Introduction
Lydia Hedberg (1878–1964) was a Swedish singer, who performed in folk costume and was known as Bergslagsmor (Mother of the Mining District).
Swedish folk singer
According to a critic at Vecko-journalen (The Weekly Journal), Hedberg was "a sweet-sounding soprano with an echo of the rural forests, mountains, waterfalls and cow bells in her voice."She was one of the few women to be a bondkomiker (rustic comic) although she preferred to call herself a ballad singer.
Born in Falun in 1878, Hedberg was a trained physical therapist. From 1908 onwards she worked as a singer and storyteller, appearing frequently in Sweden’s folk parks during the 1910s and 1920s. She lived for a long time in Sundsvall and was also a host at Furuvik, an amusement park outside of Gävle.
American Tours
Hedberg's activities were very important for the Swedish-American song repertoire on account of three extended tours of the United States made between 1921 and 1925. During her longest tour she gave fifty concert performances in eighty-one days. She met with Olle i Skratthult and other immigrant performers and acquainted them with the latest songs and stories from Sweden. While on tour she made a number of recordings for Columbia and Victor Records. Her 1925 recording of Johan på snippen was the first American version of the song.
In 1925 Lydia Hedberg published a book about her travels in the United Statesand wrote of her concern with audience reaction. She found "repeated proof that my singing softened their American hearts, whose very fibers must be moved by verses about the poor countryside at home in order that their true Swedish feelings might emerge."
The Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research had two Hedberg recordings on its album “From Sweden To America”, which was released as an LP in 1981 and as a CD in 1996. It also had one track by Gustav Fonandern, another Swedish singer who toured America during the 1920s. In 2011 the twenty-three tracks on the CD were released on iTunes and Amazon mp3.
In 2016 the Minnesota Historical Society opened an online archive of Swedish American newspapers. These historic publications give many accounts of Lydia Hedberg’s American performances and recordings in the years 1921 – 1925. Search terms are "Bergslagsmor" or "Lydia Hedberg".