Blue Swede
| Company type | Rock group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Founder | Björn Skifs |
| Defunct | 1979 |
| Headquarters | Stockholm , Sweden |
Key people | Björn Skifs (lead vocalist), Anders Berglund (piano), Bosse Liljedahl (bass), Hinke Ekestubbe (saxophone), Jan Guldbäck (drums), Michael Areklew (guitar), Tommy Berglund (trumpet) |
| Products | Music albums and singles |
Blue Swede () was a rock group from Sweden, fronted by Björn Skifs, active between 1973 and 1979. Their discography primarily consisted of cover songs, with their most notable global success being the hit version of "Hooked on a Feeling". The band's members included Anders Berglund on piano, Björn Skifs as the lead vocalist, Bosse Liljedahl handling bass, Hinke Ekestubbe playing saxophone, Jan Guldbäck on drums, Michael Areklew on guitar, and Tommy Berglund on trumpet. The group dissolved after Skifs embarked on a solo path.
Career
Blue Swede was established in 1973 when singer Björn Skifs assembled a band to support his live performances. Initially named "Blåblus" (a Swedish pun meaning "blue blouse," referencing "blues"), Skifs served as the frontman. The band achieved worldwide recognition in 1974 with their rendition of the 1968 hit by B. J. Thomas, "Hooked on a Feeling". This version, produced by Bengt Palmers, drew inspiration from British pop musician Jonathan King's 1971 cover that popularized the distinctive "ooga-chaka" chant. The single was first released in Sweden in May 1973 and later in the United States in February 1974, where it climbed to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week and remained there for 18 weeks. It also topped charts in Australia, Canada, and reached number 26 in the Netherlands. Capitalizing on this momentum, Blue Swede issued the album Hooked on a Feeling within the same year.
Subsequent singles from this album included "Silly Milly," which peaked at number 71 in the U.S., and their take on The Association's "Never My Love", which achieved a high position at number seven. Their follow-up album released in 1974, Out of the Blue, featured a medley combining Deep Purple's "Hush" with Tommy James and the Shondells' "I'm Alive," reaching number 61 in the U.S. and enjoying popularity across Scandinavian countries. After Skifs departed in 1975, the remaining members continued under the name Blåblus and produced two additional albums.
Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE | AUS | CAN | US | ||
| Pinewood Rally |
|
5 | — | — | — |
| Hooked on a Feeling |
|
— | 53 | 84 | 80 |
| Out of the Blue |
|
4 | — | — | — |
| Better Days Are Coming |
|
— | — | — | — |
| De' e vi som spelar på skivan |
|
— | — | — | — |
| "—" indicates albums that did not chart or were not issued in those regions. | |||||
Singles
| Song Title | Release Year | Highest Chart Positions | Corresponding Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | Australia | Belgium (Flanders) | Canada | Germany | Netherlands | New Zealand | United Kingdom | United States | US Adult Contemporary | |||
| "Hooked on a Feeling" | 1973 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 2 | 22 | 26 | 7 | 90[upper-alpha 1] | 1 | 31 | Pinewood Rally / Hooked on a Feeling |
| "Silly Milly" | 9 | — | — | 50 | — | — | — | — | 71 | — | ||
| "Half Breed" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Pinewood Rally | |
| "Sally var en reko brud" | 1974 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Template:N/A |
| "Doctor Rock 'n Roll" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | "Out of the Blue" | |
See also
- List of Swedes in music
- Dancing baby, commonly referred to as The ooga-chaka baby
References
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