Povel Ramel

Early life

Povel Ramel was born in Östermalm, Stockholm into an affluent noble family. His father, Karl Ramel, was a lawyer. At a young age, Ramel found a loving audience for his talents in the family nurses, maids and cooks, and also his parents. His family often went on extensive holidays, and on such an occasion, on a beach in Belgium, when Povel was two years old he stepped on a nail. With the wound infected Povel was not expected to survive, although he recovered, with a slight permanent injury.

Ramel's school-life was troubled. He cut classes, often going to Skansen, an open-air museum and zoo, favouring their monkey house. To avoid getting into trouble, Ramel told his teachers that he had lost his attendance book, thereby getting a new one, while showing his parents the old one, free from absence remarks. However, one day his father spotted Ramel visiting the monkey house. Subsequently, his father tried sending Ramel to various schools, but with little success.

At the age of 15, Ramel accompanied his parents on a car trip. There was a collision and Ramel's mother, Märta Tesch, died the following day in hospital. His father died a few months later.

Career

After his parents' death, Ramel was raised by his paternal aunt, who recognised his artistic potential. He went to art school, but his infatuation with painting did not last. However, he developed a love for playing the piano and for words, as he became inspired by musicians such as Bing Crosby, Fats Waller, British trumpeter Nat Gonella, Spike Jones and British dance band leader Harry Roy. Entering Aftonbladet's talent hunt, Vi som vill opp in 1939, Ramel sang and yawned his own composition, "En sömnig serenad" ("A Sleepy Serenade"). By this time Ramel was already a prolific songwriter. His aunt wrote the lyrics to one of his songs, "En vår utan dig" ("A Spring Without You"), which he recorded. Ramel's lyrics are noted for their humor and dramatic wordplay. Musically he was able to adopt styles from most types of music for his own purposes.

Later, when called to do his military service, his foot condition kept him out of active duty, and he was given an administrative role. When studying the military code, he learned that most everything was forbidden. But, with no rules to be found against Boogie Woogie Walzes, he dutifully wrote Johanssons boogie-woogie-vals, the song that was later to become his first hit.

STIM (a musical copyright agency) required the record have a label banning its airplay. As a result, the sales were minimal. Then a friend at the record company sent a copy with the label pulled off to Radiotjänst (The Swedish Broadcasting Corporation), and the sales jumped. Ramel was hired by Radiotjänst in 1945, which ushered in a new era of radio entertainment. With several series of innovative radio shows featuring the crazy style of humor, he became a household name in Sweden.

Knäppupp

In 1952 Ramel and Felix Alvo started the Knäppupp AB (Unbutton Inc.) company. The Knäppupp vaudeville shows were popular with Swedish audiences. His first vaudeville show was "Akta Huvet" ("Mind Your Head") and Ramel made his entrance hanging from a cable over the auditorium. The show opened at the Cirkus theatre in Gothenburg in 1952. Knäppupp AB also produced a number of movies, such as Ratataa in 1956. Ramel also had several pub shows such as, "Karamelodier". "Karamelodier" is one of Ramel's typical puns, as the word karamelodier is a combination of the words "karamell" (bon-bon), "Ramel" and "melodier" (melodies).

Some of his most famous songs

Johanssons boogie woogie vals (Johansson's Boogie Woogie Waltz)

Måste vägen till Curaçao gynga så (Why must the Boat to Curaçao sway like this)

Gynga is a broken Swedish version of Gunga (Swing/Sway)This song was written by Povel on the M/S San Blas, in a storm, and sung at the stage in San Blas later.

Släkt-huset (The Family House, mocking "the old family fam" theme)

Högt uppe på berget (High up on the Mountain)

Swedish language version of On Top of Old Smoky

Far, jag kan inte få upp min kokosnöt (Daddy, I Can't Break Open my Coconut)

Swedish language version of I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts, featured in My Life as a Dog

Skratt (Laughs)

Presented with some "laughing types" as the engineer's laugh "Hoho hooooooooo" (Like a steam whistle), "ping-pong laugh" Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha

Nya Skrytvalsen (The New Bragging Waltz)

Tjo va de va livat i holken i lördags (Whoopee Whatta Bustle in the Nesting Box last Saturday)

Naturbarn (Children of Nature)

Är det nån som har en våning åt mej? (Anyone Got an Apartment for me?)

