Pugh Rogefeldt had a number of hits in the '70s and expanded Swedish mainstream rock using playful arrangements and merging different styles. His most important contribution to Swedish rock was breaking the language barrier. Not only did he sing in Swedish, but he used it in a way that hadn't been done before, emphasizing the language's expressiveness while utilizing the singing techniques of modern rock. Later in the '70s, Rogefeldt turned to a more straightforward rock & roll, and in the '80s, his career slowed down considerably as rock was overshadowed by other styles. A stint with Grymlings in the early '90s was successful commercially, and a handful of sporadic releases appeared before his career wound down.
Pugh Rogefeldt was born as Torbjörn Rogefeldt in Västerås in 1947. As a kid he sang in a boys' choir in the church and later played blues in local bands, including an R&B band Mercy Sect. He started to write lyrics in Swedish, and in 1968, he released the solo single "Haru' Vart' På Circus?" Rogefeldt sent demos to a number of record companies, but by the time he heard from Metronome, he had started his military service. No leave was granted for making records, but Rogefeldt left for the studio anyway, something he would later serve three months in prison for. Ja, dä ä dä was recorded in 1969 with the eminent guitarist George Wadenius and drummer Jan Karlsson (Hansson and Karlsson), one of the most respected funk and jazz drummers in Sweden at the time. Anders Burman produced. Ja, dä ä dä was a commercial success and received a Swedish Grammy award for best album. Pughish was released in 1970 and comprised the same symbiotic rock as the first album, showing influences from funk, jazz, folk music, and blues-rock coupled with lightweight, nonsense pop lyrics -- he went so far as to include even elements of children's music. Hollywood was released the following year, this time without Karlsson and Wadenius.
With his sense for good collaborators, he recorded Pugh on the Rocks with Swedish reggae and blues pioneer Peps Persson and guitar virtuoso Janne Schaffer before forming the band Rainrock in 1974 with his brother Ingemar Rogefeldt. Rainrock also included drummer Bo Frölander and bassist Roger Pettersson. The mid-'70s were Rogefeldt's most commercially successful period, and the live album Ett Steg Till, featuring Janne "Lucas" Persson and Ola Magnell, marked his peak. With Rainrock, Rogefeldt developed a harder rock sound and left some of the playfulness of the early albums behind, and in 1977 he released a solo album. The country- and R&B-influenced Bamalama was partly recorded at Muscle Shoal Sounds in Alabama and featured a number of different musicians. The song "Nattmara" qualified for Sweden's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest.
After disbanding Rainrock, Rogefeldt moved to EMI. He recorded a few unsuccessful albums with various bands and reunited with Rainrock, releasing Pugh Rogefeldt in 1986. The album featured a hit single, but its moderate success wasn't a springboard for any more albums in the '80s. Rogefeldt was next heard five years later in the group Grymlings, which was built on the same concept as Traveling Wilburys. In addition to Rogefeldt, members included Mikael Rickfors, Magnus Lindegren, and Göran Lagerberg, formerly Tages. Their first self-titled album was a huge commercial success. In 1991, Rogefeldt released a new solo album, Människors Hantverk. Despite some good reviews, the album failed to sell, but his next effort, an eponymous affair with the Grymlings, made up for it. By Swedish standards, Rogefeldt's albums were quite successful, enabling him to move to the countryside and retire from music. But those same albums also hurt his credibility with critics. He went on hiatus for seven years and reappeared in 1999 with Marathon. The album received good reviews, and Rogefeldt was able to ride some of the wave of country and roots rock in the late '90s. In 1999, he also sang a duet with Petter, a popular Swedish rap star, on the album Bananrepubliken.
He released the acoustic live album Opluggad in 2005, and his final studio album, Vinn Hjärta Vinn, in 2008. Released in 2012, the double-CD anthology Dä Va' Då Dä': Pugh Rogefeldts Bästa 1969-2012 was his last. He published his autobiography in 2013 and wrapped up his career in 2021. Rogefeldt died on May 5, 2023, at the age of 76. ~ Lars Lovén
