Ted Gärdestad
| Ted Gärdestad | |
|---|---|
Ted Gärdestad
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ted Arnbjörn Gärdestad |
| Born |
18 February 1956 Sollentuna, Sweden |
| Died | 22 June 1997 (aged 41) Häggvik, Sollentuna, Sweden |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 1971–1981, 1990s-1997 |
| Labels | Polar Music, Polydor |
| Associated acts | ABBA, Harpo |
| Notable instruments | |
| Piano, vocals | |
Ted Arnbjörn Gärdestad (Swedish pronunciation: [tɛd ˈjærɖɛ.ˈstɑːd]), known internationally as Ted Gardestad, Ted Gaerdestad or Ted (18 February 1956 – 22 June 1997), was a Swedish singer-songwriter, musician, and actor.
Ted Gärdestad was born Ted Arnbjörn Gärdestad, to Arne (1923-2016) and Margit Gärdestad in 1956 in Sollentuna, . He was the youngest of three siblings and had two older brothers; Kjell (1944–2000) and Kenneth (b. 1948). The family lived in Sollentuna during Ted's childhood.
Ted was 15 years old when he and his eight-year-older brother Kenneth Gärdestad decided to contact the record company Polar Music in 1971. Ted was composer and singer, while Kenneth wrote lyrics to Ted's melodies. Their collaboration continued throughout Ted's career. Stig "Stikkan" Anderson, later manager of pop group ABBA, signed him to the label and assigned him to in-house producers Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Ted was a multi-instrumentalist and was often described as a "musical wonderchild" in the Swedish media, and had made his television debut playing accordion at the age of six. In 1966, he made his debut as an actor in the television advent calendar En småstad vid seklets början (A Small Town at the Turn of the Century) and in 1970 he had a minor role in the American movie Story of a Woman alongside Bibi Andersson, Robert Stack and James Farentino. Gärdestad was also a promising tennis player; at 14 he was ranked second in his age group in Sweden after Björn Borg, and at one point he considered a career as a professional tennis player, but chose a career in music instead.
Gärdestad released his first single, the gospel-influenced "Hela världen runt" ("All Over the World"), in late 1971. The follow-up single, an acoustic ballad "Jag vill ha en egen måne" ("I Want a Moon of My Own"), a song he had written at the age of twelve, brought him to the attention of the Swedish public and he quickly became the country's first teen idol. Andersson and Ulvaeus produced Ted's debut album Undringar ("Wonderings"), which was released on Polar Music in early 1972, with Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad providing backing vocals. All four members of ABBA continued to work with Gärdestad in throughout the 1970s. His albums Undringar (1972), Ted (1973), Upptåg (1974) and Franska Kort (1976) were produced with the same recording and production techniques, engineers (including Michael B. Tretow) and musicians, as contemporaneous ABBA recordings.
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