Sorglösa brunn (Carefree Spa, a play based on his time in "Källviks brunn" in Loftahammar)

Varför är där ingen is till punschen? (Why no Ice with the Punsch?, mocking the "good old days" theme)

De sista entusiasterna (The Last Enthusiasts)

Karl Nilsson

Det skulle aldrig delfinerna göra (That, the Dolphins Would Never do)

A song about the fact that no dolphin would ever become a singer, as they are (as sung by Ramel) all too smart.

Jag diggar dig (I dig you)

Anticipating rap music.

While he almost exclusively worked in Swedish language, he has written at least one song in English, "The Sukiyaki Syndrome", about a visit to a Japanese restaurant, and others with a brief English introduction such as "Birth of the Gammeldans".

References to current events

Ramel was not interested in political satire or in lampooning public figures, and only a few of his songs refer to current events. There are a few exceptions:

En tillräckligt stor summa pengar (A sum of money big enough) – 2005–2006

In this recent song there are some references, for example: Gamla kapare som Ford och Rockefeller, har seglats om av kapten Gates (But old capers like Ford and Rockefeller, have been sailed past by Captain Gates)

The Nej Tack Jump (The No Thanks Jump) (No to Nuclear Power)

He sings: Barsebäck, Forsmark, Ringhals, Oskarshamn, (Swedish nuclear power stations) yes, we do like you. But the brooding striped blocks you've build, you should scrap as soon as possible.

Ramel has later explained that he did not state whether he was in favour of nuclear power or not. Many asked him to write this kind of song and he did, without expressing his own opinion.

Karamelodiktstipendiet

In 1983 Ramel founded Karamelodiktstipendiet, a prize annually awarded to a Swedish entertainer or group of entertainers. It is intended for renewers of the Swedish language or related musical advances. The prize was presented by Ramel in Hagaparken in Stockholm. The name of the prize is a pun similar to the one described above, referring to "karamell" and Ramel; "dikt" means poem and "stipendie" scholarship. Thus the recipient is not only awarded a monetary prize, but also a bag of candy and a poem written by Ramel himself. After the ceremony everyone is offered fried pigeon, which most guests politely abstain from eating. The prize, according to the founder, is enough to make the recipient economically independent, at least for the rest of the day (it was 20.000 SEK until 2007 when it was increased to 25.000 SEK).

The 2007 ceremony was led by Ramel's children Mikael and Lotta, due to their father being confined to his home after heart surgery.

Holders:

2016 – Per Andersson

2015 – Niklas Strömstedt

2014 – Kristina Lugn

2013 – Carl-Einar Häckner

2012 – Eva Rydberg

2011 – Johan Glans

2010 – Maria Lundqvist

2009 – Johan Ulveson

2008 – Babben Larsson

2007 – Henrik Dorsin

2006 – Kalle Moraeus from Orsa Spelmän

2005 – Sissela Kyle

2004 – Lena Philipsson

2003 – Peter Carlsson

2002 – The Real Group

2001 – Fredrik Lindström

2000 – Robin Carlsson (Robyn)

1999 – Viba femba

1998 – Hannes Holm and Måns Herngren

1997 – Wille Crafoord

1996 – Louise Hoffsten

1995 – Peter Dalle

1994 – I manegen med Glenn Killing

1993 – Marie Bergman

1992 – Tomas von Brömssen

1991 – Magnus Uggla

1990 – Ulla Skoog

1989 – Robert Broberg

1988 – Ainbusk

1987 – Claes Eriksson

1986 – Mikael Ramel

1985 – Anne-Lie Rydé

1984 – Björn Skifs

1983 – Totte Wallin

The Knäppupps

1952 – Knäppupp 1: Akta Huvet (This means both 'watch out for your head' and 'mind your head'. It was because Ramel entered the show on a cable over the crowd in Circus in Gothenburg, crying "Watch Out! Here comes Grandfather!")

