Dan Lundberg: Swedish folk Music - from village greens to concert platforms
Folk music and pop

FOLK MUSIC AND POP This next stage of development is represented here by a collaboration between the folk music group Skäggmanslaget (picture) and the pop group Contact, which in 1970 resulted in a recording of Gråtlåten, polska efter Hjort Anders (The Crying Tune, polska after Hjort Anders) on Skäggmanslaget’s LP Pjål, gnäll och ämmel (Squeaks, Squawks and Whimpers) which in many ways was epoch-making. Skäggmanslaget consisted of three young folk musicians: Wilhelm Grindsäter, Thore Härdelin and Petter Logård. Contact, on the other hand, was a Stockholm-based pop group with organist and singer Ted Ström as the driving force. Their models were probably to be found in British “folk rock” which had developed during the 1960s. This “musical encounter” was also the result of an external initiative, this time from the Youth Department of the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation. The encounter between Skäggmanslaget and Contact thus resulted in a recording of Gråtlåten which was an immediate success in the Swedish hit charts. The record Pjål, gnäll och ämmel received the Swedish Gramophone Award in 1970.  Gråtlåten., polska efter Hjort Anders. Skäggmanslaget and Contact (SLP-2510) The popularity of Skäggmanslaget can be explained in a number of ways. Firstly, due to political currents in society, such as the “green wave” and the “alternative movement”, a new folk music audience had emerged that could identify with the music and the musicians. Folk music and rock stood for alternatives to established music, a non-commercial music. Folk music could also stand for “the people’s music”, which fitted in well with the world of ideas of left-wing politics. Secondly, the change of attitude towards music and musicians during the 1970s resulted in a more liberal view of renewal and the opinion (which is more relevant in this context) that anyone, regardless of whether he or she is a tradition-bearer or not, has the right to use folk music. Thirdly, among their audience in the young folk music generation Skäggmanslaget were respected as skilful musicians, a reputation which should not be underestimated. A fourth explanation of the popularity of Gråtlåten was that it fell onto good ground among key figures at the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation. From this vantage point we can continue with a further comparison between Jan Johansson’s version of I fjol så gick jag med herrarna i hagen and Gråtlåten. Both arrangements are obviously characterised by the encounter or “clash” between two musical worlds. As a listener one has a definite feeling that the musicians see the original melodies as they are performed by the tradition-bearers (Hilma Ingberg and Skäggmanslaget respectively) as starting points for the arrangements. This is evident in the fact that the “original” melodies are heard before the jazz musicians and pop musicians begin to play. It is possible that Gråtlåten was inspired by the arrangement of I fjol så gick jag med herrarna i hagen, but this is not particularly likely. It is more probable that the similarities between the two arrangements are partly due to the fact that the musicians felt a great respect for the original versions and partly because by beginning with the original the transformation stood out more clearly and was even more effective. At the same time we should not forget the explanation which is nearest to hand, namely that this type of construction is commonly used both in jazz and popular music.

Folk music and pop
Dan Lundberg: Swedish folk Music - from village greens to concert platforms