Mats Olsson (3
November 1929 – 11 September 2013) was a Swedish musician, prominent arranger
and conductor of popular music. He was the musical director for the Swedish
national final of the Eurovision Song Contest on multiple occasions in the
1960s and 1970s.
Mats Olsson was born in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden. Already as a child, he developed a passion for modern classical
composers Hindemith and Stravinsky; not much
later, he discovered jazz music. When his music teacher in secondary school
discovered Mats' absolute pitch, the young boy decided to aim at a career as a
music professional.
Between 1947
and 1950, Olsson studied at Stockholm's Royal Academy of Music. When, however,
he concluded that his original ambition of becoming a church organist was - to
use his own expression - 'not my cup of tea', he left the academy 
and continued
studying with several teachers privately for some years. Meanwhile, he immersed
himself in the Swedish jazz and entertainment scene. Between 1947 and 1958, he
played the piano in several orchestras, including those of Seymour Österwall
and Thore Ehrling. Moreover, Olsson also penned tons of arrangements for the
bands he played in.
and continued
studying with several teachers privately for some years. Meanwhile, he immersed
himself in the Swedish jazz and entertainment scene. Between 1947 and 1958, he
played the piano in several orchestras, including those of Seymour Österwall
and Thore Ehrling. Moreover, Olsson also penned tons of arrangements for the
bands he played in.
In 1957, he
was signed by Grammofon AB Electra as its staff arranger. Until 1969, he wrote
the record arrangements for many of Sweden's major record stars, including Lars
Lerbäck, Jan Malmsjö, Family Four, Towa Carson, and Claes Göran Hederström.
Olsson's solo
instrumental album 'From Sweden with love' (1958) was a considerable
international success. In the last three years with Electra (1967-'69), he
doubled as the company's A&R manager. Between 1970 and 1977, Olsson worked
for CBS as an arranger and talent scout. 
In 1977,
Olsson founded his own record label, Planet Records, specializing in releasing
children's repertoire. In the world of television, Olsson arranged and
conducted many jazz and entertainment programmes, most prominently the music
quiz 'Notknäckarna' (1981-1990). After selling Planet (1995), he kept on
penning brass band and orchestra arrangements which were played in Scandinavia
and Germany.
Mats Olsson
has a quite impressive Eurovision record, having been involved in the
competition in a period spanning thirty-five years (1961-1996). He arranged and
conducted countless songs for the Melodifestival, Sweden's Eurovision
pre-selection, including winners 'April-april' for Lill-Babs (1961) and 'En
gång i Stockholm for Monica Zetterlund (1963). On top of that, he composed the
1973 Melodifestival entry 'En frusen ros'.
On the
international stage, Olsson conducted three Swedish Eurovision entries: 'Som en
dröm' (Östen Warnebring, Vienna 1967), 'Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mej'
(Claes-Göran Hederström, London 1968), and, lastly, 'Härliga sommardag' (Family
Four, Edinburgh 1972). In 1975, after the musicians of the SR Symphony
Orchestra refused Lars Samuelson as their MD, Olsson was requested by Swedish
Television to be the chief conductor of the international Eurovision final,
which was held in Stockholm.
(Info mainly all-conductors-of-eurovision.blogspot & Wikipedia)
