Monica Zetterlund was a Swedish singer and actress.
Biography
Zetterlund began by learning the classic jazz songs from radio and records, initially not knowing the language and what they sang about in English. Her hit songs included "Sakta vi gå genom stan", "Visa från Utanmyra", "Sista jäntan", "Trubbel", "Gröna små äpplen", "Monicas vals", "Stick iväg, Jack!", "Att angöra en brygga", "Var blev ni av", "Måne över Stureplan" and "Under vinrankan!", among many, many others. She also interpreted the works of such Swedish singer-songwriters as Evert Taube, Olle Adolphson and Povel Ramel, as well as international jazz musicians/songwriters. She worked with some of the greatest international jazz names including Louis Armstrong, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Steve Kuhn and Quincy Jones, and in the Scandinavian jazz world with people like Georg Riedel, Egil Johansen, Arne Domnérus, Svend Asmussen and Jan Johansson. In 1964, she recorded the critically acclaimed jazz album Waltz for Debby with Bill Evans, a record she herself described as "the best I've done" and was the most proud of. Her professional skill was amply demonstrated in this album in performing the challenging Harold Arlen song, "So Long, Big Time". Her long career also included the song "En gång i Stockholm" ; a jazz ballad with which she represented Sweden in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest. She finished last, however and scored the infamous nul points, but still managed to remain successful in Sweden. Her collaboration with the comic duo Hasse & Tage eventually led to a stage career in revues and films. Memorable are her parts in the films Att angöra en brygga and Äppelkriget, with her most memorable role being in Jan Troell's Utvandrarna as Ulrika, a former prostitute who together with her teenage daughter Elin join the main characters in their emigration to America in the 1850s, a role for which Zetterlund received a Guldbagge Award for Best Supporting Actress. She appeared in more than 20 films and television series throughout her life.
Health and death
She suffered from severe scoliosis which began after a childhood accident, and as a result was forced to retire from performing in 1999. On 12 May 2005, she died following an accidental fire in her apartment in Stockholm, probably due to her habit of smoking in bed.
