Ted Gärdestad

Ted Gärdestad blended polished studio craft with emotionally direct, sometimes childlike songwriting and thereby evolved from a childhood performer into a major Swedish pop idol of the 1970s. His melodic instincts allowed him to bridge the experimental leanings of the progressive scene and the glossy disco-pop perfected by ABBA. Although he navigated the shift from child star to adolescent favorite with apparent ease, he never replicated that success with adult listeners and withdrew from recording during the 1980s. Following a turbulent decade away from the spotlight, he attempted a return in the early 1990s, only to withdraw once more before ending his life in 1997.

Born in a Stockholm suburb in 1956, Gärdestad began writing music at six. By eight he was performing his own pieces on national television; at ten he starred in a nationwide TV series. In his early teens he began crafting pop songs whose words were supplied by his brother Kenneth Gärdestad, a collaboration that lasted throughout their joint career. At fifteen, in 1971, he signed with Polar Music; later that year the label issued his debut album, Undringar, produced by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA.

The single “Jag Vill Ha En Egen Måne” entered the charts and quickly turned the heartfelt, boyish Gärdestad into a teenage favorite. Subsequent releases, featuring the major successes “Sol Vind Och Vatten” and “Eiffeltornet,” sold strongly. Throughout the 1970s he remained one of Sweden’s leading mainstream pop acts, yet Swedish-language lyrics kept him confined to the domestic market. In 1978 he traveled to Hollywood to cut his first English-language album, recruiting Jeff Porcaro and Jay Gradon for the sessions. Blue Virgin Isle made little impact at home or overseas. Back in Sweden he issued Stormvarning in 1981 and then vanished from the music scene for twelve years.

Those twelve years were musically uneventful but personally turbulent. After joining the Bhagwan movement he relocated to Oregon, returning only after the community collapsed. Shortly after his return, Sweden was shaken by the assassination of Prime Minister Olof Palme. During police questioning a suspect named Gärdestad; the detail reached the press. Although the claims proved baseless, the ensuing rumors deepened the depression of the already fragile former star. A 1993 comeback effort led, in 1994, to the release of his first album in thirteen years, Äntligen På Väg. Unable to regain momentum, he slipped back into depression and in 1997 took his own life by stepping in front of a suburban train.