About Cornelis Vreeswijk
Cornelis Vreeswijk (8 August 1937 – 12 November 1987) was a Dutch singer-songwriter and poet who lived and worked primarily in Sweden. Despite being born in the Netherlands and never acquiring Swedish citizenship, Vreeswijk is regarded as one of the country's most influential and beloved troubadours, often being compared to other national poets, such as Evert Taube and Carl Michael Bellman for his poetic lyrics and social commentary. Vreeswijk's compositions often focused on themes of love, poverty, and substance abuse. His unique style blended elements of folk, jazz, and blues, which modernized the Scandinavian ballad tradition. In 2010, the Swedish drama film Cornelis, directed by Amir Chamdin, was made about his life. Vreeswijk explained in one of his few interviews that he had taught himself to sing and play in the fifties by imitating his first idols Josh White and Lead Belly.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.