Hjalmar Peterson
Encyclopedia
Swedish-American entertainer
Olle i Skratthult was the stage name of Hjalmar Peterson, a Swedish-American vaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
artist, who achieved great popularity during the 1910s and 1920s. Peterson was born February 7, 1886 in the Swedish province of Värmland
Värmland
' is a historical province or landskap in the west of middle Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland and Närke. It is also bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are Vermelandia and Wermelandia. Although the province's land originally was Götaland, the...
. Arriving in the United States in 1906, he eventually settled in Minneapolis. At first Peterson worked as a bricklayer in the new country, but before long he embarked on a career as a professional entertainer. In 1909 he returned to Sweden as a member of The Swedish-American Quartet, and during its two-year tour he gathered the songs, stories and jokes he would later use as a solo performer.
Back in America Peterson adopted the persona of Olle i Skratthult (Olle from Laughtersville) and began performing on the Scandinavian-language vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
circuit. Olle was a bondkomiker (peasant comic), and he dressed the part with a blacked-out tooth and straw-colored wig. By 1916 he had a touring group, and the following year he married the company’s leading lady, Olga Lindgren.
Olle i Skratthult was a full-time entertainer for most of his adult life and for many years was the most famous performer in Scandinavian vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
. During the 1920s he toured the country with a large band and was enthusiastically greeted by both ethnic and mainstream audiences. His touring company also had several actors. An evening’s entertainment often began with a short play, followed by Olle’s songs and stories and ended with a public dance. A full-length theatrical evening was rare unless it was F. A. Dahlgren's
Fredrik August Dahlgren
Fredrik August Dahlgren was a Swedish writer, playwright and songwriter.Dahlgren was born in Nordmark parish in Värmland, son of Barthold Dahlgren, the manager of the mines at Taberg, and Anna Carolina Svensson...
musical drama "Värmlänningarna" (The People of Värmland).
A phenomenon
"Last night I decided to try to gain entrance to Tuckerman Hall, and since I did not arrive until 8 o'clock, I would not have been able to get in if it had not been for my press pass. I lost two buttons on my overcoat in the melee, but that did not matter, as long as I finally got a seat — that is I had to be satisfied with standing room in the rear. And, I did something I had never done before, and never expect to do again — unless I go to an "Olle-show" — that is I stood on my two tired feet over two hours — and enjoyed myself. There is a lot of complaining to be heard from theatrical people, to the effect that revenue is falling off and that the radio and the phonographs keep the public at home. Well, the Swedish public at least did not stay at home that night. The hall was packed an hour before the time when it was scheduled to start, and hundreds clamored for admittance in vain. A man, who can attract crowds like that in these days, must be a phenomenon. Of course he does not do all the performing himself; he is ably assisted by his lovely wife, Olga, and by some very clever dancers, and a bunch of virtuosos, who make up the Olle i Skratthult orchestra. It is a splendid aggregation of musicians, to say the least, and I need not add that my tired feet forgot their tired feeling as soon as the first strains from the instruments were heard, and I danced with glee until the "Home, Sweet Home"Home! Sweet Home!
"Home! Sweet Home!" is a song that has remained well-known for over 150 years. Adapted from American actor and dramatist John Howard Payne's 1823 opera Clari, Maid of Milan, the song's melody was composed by Englishman Sir Henry Bishop with lyrics by Payne...
gave the signal that the show was at an end."
-
- — Burt Maxwell in the Worcester Telegram (MA), reprinted in the Dayton Review (IA)
Later years
Peterson only performed in Swedish, and as the use of that language declined in America so too did his popularity. As the tours became smaller there were fewer musicians and actors to accompany him. At the very end there was only Olle.Hjalmar and Olga were divorced in 1933. He remarried, and his second marriage produced two children. He stopped touring and appeared only on the radio.
Near the end of his life Peterson underwent a religious conversion and sang hymns under the auspices of the Salvation Army
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
. He died in 1960.
Popular recording artist
Between 1916 and 1929 Olle i Skratthult (Hjalmar Peterson) recorded 46 songs, primarily for ColumbiaColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and Victor Records
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
. In addition, the Hjalmar Peterson Orchestra recorded 18 instrumental tracks for Victor. Some of the Victor numbers were subsequently released on the company’s low-priced Bluebird
Bluebird Records
Bluebird Records is a sub-label of RCA Victor Records originally created in 1932 to counter the American Record Company in the "3 records for a dollar" market. Along with ARC's Perfect Records, Melotone Records and Romeo Records, and the independent US Decca label, Bluebird became one of the best...
label.