1953 – Djuprevyn: 2 meter (The deep-vaudeville, 2 metre)

1954–55 – Knäppupp 2: Denna sida upp (This side up)

1955–56 – Spectacle

1956–67 – Knäppupp 3: Tillstymmelser (Suggestions)

1958–59 – Funny Boy

1960–61 – Alla 4 (All 4) [The summer version was called Semestersångarna (The vacation singers)]

1961–62 – I hatt och strumpa (Wearing a hat and a sock)

1962–63 – Dax igen (It's time again)

1963–64 – Ryck mej i snöret (Pull my string)

1964–65 – Ta av dej skorna (Take your shoes off)

1966–67 – På avigan (The wrong way around)

1968 – De sista entusiasterna (The last enthusiasts)

Other revues

The year of the opening is listed. Normally the revues stayed in production for two years, but, for example, Pratstund med Povel only stayed 1 year.

1969 – The POW-Show I (Pow = Povel och Wenche {Povel and Wenche})

1971 – Vid Pianot P. Ramel (At the Piano P. Ramel)

1972 – Karamellodier (Karamell = Caramel/Candy. Ramel = Ramel. Melodier = Melodies.)

1973 – Povel på Berns (Povel at Berns)

1974 – The POW-Show II, Andra Varvet Runt (The second round around)

1979 – Povel på Maxim (Povel at Maxim)

1981 – Minspiration (Min = My. Inspiration = Inspiration.)

1984 – Povel på Berns 2, The Sukiyaki Syndrome.

1989 – Tingel Tangel på Tyrol (Tinsel and Glitter at Tyrol), with Margaretha Krook and Hans Alfredson

1991 – Återbesök i Holket (Re-visit in the birdhouse)

1992 – Knäpp Igen (Re-Button or Crazy Again)

* Knäpp can mean Crazy or button!

1996 – Kolla Klotet (Look the Earth!) with Tomas von Brömssen

2000 – Som om inget hade hänt (As if nothing had happened), with Wenche Myhre and Putte Wickman

2001 – Ramelodia Lusticana

2003 – Some like it i höet (Höet = the hay) (With Lasse Brandeby, Maria Lundqvist and Lill-Babs)

2004 – Pratstund med Povel (Chat with Povel)

2005 – Förnyad Povelpratstund, nu med musik! (Renewed Povel-chat, now with music!)

2006 and spring 2007 – Povel à la carte

Filmography – Selected examples

I dur och skur (A pun on the expression 'I ur och skur', meaning 'through all kinds of weather' and more or less corresponding to the English expression 'through thick and thin'. Dur is the Swedish word for Major musical key.) 1953

I rök och dans (In smoke and dance) 1954 (Wordplay on 'Smoke and Dust')

In 1955 he was supposed to make Afrikafilmen (The Africa Movie), and some scenes were recorded, for example one where Ramel and Yngve Gamlin are riding a hippopotamus. War broke out in the country, so he never completed the film.

Hoppsan! (Whoops!) 1955

Ratataa eller Staffan Stolle Story (Ratataa or Staffan Stolle Story). (Staffan Stalledräng is a famous Swedish Christmas song, "stolle" means fool) 1956.

Den store amatören (The big amateur) 1958

Radio Shows

1946 – Föreningen för flugighetens främjande (The society for promotion of flyism)

1949 – Jakten på Johan Blöth (The hunt for John Wet) – "Blöth" is an older form of the word "blöt", meaning wet

1950 – Herr Hålms öden och Angantyr (Mister Hålms [pronounced Holmes] fate and Angantyr)

* Öden och Angantyr is a play on the often used Öden och Äventyr (Fates and Adventures)

1953 – Rameldags (Ramel-Time)

* Probably a play on gammaldags, meaning old-fashioned

1955 – När Schlagern dog (When the Schlager died)

Television

1965 – Ramel I Rutan (Ramel on the Screen)

1977 – Semlons gröna dalar (The green valleys of Semlon)

1986 – Affären Ramel (has the dual meaning of "The Ramel Shop" and "The Ramel Affair")

Povel Ramel at Allsång på Skansen

At Allsång på Skansen, on June 27, 2006, Povel sang many of his well-known songs to a melody of a different well-known song. A quite uncommon way of rendering old songs!

The whole song (preceded by a version of Side by side performed by Povel on piano) may be heard at Sveriges Television's webpage here. The recording lasts 9 minutes 41 seconds.