Johnny Bode

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Johnny Bode
Johnny Bode (1912–83) at the beginning of his musical career. Photo from the Swedish magazine Charme in 1931.
Background information
Born	(1912-01-06)6 January 1912 Falköping, Sweden
Died	25 July 1983(1983-07-25) (aged 71) Malmö, Sweden
Genres	popular music
Occupation(s)	Composer, Singer

Johnny Bode (January 6th, 1912 – July 25th, 1983) was a Swedish singer, composer, Nazi sympathizer, and convicted fraudster.

After debuting at 17 years old, Bode recorded hundreds of songs on the gramophone, many of which were his own compositions. One of his best-known songs, "En herre i frack" ^[1](A Gentleman in a Tailcoat), was sung by Swedish actor and Singer Gösta Ekman in 1936. The song later became popularized by Swedish singer Jan Malmsjö, who added it to his repertoire.^[2] The last gramophone record featuring Johnny Bode as a singer was recorded in 1942. Throughout his life, Bode repeatedly rebuilt his career after numerous setbacks. He was known to release music under several different aliases.^[3]

Bode was notorious for failing to pay his debts and was blacklisted from several Stockholm restaurants. He had a close friendship with Gösta Ekman, until Ekman discovered that Bode had forged his name on a cheque. As a result, Ekman Sr. cut ties with Bode entirely. This was a significant blow to Bode, as Ekman had been one of his most influential supporters.^[4]

After being convicted of fraud,^[5] Bode was declared incapable and put into psychiatric care in St. Sigfrid mental hospital in Växjö, Sweden, where he was sterilized.