Columbia and Victor always listed Olle under both his real name and his stage name. Some records gave Hjalmar Peterson top billing. Others gave precedence to Olle i Skratthult. Instrumentals were credited to Olle i Skratthults Luffarekapell, Hjalmar Peterson’s Hobo Orchestra and to other similar names. Olle’s own band did not appear on the records, which were made by studio musicians in New York and Chicago. Among the session players were country music pioneer Carson Robison
Carson Robison
Carson Jay Robison was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although his impact is generally forgotten today, he played a major role in promoting country music in its early years through numerous recordings and radio appearances. He was also known as Charles Robison and sometimes...
and the celebrated accordion artist Arvid Franzen.
As a recording artist Olle relied on many Swedish songwriters and poets. The most important of these were Lars Bondeson
Lars Bondeson
Lars Bondeson was the stage name of Carl Jansson-Öhlin, who was one of the founders of Swedish bondkomik . Born in Örebro in 1865, he was a singer, storyteller, lyricist and publisher. His songbooks were a major influence on countless entertainers in Sweden and America.Lars Bondeson called himself...
, Jödde i Göljaryd
Jödde i Göljaryd
Known as the father of bondkomik , Jödde i Göljaryd was a beloved storyteller, whose folk humor and songs dominated popular culture in Sweden during the 1890s. The entertainer, whose real name was Karl Peter Rosén, was famous for his stone — Jödde’s Stone — which can still be seen at the open air...
, Göran Svenning, David Hellström, Anna Myrberg
Anna Myrberg
Anna Myrberg was a Swedish author and song lyricist. Much of her writing appeared under the pseudonym of Svarta Masken . After training to be a photoengraver, she found work at a photography studio and a Stockholm newspaper. Her debut as a poet was the 1919 collection Svarta Maskens Dårdikter...
, Emil Norlander
Emil Norlander
Emil Norlander was a Swedish journalist, author and producer. Originally a dentist, by the late 1890s he was working as a columnist on a Stockholm newspaper. He also contributed to the humor magazine Nya Nisse, eventually becoming its chief editor...
, Ernst Rolf
Ernst Rolf
Ernst Rolf, real name Ernst Ragnar Johansson, , was a Swedish revue actor and singer. In the 1920s he was famous for producing revues that were acclaimed for their dazzling sets, first class actors and stirring music. He was also a lyricist and composer...
, Kalle Nämdeman
Kalle Nämdeman
Kalle Nämdeman was the stage name of Karl Gustafsson, a Swedish songwriter, performer and recording artist. He had planned on becoming a goldsmith but became a bondkomiker instead. Nämdeman “discovered” the military conscript as a comic type, appearing as such on stage or in top hat and tails...
, Skånska Lasse
Theodor Larsson
Theodor Larsson was born June 8, 1880 in Gylle parish near the town of Trelleborg in Skåne. He died June 30, 1937 in Mjölby. A Swedish bondkomiker and lyricist, his professional name was Skånska Lasse...
, Gustaf Fröding
Gustaf Fröding
Gustaf Fröding was a Swedish poet and writer, born in Alster outside Karlstad in Värmland. The family moved to Kristinehamn in the year 1867. He later studied at Uppsala University and worked as a journalist in Karlstad....
, Jeremias i Tröstlösa and Fred Winter.
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, written by Svenning and Hellström
Göran Svenning and David Hellström
Lyricist Göran Svenning and composer David Hellström were a top Swedish songwriting team of the early 20th century. Together they wrote over thirty waltzes, including the classic Kostervalsen ....
for the Baltic Exhibition
Baltic Exhibition
The Baltic Exhibition was held in Malmö, Sweden from May 15, 1914 until October 4, 1914. It presented exhibits of industry, art and crafts from Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Russia — the four countries then bordering the Baltic Sea...
of 1914.
A contemporary recording artist, who had much in common with Olle, was Charles G. Widdén
Charles G. Widdén
-Swedish-American entertainer:Charles G. Widdén was a Swedish immigrant performer in the first quarter of the 20th Century. As a young child Widdén came with his family to Worcester, Massachusetts. He is said to have been from the Swedish province of Närke...
