International relevance: *
Hai & Topsy had a rather
colourful background. Hai, real name Heinrich Frankl, was born in
Wiesbaden in Germany to Jewish parents. He managed to flee from
Germany to Sweden only a few days before the outbreak of the Second
World War. (His parents were later killed in Auschwitz.) Here, he
acquainted other Jewish refugees and quickly learnt a number of
traditional Jiddisch songs from them.
Hai recieved a monthly grant
from the Swedish quakers in the 40s, and thus he was able to attend
Stockholm's premiere art school Konstfack where he met Topsy, real
name Gunnel Wahlström. They soon became a couple and began
performing as a musical duo in restaurants and other places welcoming
their music. They became a pretty well-known act over time, and in
the 60s they teamed up with the ever-present Kjell Westling along
with other domestic folk musicians. Hai & Topsy's record debut
was already in 1959 with a six track EP on the Cupol label, only
marking the start of a long career spawning numerous of releases in
various formats.
The politically oriented ”Jag sjunger ej om kungar, jag sjunger ej
om mord...” (”I sing not of kings, I sing not of murder”) with
subtitle ”De fattigas visor” (”songs of the poor”) was
released in 1974. There's not much to distinguish it from Hai &
Topsy's other albums, meaning it's chock full of traditional songs
performed in the most rosy-cheeked, jolly-jolly,
thumbs-up-all-day-long kind of way. They were part of the zeitgest,
but their personal stories are much more intriguing than ever their
music.
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