Towa Carson
Encyclopedia
Towa Carson born on 31 March 1936 in Eskilstuna
, Sweden
, is a Swedish schlager
singer. She debuted in 1954 and had the most success in the 1950s and 1960s, when she recorded many duets with Lasse Lönndahl. She participated in the Swedish song contest Melodifestivalen
(which serves as a national preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest
) in 1967
(Du vet var jag finns, third place) and 1968
(two songs - Alla har glömt took fourth place, while Vem frågar vinden took the fifth). Unlike many other schlager-singing Scandinavian stars, she never sought international career, despite allegedly receiving offers from the U.S.
and Germany
.
In 2004, at the age of 68, she teamed up with fellow veteran Melodifestivalen participants, Siw Malmkvist
and Ann-Louise Hanson
, to enter the contest again. The trio, under the name Hanson, Carson & Malmkvist, gained media attention due to the average age of the ladies far exceeding 60. Their song, C'est la vie, written by the prolific Swedish composer Thomas G:son
, was a mix of a typical schlager tune with uptempo dance beat. The ladies advanced from their semifinal round
thanks to their popularity with televoters
and took the tenth place on the final night
, with an energetic performance including Siw's spectacular kicks. They also appeared at one of that year's Allsång på Skansen
events.
In 2006, Towa Carson celebrated her 70th birthday. She is married to Bengt Anlert, a former football player for Allmänna Idrottsklubben
. The unusual first name she uses on stage stems from her father calling her "Min lilla Tova" when she was a little girl, with reference to her tangled hair ("tova" means "tangle" in Swedish
).
Eskilstuna
Eskilstuna is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 60,185 inhabitants in 2005. Eskilstuna has a large Sweden Finn population....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, is a Swedish schlager
Schlager
Schlager music is a style of popular music prevalent in Central and Northern Europe and the Balkans and also in France and Poland. In Portugal, it was adapted and became pimba music...
singer. She debuted in 1954 and had the most success in the 1950s and 1960s, when she recorded many duets with Lasse Lönndahl. She participated in the Swedish song contest Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio . It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959...
(which serves as a national preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
) in 1967
Melodifestivalen 1967
Melodifestivalen 1967 was the selection for the ninth song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the eighth time that this system of picking a song had been used. Approximately 1800 songs were submitted to SVT for the competition...
(Du vet var jag finns, third place) and 1968
Melodifestivalen 1968
Melodifestivalen 1968 was the selection for the 10th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the ninth time that this system of picking a song had been used. 2233 songs were submitted to SVT for the competition...
(two songs - Alla har glömt took fourth place, while Vem frågar vinden took the fifth). Unlike many other schlager-singing Scandinavian stars, she never sought international career, despite allegedly receiving offers from the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
In 2004, at the age of 68, she teamed up with fellow veteran Melodifestivalen participants, Siw Malmkvist
Siw Malmkvist
Siw "Siwan" Gunnel Margareta Malmkvist is a Swedish singer who is popular in Scandinavia and Germany...
and Ann-Louise Hanson
Ann-Louise Hanson
Ann-Louise Hanson is a Swedish singer and has been involved in the music industry for over 40 years.Many of her solo recordings from the 1960s feature Bruno Glenmarks Orkester and, following their marriage, Ann-Louise and Bruno Glenmark formed the group Glenmarks with Bruno's niece Karin and...
, to enter the contest again. The trio, under the name Hanson, Carson & Malmkvist, gained media attention due to the average age of the ladies far exceeding 60. Their song, C'est la vie, written by the prolific Swedish composer Thomas G:son
Thomas G:son
Thomas Gustafsson is a Swedish composer and musician from Skövde, Västergötland, Sweden, north-east of Göteborg. However, he is much more known nationally and internationally simply as Thomas G:son, his artistic name. Since 1998, Thomas has worked full time as a songwriter for the company G:songs...
, was a mix of a typical schlager tune with uptempo dance beat. The ladies advanced from their semifinal round
Melodifestivalen 2004 (semifinals)
The semifinals for Melodifestivalen 2004 began on 21 February 2004. Ten songs from these semifinals qualified for the final on March 20, 2004. This was the third year that a semifinal format had been used for the competition.- Semifinal 1 :...
thanks to their popularity with televoters
Televoting
Televoting, telephone voting or phone voting is a method of decision making and opinion polling conducted by telephone. Televoting can also extend to voting by SMS text message via a mobile cell phone.- Broadcast contest televoting :...
and took the tenth place on the final night
Melodifestivalen 2004
Melodifestivalen 2004 was the selection for the 44th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the 43rd time that this system of picking a song had been used. Five semifinals had taken place to select the ten songs for the final, in Karlstad, Gothenburg, Umeå, Malmö and a...
, with an energetic performance including Siw's spectacular kicks. They also appeared at one of that year's Allsång på Skansen
Allsång på Skansen
Allsång på Skansen is a Swedish show held at Skansen, Stockholm, every summer on Tuesdays between 8pm and 9pm. The audience is supposed to sing along with musical guests, to well-known Swedish songs. The show started in 1935 on a small scale - about fifty people in the audience...
events.
In 2006, Towa Carson celebrated her 70th birthday. She is married to Bengt Anlert, a former football player for Allmänna Idrottsklubben
Allmänna Idrottsklubben
Allmänna Idrottsklubben , currently located in Solna, north of Stockholm, is one of the largest and one of the oldest sports clubs in Scandinavia. AIK was founded in 1891 in central Stockholm, at the downtown address of Biblioteksgatan 8...
. The unusual first name she uses on stage stems from her father calling her "Min lilla Tova" when she was a little girl, with reference to her tangled hair ("tova" means "tangle" in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
).
Kvällstoppen
- 1964 - Visa Mej Hur Man Går Hem (with Lars Lönndahl) - 12#
- 1964 - Jag Måste Ge Mej Av - 3#
- 1965 - En Lilja Är Vit (with Lars Lönndahl) - 13#
- 1967 - Laxå (with Mats Olsson) - 20#
- 1969 - Casatchok - 11#