Ray Adams

Ray Adams was the Norwegian singer and entertainer that got neigbouring Sweden to sing to hits like "Violetta" and "De tusen sjöars land" in the 1960s. He was born Ragnar Asbjørnsen in Oslo, Norway, in 1931 and it was there his career started in the late 1950s. He would however become enormously popular in Norway's neigbouring country Sweden. When the first ever "Top 10" hit radio show was broadcast in Sweden in october 1961, and the votes where in, Ray Adams came in second with his song "Violetta", followed by artists like Cliff Richard and Pat Boone. The following year Adams was a huge hit, touring Swedish folk-parks together with international stars like "Bonanza" star Michael Landon. That summer he managed to do 180 shows in a few months. Through his career he recorded over 400 albums. Adams eventually moved to Sweden and never lost grip on his audience, despite several brakes from showbiz. Swedish entertainer Christer Peters, who toured with Adams as late as 2001 said: "If it said Ray Adams on the poster, the audience would show up. Everybody could sing along, he was really popular." Adams was supposed to continue touring with Peters again in 2003, but his health quickly declined and on early monday, August 4th 2003, he passed away from leukemia at the age of 72. He was survived by his wife of many years, Astrid, and their daughter Torild.