. The classically-trained singer Joel Mossberg
Joel Mossberg
A noted singer and vocal teacher, Joel Mossberg was born in 1870. His birthplace was Kumla in the Swedish province of Närke. After completing his elementary education he worked as a stone-carver in Visby before emigrating in 1892....
took much of his repertoire from the Swedish choral tradition, but he and Olle each recorded several numbers from the songbooks of Lars Bondeson
Lars Bondeson
Lars Bondeson was the stage name of Carl Jansson-Öhlin, who was one of the founders of Swedish bondkomik . Born in Örebro in 1865, he was a singer, storyteller, lyricist and publisher. His songbooks were a major influence on countless entertainers in Sweden and America.Lars Bondeson called himself...
.
Not all of Olle’s songs had Swedish roots. Den Lustige Kopparslagarn (The Jolly Coppersmith), which Olle recorded three times, was of German origin. Barndomshemmet (My Childhood Home) was introduced to American audiences by his wife Olga. It was an adaptation of “On the Banks of the Wabash
On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away
"On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" was among the best-selling songs of the 19th century in terms of sheet music sold. Written and composed by American songwriter Paul Dresser, it was published by the Tin Pan Alley firm of Howley, Haviland & Co. in October 1897. The lyrics of the ballad...
”, the state song of Indiana. There were other examples of American popular music in Olle’s repertoire. “Just Kiss Yourself Good-Bye” in Swedish became Petters Olycksaliga Frieri (Peter's Unlucky Marriage Proposal). “I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" is a popular song which debuted in 1918 and was first published in 1919.-Creation:The music was written by John Kellette. The lyrics are credited to "Jaan Kenbrovin", actually a collective pseudonym for the writers James Kendis, James Brockman and Nat Vincent...
” was likewise Såpbubblor (Soap Bubbles). “Just Kiss Yourself Good-Bye” was a so-called Coon song
Coon song
Coon songs were a genre of music popular in the United States and around the English-speaking world from 1880 to 1920, that presented a racist and stereotyped image of blacks.-Rise and fall from popularity:...
, but its racial stereotypes were absent from the Swedish version.
Some of Olle’s final recordings were taken from more traditional sources. In 1928 he recorded the folk song Jag gick mig ut en sommerdag (I went out one summer day). The next year he recorded the broadside ballad
Broadside (music)
A broadside is a single sheet of cheap paper printed on one side, often with a ballad, rhyme, news and sometimes with woodcut illustrations...
Hjalmar och Hulda (Hjalmar and Hulda). These sorrowful tales were a departure from his usual lighthearted fare.
In addition to his records Olle i Skratthult published and sold several songbooks. The small pamphlets included songs he had recorded and other material from his live performances. His 1921 and 1922 songbooks are on file at the Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society is a private, non-profit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehood. The Society is named in the Minnesota...
.
Olle i Skratthult will be forever associated with the song Nikolina. He recorded it in 1917 for Columbia and in 1923 and 1929 for Victor. It is estimated that 100,000 copies of the song were sold, a remarkable feat for a foreign-language record.
Nikolina is the tragicomic story of a couple, whose desire for romantic happiness is thwarted by the girl’s autocratic father. The song became enormously popular with immigrant audiences, who strongly identified with the young lovers’ plight. An English version, popularized by Slim Jim and the Vagabond Kid (Ernest and Clarence Iverson
Ernest and Clarence Iverson
-Norwegian-American entertainers:Ernest and Clarence Iverson were popular radio personalities in the Midwest during the 1930s and 1940s. Ernest was known as Slim Jim. His brother Clarence was the Vagabond Kid...
), introduced the song to the rest of America.
Foreword to 1908 songbook
Swedes have had the reputation of familiarizing themselves faster than anyone else with the customs and traditions of various countries — to take them in stride.About two years ago a happy and energetic young man came to this country from the province of Värmland
Värmland
' is a historical province or landskap in the west of middle Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland and Närke. It is also bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are Vermelandia and Wermelandia. Although the province's land originally was Götaland, the...
. His name was Hjalmar Peterson, and he had already successfully appeared on stage in his home district under the name of "Olle i Skratthult". But little did he suspect that he would soon establish himself as America's foremost Swedish comedian, storyteller and singer. Like our great American actors and entertainers "Olle i Skratthult" now offers his songs and stories for sale, and it is to be hoped that this little book will do well since it contains many of the choice pieces with which "Olle" has had great success, written by such well-known Swedish humorists as Gustaf Fröding
Gustaf Fröding
Gustaf Fröding was a Swedish poet and writer, born in Alster outside Karlstad in Värmland. The family moved to Kristinehamn in the year 1867. He later studied at Uppsala University and worked as a journalist in Karlstad....
