Exploring Norway’s pop music “oldies”
Take a walk down a Norwegian memory lane with these lively gems from decades past
Sean LaFleur
New York
If you ask most Americans what they know about the pop music of Norway’s past, I’ve found the answer usually will range from simply nothing, to one thing—recalling the mid-’80s catchy, upbeat song “Take on Me” by the band A-ha, the first Norwegian artist to have a big hit song in America.
If you ask Norwegian Americans this same question, odds are they’ll know a bit more about Norwegian “oldies”—they might mention the national anthem or fondly recall how a parent played the old immigrant favorite “Kan Du Glemme Gamle Norge,” or recite a few lyrics to the well-known ’40s waltz “Nidelven.”
Some of you reading this, I