Terje Jensen was born in Bodø, but moved with his family to
Drammen, Norway when he was a child. In his teenage years, he became a skilled guitarist and songwriter and formed Jonas Fjeld Rock 'n' Rolf Band along with a group of friends which included
Herodes Falsk. This was a band which combined rock music and comedy, and became equally known for their outlandish costumes and antics on stage as for their music. Jensen took the stage name Jonas Fjeld from the principal character in a series of
pulp fiction novels written by
Øvre Richter Frich. Jonas Fjeld Rock 'n' Rolf Band got their first recording contract in 1972, and released four albums before breaking up in 1976. After parting ways, Fjeld decided to become a "serious" musician while Falsk became a full-time comedian. Now a solo artist, Jensen considered using his real name, but eventually decided to keep the stage name Jonas Fjeld. His first solo album,
Take Two Aspirins and Call Me in the Morning, was released in 1975. He switched to acoustic folk after listening to Eric Andersen's album
Blue River. The album
Svært nok for meg (
Big Enough for Me), released in 1990, went gold in Norway. It included
Engler i sneen (Angels in the Snow), a duet with
Lynni Treekrem. Fjeld was introduced to Rick Danko by Andersen in 1990. Danko, Fjeld, and Anderson started doing concerts in September 1990, and recorded the eponymous
Danko/Fjeld/Andersen album in Norway in 1991. This album included a bilingual version of
Engler i sneen (Angels in the Snow) and two more songs co-written by Fjeld,
When Morning Comes to America and
Blue Hotel. In 1996, Fjeld began his collaboration with folk singer and poet
Ole Paus, and the pair went on to release three mostly acoustic albums under the name
To Rustne Herrer (English:
Two Rusty Gentlemen). Fjeld was introduced to Chatham County Line in 2005, and was sufficiently impressed with them to invite them to Norway for some concerts. Fjeld and Chatham County Line toured together, and recorded two albums, both of which went gold in Norway. In 2019, he released the album
Winter Stories with the famous American singer
Judy Collins and Chatham County Line. It reached number one on the Billboard Top Bluegrass Albums list, becoming the first American album ever to give Collins first place on any list, despite all the years she had been in the business. It was the first Billboard top for Fjeld and the third for Chatham County Line. Fjeld has received four
Spellemannprisen, the Norwegian equivalent of a Grammy, he was inducted into the
Rockheim Hall of Fame in 2020. ==Discography==