Åge Aleksandersen

A multiple Spellemannprisen honoree, Norwegian singer/songwriter Åge Aleksandersen has sustained a career across many decades that encompasses an extensive catalog of long-playing albums, a number of which reached the top of the domestic charts. Following early recognition as a member of Prudence, he launched his solo path in the mid-1970s in tandem with fellow Norwegian singer/songwriter Terje Tysland. Born March 21, 1949, in Namsos, Norway, Aleksandersen initiated his recording activity as a founding member of Prudence, whose lineup also comprised Terje Tysland (vocals, guitar), Per Erik Wallum (flute), Johan Tangen (mandolin), Kjell Ove Riseth (bass), and Kaare Skevik, Jr. (drums), with Aleksandersen himself on guitar. Formed in Namsos in 1969, the group came to epitomize the Norwegian rock idiom known as trønderrock. After issuing several singles on Experience Records between 1970 and 1971, Prudence delivered its first full-length album, Tomorrow May Be Vanished (1972). Later studio albums followed with Drunk and Happy (1973), No. 3 (1974), and Takk Te Dokk (1975), the last of which earned a Spellemannprisen for Pop Album of the Year. The band dissolved in 1975 yet closed its account with the double-length live set 11/12-75 (1976); both Tysland and Aleksandersen then pursued thriving solo careers as singer/songwriters. Aleksandersen entered the solo market in 1975 with 7800 Namsos and continued to issue subsequent albums at roughly yearly intervals through the end of the century and well into the following decades. Although the majority of his long-players placed inside the Norwegian Top Five, four attained the summit: Levva Livet (1984), Eldorado (1986), Solregn (1989), and To Skritt Frem (2005). Critical esteem accompanied his commercial achievements, resulting in additional Spellemannprisen victories in 1980, 1981, 1984, and 2006.