, F.A. Dahlgren
Fredrik August Dahlgren
Fredrik August Dahlgren was a Swedish writer, playwright and songwriter.Dahlgren was born in Nordmark parish in Värmland, son of Barthold Dahlgren, the manager of the mines at Taberg, and Anna Carolina Svensson...
and Jödde i Göljaryd
Jödde i Göljaryd
Known as the father of bondkomik , Jödde i Göljaryd was a beloved storyteller, whose folk humor and songs dominated popular culture in Sweden during the 1890s. The entertainer, whose real name was Karl Peter Rosén, was famous for his stone — Jödde’s Stone — which can still be seen at the open air...
.
This book has been published to earn a little extra income and to make “Olle” more familiar to Swedish-American audiences. It is his dearest wish to devote all of his time to the theater instead of the current situation where he carries mortar one day and appears on stage the next.
- Minneapolis, Minn., Sept. 28, 1908.
- OTTO ANDERSON. (Wanderer.)
- Anderson was a traveling correspondent for the Minneapolis newspaper Svenska Folkets Tidning between 1899 and 1911; he used the pen names Otto and Viftare (wanderer) for his reports from various locations.
Renewed interest in Olle i Skratthult
The Swedish Emigrant Institute of Växsjö, Sweden
Swedish Emigrant Institute
Swedish Emigrant Institute is a research center and museum which is designed to preserve records and memorabilia relating to Swedish-American migration.-Background:...
gave prominent mention to Olle i Skratthult and Charles G. Widdén
Charles G. Widdén
-Swedish-American entertainer:Charles G. Widdén was a Swedish immigrant performer in the first quarter of the 20th Century. As a young child Widdén came with his family to Worcester, Massachusetts. He is said to have been from the Swedish province of Närke...
in a 1973 exhibit on entertainment in Swedish America. A small disc was produced for the occasion with excerpts from their songs and stories.
The Snoose Boulevard Festival was held in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis from 1972 through 1977. In the late 19th century Cedar Avenue became known as “Snoose Boulevard”, a nickname often given to the main street in Scandinavian communities. The term derived from the residents’ fondness for snus (snuff), an inexpensive form of tobacco. The event, which celebrated the area’s Scandinavian past, featured the music, food, and arts of the immigrants who had once lived there. It also highlighted the careers of Olle i Skratthult (Hjalmar Peterson), Slim Jim and the Vagabond Kid (Ernest and Clarence Iverson
Ernest and Clarence Iverson
-Norwegian-American entertainers:Ernest and Clarence Iverson were popular radio personalities in the Midwest during the 1930s and 1940s. Ernest was known as Slim Jim. His brother Clarence was the Vagabond Kid...
) and the Olson Sisters (Eleonora and Ethel Olson
Eleonora and Ethel Olson
Between 1905 and 1925 Eleonora and Ethel Olson were well-known figures in Scandinavian communities throughout the United States. They toured extensively in the Midwest, and their recordings on major record labels gained them a nationwide following....
).
Recordings
In conjunction with the festival the Swedish-born singer Anne-Charlotte Harvey recorded three albums of folk tunes, emigrant ballads, hymns, waltzes and comic songs. The non-profit Olle i Skratthult Project sponsored the annual celebration and the recordings. Harvey’s albums, produced by the renowned ethnomusicologist Maury Bernstein, included twelve songs from Olle’s repertoire. In 1976 the Olle i Skratthult Project reissued two of Olle's most popular recordings as a single: Nikolina and Flickan På Bellmansro.Banjar Records, a label based in the Twin Cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
, released one song by Olle and two by his Hobo Orchestra in 1983.
Olle's recordings were released in Sweden as well. The Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research had three of his songs on its album “From Sweden To America”, which was released as an LP in 1981 and as a CD in 1996. Recorded in Sweden and the United States between 1917 and 1980, the collection had songs by Olle i Skratthult, Olga Lindgren, Gustav Fonandern, Lydia Hedberg, Ragnar Hasselgren and Anne-Charlotte Harvey. In 2011 the twenty-three tracks on the CD were released on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and Amazon mp3
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
.