IN: Ted Arnbjorn Gardestad (Swedish pronunciation: [ted 2jae:de,sta:d]) (18 February 1956 - 22 June 1997) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, musician and actor known internationally as Ted. Gardestad began his acting career in 1966 and began playing music in 1971, signing with Polar Music. Assigned with in-house producers Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus,  Gardestad released his first single, "Hela varlden runt," in late 1971 and worked closely with the four members of ABBA to create his debut album Undringar (1972). As Polar Music's best-selling solo artist (aside from ABBA), he continued to work with the group members throughout the 1970s, releasing three more albums Ted (1973), Upptag (1974) and Franska Kort (1976), which were moderately successful.

Shortly after Gardestad's return to Sweden in 1986, the Prime Minister of Sweden, Olof Palme, was murdered. Gardestad was wrongly mentioned in the Swedish media as "the 33-year-old", a suspect in the investigation of the assassination, which severely affected him although Gardestad was on vacation in Greece at the time of the murder, and although he was never questioned by the Swedish police nor was under suspicion by the authorities, the speculations and rumours followed him and his family for the rest of the 1980s. A few years later, he was again the subject of rumours accusing him of being Lasermannen, a bank robber and serial killer. The rumours affected the sensitive and already unstable former star, and Gardestad withdrew and fell into a deep depression.  In the early 1990s, Gardestad was briefly coaxed out of retirement by his friend and fellow Swedish pop singer Harpo. He joined Harpo on a concert tour and made guest appearances. In 1992, they released the duet "Lycka" ("Happiness") as a single; it garnered little attention but marked Gardestad's return to music. Early that year he embarked on his first tour since 1978 and played a series of dates with Plura Jonsson, Tove Naess, Totta Naslund and Dan Hylander, and received overall positive reviews from the press.  In 1993, a compilation album titled Kalendarium 1972-93 was promoted by a tour in the Swedish folkparks; the album and tour were successful, as was his first composition in twelve years, "For karlekens skull" ("For Love's Sake"), which topped the Svensktoppen chart. The Kalendarium collection included a Swedish-language re-recording of the title track from Blue Virgin Isles, "Himlen ar oskyldigt bla" ("The Sky is Innocently Blue"), which fifteen years after its original release became another Svensktoppen hit, and became one of his best-known songs. In early 1994, Kalendarium 1972-93 was awarded a platinum disc. All of Gardestad's albums from the 1970s and early 1980s, with the exception of Blue Virgin Isles, were re-released on CD by Polar, and a generation of Swedes who grew up listening to his music now re-discovered and re-evaluated his back catalogue as adults. His body of work has since come to be regarded as a national treasure as important as those of Evert Taube, Carl Michael Bellman and Cornelis Vreeswijk both by fans and Swedish music critics.

Were there rumours about an assassination?

OUT: in 1986, the Prime Minister of Sweden, Olof Palme, was murdered. Gardestad was wrongly mentioned in the Swedish media as "the 33-year-old",


IN: Janis Lyn Joplin (; January 19, 1943 - October 4, 1970) was an American rock singer and songwriter; one of the most successful and widely-known female rock stars of her era. After releasing three albums, she died of a heroin overdose at the age of 27. A fourth album, Pearl, was released in January 1971, just over three months after her death.

On October 4, 1970, producer Paul Rothchild became concerned when Joplin failed to show up at Sunset Sound Recorders for a recording session. Full Tilt Boogie's road manager, John Cooke, drove to the Landmark Motor Hotel in Hollywood where Joplin was staying. He saw Joplin's psychedelically painted Porsche 356 C Cabriolet in the parking lot, and upon entering Joplin's room (#105), he found her dead on the floor beside her bed. The official cause of death was a heroin overdose, possibly compounded by alcohol. Cooke believes Joplin had been given heroin that was much more potent than normal, as several of her dealer's other customers also overdosed that week.  Peggy Caserta and Seth Morgan had both failed to meet Joplin the Friday immediately prior to her death, October 2, and Joplin had been expecting both of them to keep her company that night. According to Caserta, Joplin was saddened that neither of her friends visited her at the Landmark as they had promised. During the 24 hours Joplin lived after this disappointment, Caserta did not phone her to explain why she had failed to show up. Caserta admitted to waiting until late Saturday night to dial the Landmark switchboard, only to learn that Joplin had instructed the desk clerk not to accept any incoming phone calls for her after midnight. Morgan did speak to Joplin via telephone within 24 hours of her death, but it is not known whether he admitted to her that he had broken his promise.  Joplin's last will and testament funded $2,500 to throw a wake party in the event of her demise. The party took place on October 26, 1970, at the Lion's Share in San Anselmo, California, and was attended by Joplin's sister Laura, Morgan, and other close friends, including Cooke, Bob Gordon, Jack Penty, and tattoo artist Lyle Tuttle.

Was Janis Joplin suicidal?

OUT:
Cooke believes Joplin had been given heroin that was much more potent than normal, as several of her dealer's other customers also overdosed that week.