2010 The Oslo Weeks - Part 3: Småting

Old Norwegian vinyls are not easy to find. I'm sure many Eurovision collectors have, like me, some ugly gaps in their collections. Especially 60's singles are hard to come by, and even 70's and 80's vinyls fetch rediculous prices at your average auction site.

Same story goes for the coverversions of Norwegian entries. There aren't many around, and most of them are in Norwegian by local artists, and a fair amount of songs covered in Swedish.

But every once in a while a song was picked up outside Scandinavia and here's one of them. And a lovely one it is.

I Love The Little Things

Småting (Small things) by Benny Borg & Grethe Kausland ended 14th in 1972.
The song was performed in the Norwegian selection by the mentioned duo and also by later Bobbysock! Hanne Krogh. But Hanne Krogh didn't release the song and that leaves us with only one coverversion of the song and it's in Dutch, language of Sieneke.

The song, now titled Zomer (summer) was recorded by The Luckberries, most known by Eurovision fans for their Dutch National final evening back in 1966. Five artists including The Luckberries each had their own three song preselection evening and they all took one song to the final.

The (not yet back then) husband and wife duo took their Dromen Zijn Bedrog to the final and they ended 2nd behind Milly Scotts Fernando and Filipo.

The Luckberries weren't named after some small sort of exotic chance enhancing fruit, but after Lucas (a.k.a. as Luck) and Berrie, the names of the singers.

Their most active career was in the sixties, when they toured many countries in Europe and recorded most of their singles.

Berrie passed away in 2003 and Luck is now active as an artistic painter.

Zomer, the Dutch coverversion of Småting, was released in 1972 as a b-side to Er Is Nog Hoop (Zilvervloot records 154739)

Only Dromen Zijn Bedrog ever made it to CD as far as I know (A Eurovision/National final compilation) but it's high time some dedicated oldies re-issue company would delve into the Luckberries archives and release the whole lot on a CD. The Luckberries collection captures the Dutch spirit of the sixties so well: the typically Dutch careful 60's behavedness as well as the penchant for a fabulous tune.

Grethe Kausland, one half of the Småting duo, passed away in 2007. You can find out more about her and her career as best selling child star Lille Grethe in this Eurocovers post.

sources:

Read more on The Luckberries (in Dutch) at Koppop,

Het Nationaal Songfestival 1956-1999 (BabyBaby booklet 1999)

Thanks to Frans.

The Oslo weeks part 1 - Nora Brockstedt

The Oslo weeks part 2 - Kirsti Sparboe
The Oslo Collection has all the Eurovision 2010 release info.

Grethe Kausland 1947 - 2007

Another sad goodbye to a Eurovision singer. Grethe Kausland who sang Småting (Little things) with Benny Borg for Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest of 1972 died today.
Grethe Kausland died after a struggle with cancer at only 60 years of age.

Grethe Nilsen or Lille Grethe as she was known as a child star, had her first 100.000 seller Teddyen Min when she was 8 years old. It made her the best selling recording artist in Norway at the time. At 10 she made her filmdebut and 12 she already had 12 records to her name. When the 60's came she changed her tune from childrens music to more jazzy material and scored several hits in the early 60s like Souvenirs & Det finns millioner.
In the 1973 she joined Dizzie Tunes, a popular TV showband with which she performed until 2001. With Dizzie Tunes she scored 70's hits like Mere ra-ta-ta-ta and Toppop. One of her most successful stage acts was her inpersonation of Sammy Davis Jr.
In 1978 she released the well received and awarded disco LP A Taste Of Grethe Kausland and in 1979 the less acclaimed collection of re-recorded Lille Grethe songs Grethe synger lille Grethe, all in good old 70's disco style.
As an actress she starred in many TV shows and movies from 1957 up to 2005. She also did Norwegian voices / dubs in international films and animations including E.T..
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In 1991 she received the Leonardprisen for her achievements in theatre and revue.
Grethe Kausland was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 but took to the revue stage again at the end of that year. In 2007 the cancer took over again and Grethe Kausland died November 16, 2007.

Listen to Grethe's Norwegian version of the German entry Nur die Liebe lässt uns leben (Mary Roos) which she recorded in Norwegian (VA LP Norske Favoritter 1972) and in Swedish (VA LP Svensktoppar 13 or 14(?)). She also recorded the Dutch 1972 entry Als Het Om De Liefde Gaat in duet with with Odd Borre (also on Norske Favoritter LP and Svensktoppar 15).


Sources: You can find a biography / discography (In Norwegian) here.