Who was Einar Aaron Swan? Apparently, a very important figure in the world of early 20th century JAZZ in the United States! And until now, I knew nothing about him. Did you?
We can thank writer/researcher Sven Bjerstedt for digging up all that could possibly be known about “Swan” (his family name upon immigration to the USA - original was Joutsen). You can download the whole 80 page PDF on the Swedish-Finn Historical Society’s website for easy reading.
In Bjerstedt’s own words:
"I have always loved the song “When Your Lover Has Gone” by E. A. Swan and was very surprised to suddenly one day find out that Swan’s first name was Einar. It most definitely seemed to have a Scandinavian ring to it. I asked everyone I could think of for information on Einar Swan. Nobody seemed to know anything at all about him. That made me really curious..."
For a shorter biography, and to listen to some recordings of Swan’s works, go to the “Internet’s Original (1988) Composers and Lyricists Database”.
(Excerpted from "Internet's Original...") "Einar Aaron Swan was “b. March 20, 1903, Fitchburg, MA, USA, died August 8, 1940, Greenwood Lake, NY, USA. (Stroke). Age: 37. multi-instrumentalist/composer/lyricist/arranger, né: Einar William Swan. He later replaced 'William' with 'Aaron' of Finnish parents in Fitchburg, MA. (Photo credit: Worcester Telegram, April 24, 1927). In 1899, his father, Matti Aleksinpoika Joutsen (b. Oct. 7, 1877, Evijärvi, Finland) emigrated from Finland, and in America, changed his name to John Matthew Swan. In 1900, Einar's mother (née: Edla Maria Aaltonen. b. April 1, 1877, Koski, Finland) emigrated. Apparently, Edla was a fine singer."
You can also listen to Swan’s music on Jazzstandards. The writer on this site confirms Swan’s reputation as one of the most prolific and successful songwriters of his day:
“ ‘When Your Lover Has Gone’ was featured in the 1931 film Blonde Crazy, a comedy about con artists that starred James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ray Milland, and Louis Calhern. The song was immediately picked up by some of the top recording artists of the time: Ethel Waters and Her Ebony 4, Benny Goodman, and Louis Armstrong.”
William Edward deGarthe (1907–1983) was born in Helsinki, Finland. After emigrating to Canada in 1926, he became a painter and sculptor and lived in Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia.
Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je4NXszEYmA
The film "Colorado Avenue," based on the book by Finnish author Lars Sund (b. 1953), and directed by Claes Olsson (left), made its debut on Friday, November 30, 2007 at the 18th annual St. Petersburg Finnish Film Week .
Set in in 19th century Ostrobotnia (Western Finland), and in the USA, the story follows 18-year old Hanna, who emigrates to America in 1893 determined to make her fortune in the Great West – specifically, Colorado. She does so, and ten years later, ‘Dollar-Hanna’ returns home to her village in Finland with a son (Otto) and a daughter (Ida), but without her husband, who met his death in the American miners’ strike of 1903.
Back home in Finland, flush with American dollars, Hanna buys land and opens a store. Her business is a great success and so is she. Hard work and persistence have paid off for Hanna, but with the onset of prohibition (1919), her son Otto gets caught up in a life of crime, becoming first a bootlegger, and finally, it appears, a murderer.
Interested in seeing the film? Depending on where you live, you may be able to download a copy (for a fee) from http://www.ameibo.com/movie/colorado-avenue/ .
Update: This film screened at the 8th Annual Tiburon International Film Festival (March 19-27, 2009), where "Colorado Avenue" star Nicke Lignell was named "best actor."
Video Gem:
