Born: February 10th, 1953, Trondheim (Norway)
Nationality: Norwegian
In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview
BIOGRAPHY
Being considered an infant prodigy, George Keller learnt to play the piano, guitar, and violin at a very tender age. At sixteen, he started his studies at the Trondheim Music Academy, where he graduated in singing as well as the violin. It was not long before he made his mark as a pop singer, releasing four solo albums between 1973 and 1984; the 1974 LP ‘Colours’ was successfully released in several European countries.
Meanwhile, in the course of the 1970s and 1980s, he became involved in composing, arranging, and producing music for many Norwegian and Swedish artists, such as Jahn Teigen, Elisabeth Andreasson, Tommy Körberg, Anita Hegerlund, Lava, and Björn Skifs. In 1985, Keller moved to Denmark to become A&R manager of the local branch of EMI. From the mid-1970s onwards, Keller has composed music for films, which has become his main work since the 1990s, writing the soundtracks of A Corner Of Paradise (1996), Baby Doom (1998), and Bertram & Co. (2002). He also composed music for Norwegian and Danish television, children’s songs, and advertisement jingles.
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
George Keller wrote the arrangement to the 1979 Norwegian Eurovision entry ‘Oliver’, sung by Anita Skorgan and conducted by Sigurd Jansen. Keller was also involved in bringing about the studio arrangement of Norway's 1982 entry 'Adieu', for which the live orchestration was penned by Egil Monn-Iversen.
In 1993, he orchestrated and conducted the Danish entry, ‘Under stjernerne på himlen’, written by Tommy Seebach, who also performed it with his band. This song finished twenty-second in a field of twenty-five competing entries, picking up nine points.
Two years previously, Keller had had a small involvement in the Danish entry as well, being co-producer of 'Lige der hvor hjertet slår', performed by Anders Frandsen.
EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR
Country – Norway
Song title – "Oliver"
Rendition – Anita Skorgan
Lyrics – Philip A. Kruse
Composition – Anita Skorgan
Studio arrangement – George Keller
Live orchestration – George Keller
Conductor – Sigurd Jansen
Score – 11th place (57 votes)
Country – Norway
Song title – "Adieu"
Rendition – Anita Skorgan & Jahn Teigen
Lyrics – Herodes Falsk
Composition – Jahn Teigen
Studio arrangement – George Keller / Anita Skorgan / Jahn Teigen
Live orchestration – Egil Monn-Iversen
Conductor – Sigurd Jansen
Score – 12th place (40 votes)
Country – Denmark
Song title – "Lige der hvor hjertet slår"
Rendition – Anders Frandsen
Lyrics – Michael Elo
Composition – Michael Elo
Studio arrangement – Michael Elo / George Keller
Live orchestration – Stig Christensen
Conductor – Henrik Krogsgaard
Score – 19th place (8 votes)
Country – Denmark
Song title – "Under stjernerne på himlen"
Rendition – Tommy Seebach Band (Tommy Seebach feat. Jens Lindegård / Sten Lindegård / Lei Moe / Lupe Moe / Lars Wagner)
Lyrics – Keld Heick
Composition – Tommy Seebach
Studio arrangement – Tommy Seebach / George Keller
Live orchestration – George Keller
Conductor – George Keller
Score – 22nd place (9 votes)
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"Under stjernerne på himlen" was conducted by Henrik Krogsgaard in the Danish national final. Why did George Keller replace Krogsgaard in Millstreet? BTW, when Keller was taking his bow in the live broadcast, UK's commentator Terry Wogan erroneusly referred to him as Henrik Krogsgaard.
ReplyDeleteI know about Krogsgaard's involvement in the national final. Of course, Keller was the arranger and producer of Seebach - and I imagine Seebach insisted on having his own arranger in front of the orchestra. Unfortunately I haven't been able to interview either Keller or Krogsgaard (yet), so this is an open end.
DeleteYes, I'd like to know why this happened as well. Henrik was such a well known and popular conductor for many years at Eurovision. I can't imagine he would have been replaced by DR unless there was a good reason. I'll look forward to reading his full biography soon.
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