Håkan Ralf Streng (born 21 January 1947) is a Finland-Swedish troubadour and poet.
Born in Jakobstad, Finland, he is the son of supervisor Valter Johannes Streng and nurse Alice Matilda Kronsten. He married Brita Kristina Herler in 1972, and their relationship ended in a divorce, and then married Ulla Grönvall-Streng in 2005. Streng graduated from Jakobstad Samlyceum in 1966. He received a Master of Science in Economics from Handelshögskolan at Åbo Akademi University in 1977 and has also worked as a pharmaceutical representative, research assistant at Åbo Akademi University, private entrepreneur and sales promoter.
Streng formed Trio Saludo in 1973 with actor Arto Rintamäki (born 1950) and Peter Ingo (born 1947), which gained popularity with its mix of Latin American songs and Nordic ballads. The trio's music was characterized by skillful vocals, accompanied mainly by guitar and rhythm instruments. In 2005, a CD with the most popular works from the 1970s and 1980s was released, at the same time as the trio reunited in a new version for a short tour.
Streng is best known as a solo artist for his ballads in the Ostrobothnian dialect, manifested through the popular albums Heimlaga (1979), Meir heimlaga (1980) and his return to the genre, Tibaaks ti röötre (2004). He is also the managing director of Heimlaga-Music Kb. He has also performed in pubs and on television programs together with Ami Aspelund and sung in a duo with Cuban singer Maria de Jesus, which resulted in the album Till dig (2000). Streng's repertoire also includes shanties and spiritual songs. He is one of the founders of the association Visans Vänner in Vasanejden and was its first chairman in 1976–1977. He has also published poetry collections, including Gränsfall (1980).
Bibliography
1980 – Gränsfall 1982 – Jord, eld, vatten och vind 2007 – Mitt liv - en sång
Discography
1976 – Gå förbi med en sång 1978 – Dagboken 1979 – Heimlaga 1980 – Gungan 1980 – Meir heimlaga 1983 – Indiansommar 1984 – Det fina i livet 1986 – Vid kvällens slut 1987 – So schön ist die Weld 1987 – Niin kaunis on maa 1989 – Med dig i mina armar I 1989 – Med dig i mina armar II 1992 – Du och Jag 1994 – Der Wienertrubadour 1994 – Wientrubaduren 1990 – För fulla segel - Täysin purjein 1995 – The Finnish Crew - Ralph & Roger - Sailing again 1997 – Internationell Shanty Festival 2000 – Till Dig 2004 – Tibaaks ti röötre - Heimlaga ä bäst 2006 – Vägen väntar vandraren 2007 – Föd mig visa – Fyll mig sång 2010 - Jag har sökt mig en Jul
References Streng, Håkan in Uppslagsverket Finland (web edition, 2012). CC-BY-CA 4.0
External links Official website