Lillebjørn Falk Nilsen (born Bjørn Falk Nilsen; 21 December 1950 – 27 January 2024) was a Norwegian singer-songwriter and folk musician. He was born in Oslo, and was considered by some to be the leading "voice of Oslo", thanks to numerous classic songs about the city from the 1970s and onwards.

Life and career

Bjørn Nilsen became known as "Lillebjørn" in the late 1960s when he and his namesake Bjørn Morisse performed as the folk duo The Young Norwegians. Because Morisse was the taller of the duo, he was nicknamed "Storebjørn" (Big Bjørn) while Nilsen was "Lillebjørn" (Little Bjørn), a stage name he kept throughout his career. Nilsen was also a member of the Norwegian supergroup Gitarkameratene with Jan Eggum, Halvdan Sivertsen and Øystein Sunde. In 1987 he received the Fritt Ord Honorary Award. Nilsen collaborated with his friend and idol Pete Seeger on numerous occasions. He adapted Pete Seeger's song My Rainbow Race into Norwegian as Barn av regnbuen ("Children of the Rainbow"). Nilsen died in Oslo on 27 January 2024, at the age of 73.

Discography

Albums