William Clauson

William Clauson
Clauson in 1966
Background information
Born	(1930-05-02) May 2, 1930 (age 86) Ashtabula, Ohio, United States
Genres	Traditional folk music, world music
Occupation(s)	Singer, song collector, actor
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	c.1950-c.1980
Website	http://www.williamclauson.com/

William Clauson (born May 2, 1930) is a Swedish-American singer of folk songs from various nations, including some of the songs of Carl Michael Bellman in both English and Swedish.

Clauson was born in Ashtabula, Ohio, to parents who were immigrants from Sweden. When he was two, the family returned to live in Viskafors, Sweden, and William began studying violin and singing at a music conservatory in Borås. At the age of six, he returned to the US to live with an uncle in Covina, California, and began playing the guitar. Four years later, he won the title of "All American Boy" at the Hollywood Bowl, and began taking occasional small uncredited acting roles in movies including Abbott and Costello's The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947).

According to Clauson, his big break as a performer came when he attended a lecture and concert by Carl Sandburg, at which Sandburg asked to borrow his guitar and later asked to hear some of Clauson's own songs. Sandburg became his mentor and helped launch his performing career. Inspired by Burl Ives, Clauson began performing folk songs from different countries. He moved to Sweden in 1954, married, and made his first recordings in with the orchestra of Lille Bror Söderlundh. He became a popular singer in Sweden, appearing regularly on Swedish television and radio. He also toured around Europe, India, Australia, and the Americas, including appearances at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and the Royal Festival Hall in London.