Cornelis Vreeswijk

Cornelis Vreeswijk was a Dutch-born singer-songwriter and troubadour who became one of the most beloved figures in Swedish popular music. Born in the Netherlands, he moved to Sweden as a boy of twelve and grew so immersed in the language that he was known for speaking Swedish with a distinctive accent all his life. Inspired by artists like Josh White and Lead Belly, he took up guitar as a teenager and built a career rooted in the visa tradition — poetic, story-driven Swedish troubadour song — updated with blues and folk influences.

His breakthrough came through producer Anders Burman at Metronome, who, upon hearing Vreeswijk perform live, decided he himself should be the singer rather than merely the songwriter for a friend. His debut record, «Ballader och Oförskämdheter», launched a prolific career during which he released more than an album a year on average, penning enduring songs such as «Balladen om herr Fredrik Åkare och den söta fröken Cecilia Lind», «Somliga går med trasiga skor» and «Veronica».

Vreeswijk's life was marked by turbulence — public scandals, brawls and legal trouble accompanied his fame through the 1970s — and by the early 1980s he had largely faded from view before getting sober and taking a hiatus. He returned in 1985 with the acclaimed album «Mannen som älskade träd», cementing his legacy as a defining voice of the Swedish visa and troubadour tradition.