9 best female singers according to Per Gessle

Yay! It’s Thursday again! In today’s part of Per Gessle’s podcast Mr. G and Sven talk about the best female singers. Per has a very long list of fantastic female singers, e.g. Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Diana Ross, but here he lists those ones who had formed his songwriting and musicmaking in the early years. This way you won’t find Marie on the list of course, but we all know what an important role she has in our pop king’s life. Listen to the podcast or download it from HERE!

Per Gessle’s Top9 female singers:

9. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll
8. K.D. Lang – After The Gold Rush
7. Stevie Nicks – Dreams
6. Ann Wilson (Heart) – Love Alive
5. Dusty Springfield – Son Of A Preacher Man
4. Nancy Sinatra – These Boots are Made For Walking
3. Joni Mitchell – Rainy Night House
2. Chrissy Amphlett (Divinyls) – Pleasure And Pain
1. Deborah Harry (Blondie) – Heart Of Glass

Per says Joan Jett is a fantastic singer. Her cover of I Love Rock ’N’ Roll is from 1981 and with her voice, a woman singing the song gives another meaning of the lyrics and her version is more cheeky and sexy. This is what Mr. G is also trying to reach with his stuff together with Marie for example. When she sings a song, it gives another meaning to the lyrics.

K.D. Lang is from Canada and she is outstandingly good. She did a cover version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and it’s the only cover of that song Per likes. K.D. Lang has some virtuosity in her voice what makes it fantastic.

Stevie Nicks has a very appealing voice. She is best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac, a band that meant a lot to Per. She is a unique artist and has mysterious lyrics.

Ann Wilson is an incredibly talented singer and Love Alive is a fantastic song. Per and MP listened to this song a lot when they started Gyllene Tider and got inspiration from it. Magdalena is one of those GT songs inspired by Love Alive.

Dusty Springfield’s delivery of songs is charming and her personality comes through the songs. One can’t stop listening to Son Of A Preacher Man. Dusty’s voice is very sexy and magnetic.

No surprise Nancy Sinatra is also in Per’s Top9. One hand is not enough to count how many times he shared These Boots are Made For Walking on Roxette’s Facebook page over the years. Mr. G says one can only fall in love with Nancy’s voice. Per loves her cooperation with Lee Hazlewood and their song Summer Wine (which you could bump into on Roxette’s Facebook page also quite frequently).

Joni Mitchell is at No. 3 on Per’s list. He listened to her all his life. Rainy Night House has the typical Joni Mitchell sound and it is beautiful. How Joni Mitchell expresses herself feels like she is a painter, painting all her lyrics.

Chrissy Amphlett  from Divinyls is the No. 2 female singer on Mr. G’s list. She has a very unique voice, one melts while listening to her.

Debbie Harry from Blondie is the best female singer according to Per. She’s the one who stands out as a singer and with her personality in pop music. It’s probably only Madonna who is as outstanding as Debbie. Heart Of Glass is one of world’s best pop songs according to Per. It still sounds like a hit today.

 

PG_9_best_female_singers
Per Gessle. Foto: Jesper Molin/Sveriges Radio

 

Next podcast part will be available next Thursday.

 

Per Gessle’s nine Swedish heroes

Another Thursday, another part of Per Gessle’s podcast. Lovely to listen to. In this one Mr. G and Sven Lindström talk about those Swedish musicians and songs that had an effect on Per’s own music. The chosen songs are again from the ’60s and ’70s. Listen to the podcast or download it from HERE!

Per Gessle’s Top9 Swedish heroes:

9. Ola & The Janglers – Come And Stay With Me
8. Ola Magnell – Nya perspektiv
7. Tages – Fantasy Land
6. November – En Ny Tid Är Här
5. Ted Gärdestad – Come Give Me Love
4. Cornelis Vreeswijk – Balladen Om Fredrik Åkare Och Den Söta Fröken Cecilia Lind
3. Ulf Lundell – Sniglar och Krut
2. Pugh Rogefeldt – Klöver Linda
1. John Holm – Den Öde Stranden

Per has always been an Ola & The Janglers fan, because they have a unique sound. Come And Stay With Me he listened to many, many times. The lead member is called Ola Håkansson, so Per and Sven start talking about their second names and mention Per’s mum called him Per Håkan and Sven’s other name is Magnus. Mr. G says he also listened to Ola Magnell a lot in the ’70s. He is a great songwriter and a fantastic singer. Tages is a band from Gothenburg and Per still likes them very much, their songs still sound great. November is a band that also formed Per’s songwriting, he listened to them a lot as well. He sees November in his world as a pop band. Per listened to Ted Gärdestad a lot when he grew up. Come Give Me Love is one of the nicest and most brilliant Swedish songs, Mr. G thinks. Per compares TG to Paul McCartney. Cornelis Vreeswijk has very good lyrics and he is a unique artist, Per thinks. Ulf Lundell’s best song according to PG is Sniglar och Krut that’s why it’s at No. 3 on his Swedish heroes list. Pugh Rogefeldt’s 2nd album, Pughish is the best Swedish album of all times, with fantastic songs and production. Per chose a song from that album as the 2nd on his list.

