Ragnar Sundquist
Ragnar "Raggie" Sundquist (May 7, 1892 – November 10, 1951) was a popular Swedish accordionist and composer in the first half of the 1900s. He was born and died in Stockholm. Sundquist not only performed for audiences in Sweden but toured the United States on three occasions: 1912–13, 1916–20 and 1923–26. He had booked passage on the Titanic's maiden voyage in 1912, but his mother persuaded him to take a later boat. Starting in the late 1920s, Sundquist appeared on a long-running Swedish radio program with accordionist Sven Hylén. Ragnar Sundquist was a prolific recording artist with over 400 releases on Swedish and American labels. He made dozens of recordings for Columbia and Victor Records during his lengthy stays in the United States. His American records featured Sundquist in duets with the Swedish-born accordionists: Eric Berg, Arvid Franzen and Eric Olson. He also went on American tours with Berg and Franzen. Two of his best-known songs were Bågskytten (The archer) and Lekande steg (Playful steps). Sundquist launched a number of business ventures. They included a music store, publishing house and record label. He even owned an accordion factory, where he produced his own model: the "Raggie Special". He was an innovator in Swedish accordion music, who introduced the "bellows shake" technique to Sweden. He also popularized the Italian-American style of playing that he had personally learned from Pietro Frosini while in America. Ragnar Sundquist is buried in Stockholm's Skogskyrkogården. In the early 1970s Sveriges Dragspelares Riksförbund (The Swedish Accordionists Association) raised money for a tomb that was erected at his grave site. In 2011 the Library of Congress opened its National Jukebox website with streaming audio for eighteen recordings by Ragnar Sundquist. |
Birth and Death Data: Died November 10, 1951
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1910 - 1950
Roles Represented in DAHR: accordion, composer, leader, arranger
Notes: Given name also appears as Ragnar, Raggie, and Ragge.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 84 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | B-21619 | 10-in. | 3/20/1918 | Bagni di Lucca | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21620 | 10-in. | 3/20/1918 | Klarinett polska | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21621 | 10-in. | 3/20/1918 | Hejsan-hambo | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21622 | 10-in. | 3/20/1918 | Sotar valsen | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21623 | 10-in. | 3/20/1918 | Finska valsen | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21624 | 10-in. | 3/20/1918 | På logen | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21625 | 10-in. | 3/20/1918 | Uppsala minnen | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21626 | 10-in. | 3/21/1918 | Eskilstuna hambo | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21627 | 10-in. | 3/21/1918 | Svensk gardes Marsch | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21628 | 10-in. | 3/21/1918 | Messommers valsen | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21629 | 10-in. | 3/21/1918 | Frankes polka | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21630 | 10-in. | 3/21/1918 | Bil-bol | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21631 | 10-in. | 3/21/1918 | Jubelbal på landet | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21632 | 10-in. | 3/21/1918 | Dala trallen | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21707 | 10-in. | 3/27/1918 | Livliga minnen | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21715 | 10-in. | 3/29/1918 | Allra kärestan min | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21765 | 10-in. | 4/15/1918 | Hemlängtan | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21766 | 10-in. | 4/15/1918 | Picnic i det gröna | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21767 | 10-in. | 4/15/1918 | I vinternatt | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-21768 | 10-in. | 4/15/1918 | Aicha intermezzo | Eric Berg ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-23212 | 10-in. | 8/14/1919 | Ljrans | Arvid Franzen ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-23213 | 10-in. | 8/14/1919 | I alla fulla fall | Arvid Franzen ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-23214 | 10-in. | 8/14/1919 | Rallar Oscars favorit | Arvid Franzen ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-23222 | 10-in. | 8/22/1919 | Väddö valsen | Arvid Franzen ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion | |
| Victor | B-23223 | 10-in. | 8/22/1919 | Vackra kalles schottische | Arvid Franzen ; Ragnar Sundquist | Accordion duet | instrumentalist, accordion |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Sundquist, Ragnar," accessed January 5, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103937.
Sundquist, Ragnar. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 5, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103937.
"Sundquist, Ragnar." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 5 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Discogs: Ragnar Sundquist
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Sundquist, Ragnar - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82155674
Wikidata: Ragnar Sundquist - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6196398
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/28428315
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/102379 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/102379
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