Little Gerhard

Karl-Gerhard Lundkvist (born 17 May 1934), known under his stage name Little Gerhard, is a Swedish singer and rock musician. He had big music hits between 1958 and the mid-60s, with songs like "Buona Sera", "What You've Done to Me" and "Den siste mohikanen".^[1]

Little Gerhard
Little Gerhard in Helsingborg, 1959
Background information
Birth name	Karl-Gerhard Lundkvist
Also known as	Little Gerhard
Born	(1934-05-17) 17 May 1934 (age 91) Tillberga, Sweden
Occupation	Singer

Little Gerhard in Kungsträdgården 2009

Biography

In his early years he boarded a ship and became a sailor. He made his stage debut in 1952 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, at the nightclub "Trocadero".^[2] At that time he played guitar and the accordion.^[3]

After ending his career as a sailor he moved to Stockholm, where he entered several amateur singing competitions, and he later saw success as a rock musician. His first music group was called Halen, which he performed with at New Year's Eve 1957.^[4] Via this concert he signed with the record label Karusell. He released his first music album in 1958, called Little Gerhard; the song "What You've Done to Me" became his first hit.^[5] Already in March of the same year he was named "Sweden's rock music king", and in August that year he also was named "the rock music king of the Nordics".^[6][7] He made his film debut in the 1958 film Det svänger på slottet.^[8]

His third music album became, at its release in 1958, the best-selling music album within Swedish rock 'n' roll during the 1950s, and Little Gerhard's Gold certified record.^[9] His band The G-men went on a summer tour in 1959 and the next coming five years.^[10]

In 1961, he started to sing in Swedish, his native tongue, now under the artist name Little Gerhard for the first time.^[11] His song "Blommor och bin" charted on the Svensktoppen list.^[12] he also did recordings in West Germany and sang in German.^[13]

By the late 1960s, he focused on his career as a songwriter and producer.^[14] He participated in Melodifestivalen 1982 broadcast on SVT with the song "Hand i hand med dig" in a duet with singer Yvonne Olsson.^[15]

Filmography

• 1958 – Det svänger på slottet^[8]
• 1958 – Åsa-Nisse in Military Uniform^[16]