No surprise that John Holm is at No. 1 on Mr. G’s list. He is Per’s greatest Swedish idol. You surely remember he met John last year after John’s concert in Halmstad and got a wonderful hug from him. So heartwarming to think about it. Per says John has a very special voice, he does great music and melodies. Den Öde Stranden is a very attractive song to Per, he even covered it on his first solo album in 1983.

Next podcast part will be available next Thursday.

PG_Swedish_heroes

 

9 songs Per Gessle wishes he had written

As we already informed you about it, Per has his own podcast on Swedish radio together with Sven Lindström. The first part was made available this morning. Listen to the 57-minute-long show HERE!

It’s about 9 songs Mr. G wishes he had written. Earlier on Nordic Rox there was a Twelve Peaks show where Per listed 12 songs he wished he had written and discussed his choice with Sven. The list from today is completely different, which shows there are many awesome so well written songs mainly from the ’60s.

It’s always very entertaining to listen to these 2 pop nerds who know everything about music. They know when the songs came out, if those hits were on the charts and at which position, who the songwriter is, etc. While they are talking about the songs on the list, of course Per’s songwriting is a topic as well. This way they relate to Roxette and Gyllene Tider. Per and Sven also discuss what songs they were listening to in the ’60s and ’70s and how those songs effected them.

Here are the Top 9 songs Mr. G came up with during the show:

9. Petula Clark: Downtown (1963)
8. The Byrds: Goin’ Back (1967)
7. The Carpenters: Yesterday Once More (1973)
6. B.J. Thomas: Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head (1969)
5. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Something Big (1981)
4. The Young Rascals: How Can I Be Sure (1967)
3. The Kinks: Waterloo Sunset (1967)
2. Astrud Gilberto: Never My Love (first released by The Association in 1967; Astrud G. in 1968)
1. The Beach Boys: God Only Knows (1966)

Per says he remembers he was listening to her sister’s singles when he was 8-9 years old. Besides Presley’s Jailhouse Rock and The Beatles, Petula Clark was also among those singles. He says he was never a real fan of The Carpenters, because it’s a bit too nice music for him, but Yesterday Once More is a well-produced song, it has a feel-good feeling and he loves the sha-la-la-la in it. He mentions that one of the songwriters he likes the most is Burt Bacharach. They also talk about B.J. Thomas and they have no clue what his real name was (Billy Joe Thomas). Per says Tom Petty always had an important place in his heart, he likes his lyrics and his storytelling style. How Can I Be Sure charmed him with its damn good lyrics and the waltz tempo. Terry and Julie from Waterloo Sunset appear in the Roxette song Me & You & Terry & Julie. All in all, these 9 songs are either catchy pop songs or wonderful love ballads, they are easy to listening to and all of them are masterpieces. One can’t stop listening to them.

The show is an awesome listening even if you don’t speak Swedish. Hearing 2 friends chatting, having much fun while talking about their favourite topic, laughing a lot, kidding each other. Fab start into the day! Is it next Thursday yet?

PG_podcast_01

 

Video to the new Roxette single

As you could read in our article this morning, Per starts a radio podcast on 24th March. A great chance to practice your Swedish by listening to 2 nerds chatting about music.

Today Per visited Swedish Radio P4 Halland and talked about the podcast. In the short interview he also mentioned that he is busy with other things as well. Besides that he started his own record label Space Station 12, there are also a lot of things happening around Roxette. The new album is out in summer, the single is out in April and he confirmed there will be a video to the single which they are shooting next week. Too cool!

Another interesting thing Mr. G mentioned is that they are playing 18 shows in Europe this summer. We know about 14 dates so far, so there are at least 4 more to come. Sounds promising!

Listen to Per HERE!

PG_P4_Halland_02  PG_P4_Halland_01

 

Per Gessle’s podcast on Swedish Radio

According to today’s news, Per Gessle will have a podcast on Swedish Radio P4 together with Sven Lindström. The title of the program is Gessles nio i topp (Gessle’s Top 9).

It will premiere on 24th March and will have 10 parts:

  • 24 March: Nio låtar jag önskar att jag skrivit (Nine songs I wish I had written)
  • 31 March: Nio svenska hjältar (Nine Swedish heroes)
  • 7 April: Nio bästa sångerskorna (Nine best female singers)
  • 14 April: 60-tal – de nio just nu bästa (’60s – the nine best right now)
  • 21 April: 70-tal – de nio just nu bästa (’70s – the nine best right now)
  • 28 April: 80-tal – de nio just nu bästa (’80s – the nine best right now)
  • 5 May: Nio new wave från England (Nine new wave songs from England)
  • 12 May: Nio bästa producenterna i rockhistorien (Nine best producers in rock history)
  • 19 May: Nio bästa Beatleslåtarna sjungna av John Winston Lennon (Nine best Beatles songs sung by John Winston Lennon)
  • 26 May: Nio bästa gitarriffen i rockhistorien (Nine best guitar riffs in rock history)

How exciting! Listening to Per and Sven talking about music is one of the best things in life. And now we will have some ear candy each Thursday!

When Per was asked about the idea by Per Scholander from P4, he never hesitated. He says it was obvious to say yes.

Sven and I like to talk at once and have no respect for each other’s opinions. Perfect breeding ground for a podcast.

The podcast will be available HERE!

pg_nio_i_topp1    pg_nio_i_topp2