discography of Ethnic Recordings Produced in the United States, 1893-1942 by Richard K. Spottswood, (University of Illinois Press, 1990) LCCN 89-020526. Volume 5.Emil Norlander in America archive.org. Retrieved: May 27, 2020. Elis Olson-Ellis, the lead actor in several of Norlander's revues, toured the United States during the 1911-1912 season. During his stay he recorded two Norlander songs for Victor Records. Emil Norlander's "Manicuristvisan" (The Manicurist Song), which Olson-Ellis set to music, was later recorded by Calle Sjöquist for Columbia Records.Elis Olson-Ellis archive.org. Retrieved: March 30, 2014.
Selected revues
The following shows were produced by Emil Norlander.
1899 - Den stora strejken 1900 - Den förgyllda lergöken 1901 - Prinsessan Habbahabba 1902 - I sjunde himlen 1903 - Damen med masken 1903 - Jönsson, Jonsson, Jansson 1903 - Gubben i Renberget 1904 - Kovander, Bovander & C:i 1905 - Stockholmsluft 1905 - Bluff 1906 - Kalle Munter 1907 - Stackars Olson 1907 - Mångubben 1908 - N:r 30 Gustafsson 1908 - Johnsons 7 fruar 1909 - Konstgjorda Svensson 1909 - Nick Carter 1910 - Tokiga Amelie 1910 - Tre jobbande pojkar 1911 - Spasmiga Wahlund 1912 - Stockholmsgask 1912 - Stockholmsgreker 1913 - Sankt Jönsson och Draken 1914 - Stockholmsflugor 1915 - Stockholm runt på 140 minuter 1915 - Restaurant Pumpen 1916 - Stockholmsjobb 1917 - Teaterflugan 1917 - Malla 1918 - Tokstollar 1918 - Filmkungen 1919 - Tutti-Frutti 1919 - Lev livet leende 1920 - Cirkus Jönsson 1922 - Venuspassagen 1922 - Med pukor och trumpeter 1923 - Kungarevyn 1924 - Festprissar 1925 - Genom kikaren 1926 - Slag i slag
Gallery
References
External links
Emil Norlander on Victor Records. Emil Norlander at Swedish music and film. Elis Olson-Ellis at Swedish Wikipedia Images Anderssonskans Kalle movie poster 1934 Emil Norlander at the National Library of Sweden. Emil Norlander at the National Archives of Sweden. Hund På Katt from the 1911 revue "Spasmiga Wahlund" (Excitable Wahlund). Project Runeberg Rännstensungar och storborgare (Children of the gutter and prominent citizens) Song texts Amanda Lundbom Balen på bakgården Den gula paviljongen Fia Jansson Varför skola mänskor strida Songbook Emil Norlander songbook Streaming audio Emil Norlander at the Internet Archive. Swedish labor songs at the Internet Archive. Den gula paviljongen at the Library of Congress. Emil Norlander at the National Library of Sweden. Sockerdricka from the 1911 revue "Spasmiga Wahlund" (Excitable Wahlund). Videos