Inger Berggren (23 February 1934 – 19 July 2019) was a Swedish vocalist whose career was most prominent in the 1950s and 1960s. She is best remembered for a pair of 1962 recordings, Sol och vår and Elisabeth serenad, and for representing Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1962. Born and deceased in Stockholm, Berggren combined elements of popular Swedish song and light jazz in her performances and recordings.
Career highlights
Berggren began performing in an era when radio, live dance orchestras and record singles shaped popular taste. Her interpretation of contemporary Swedish material made her a familiar voice on radio and television. The year 1962 marked the high point of her public profile: her recordings from that year received wide airplay and the Eurovision appearance brought her international exposure.
Notable recordings and repertoire
Her most widely cited songs include:
- Sol och vår — the song she performed at Eurovision 1962, notable in Swedish popular memory.
- Elisabeth serenad — another 1962 recording that was a domestic hit.
Beyond these titles Berggren's repertoire encompassed ballads, lighter swing numbers and translated international standards, reflecting the mid-20th-century Swedish popular-music scene.
Legacy and context
Although Berggren did not become an international star, her work is part of Sweden's postwar popular-music tradition and the early history of the country's Eurovision participation. She is often cited in overviews of Swedish schlager and popular song of the period. Her daughter, the actress Gunilla Röör, has also been a public figure in Swedish arts.
Berggren's life and music are sometimes discussed in biographies and retrospectives of Scandinavian popular culture; for further reading see selected discographies and profiles and local Stockholm sources such as city archives and biographies. She died in Stockholm on 19 July 2019 at the age of 85.