A clearly moved and extremely humbled Jahn Teigen was the subject of much attention, after being presented with a knightood and the title of First Class Knight of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav yesterday. He was awarded the order by HM King Harald V for his services to the public as a musician and artist, but also for his humanitarian work.
At age 61, Jahn Teigen has been one of the most popular and influential artists at the forefront of the Norwegian entertainment industry for decades. His career began to take off following his first participation in Melodi Grand Prix in 1974 with Hvor Er Du? and following his 1978 entry Mil Etter Mil, he became a force to be reckoned with and a major celebrity. He has participated no fewer than 16 times in the national final, going on to represent Norway three times, two of which were with his wife at the time, Anita Skorgan. Although he has only acheived mediocre results in the contest, he has, for most Norwegians, become synonymous with the Eurovision Song Contest. His last participation was in the national final in 2005, coming 4th with My Heart Is My Home.
The ceremony took place yesterday evening, with many prominent guests in attendance. The order and medal were presented by the County Governor of Vestfold, Erling Lae. The official knighthood ceremony will take place at the royal palace, the date of which has yet to be confirmed. Jahn was the subject of further recognition, when,in addition to the knighthood, he was also presented with the keys to his hometown by the mayor of Tønsberg, Petter Berg. Lae even joked that Jahn should "give His Majesty the King a call, he’s expecting to hear from you"!
Jahn’s proud daughter Sara also attended the event and she even had to give him a helping hand in attaching the medal to his lapel. Jahn was unable to do so, due to the fact that his hands and fingers have become increasingly twisted as a result of the chronic arthritis he has been suffering from for the past years. Teigen has kept a low profile the last few years, living an almost hermit like existence in the Swedish hamlet of Österlen, in the heart of the Swedish countryside. He brought himself out of his self imposed exile to perform a series of 24 sell out summer concerts with his ex-wife, Anita Skorgan in 2009.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04TtPfBFWO8&feature=related
In my view
Although Teigen hasn’t released any new material for a number of years, there’s no escaping the fact that Teigen’s contribution to the Norwegian music industry is enormous, and despite no current activity, he still remains very influential. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Jahn with the award – I couldn’t think of a more fitting tribute tosuch an illustrious career and morever to a nicer man.
The opinion expressed in "In my view" are those of the author and are not necessarily the one of EuroVisionary.com.
