“Jag Vill Ha En Hund, En Blå” (1969) – Jojje Wadenius * Written by Barbro Lindgren and Georg Wadenius * LP: Goda’ Goda’ * Produced by Anders Burman * Label: Metronome
In 1969, during the early stages of his career, the Swedish guitarist Georg Wadenius established a productive side persona for himself as “Jojje,” the children’s troubadour. The ensuing years would see him joining Blood, Sweat and Tears, touring with Steely Dan, and becoming a member of the Saturday Night Live house band (from 1979 to 1985) in addition to playing on and producing numerous records at home. The Jojje albums, though—especially the first one—have become canonical, a strong reason being that the songs didn’t just not drive parents crazy, but actually appealed to them. Listen to “Jag Vill Ha En Hund, En Blå,” a song about “wanting a blue dog if it doesn’t eat me first” to see for yourself. The children’s author Barbro Lindgren (no relation to Astrid), who was also just getting started with a celebrated career, collaborated with Wadenius on both the words and music.