The Most Famous

MUSICIANS from Denmark

This page contains a list of the greatest Danish Musicians. The pantheon dataset contains 3,175 Musicians, 14 of which were born in Denmark. This makes Denmark the birth place of the 26th most number of Musicians behind Jamaica, and Argentina.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Danish Musicians of all time. This list of famous Danish Musicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Danish Musicians.

1. Victor Borge (1909 - 2000)

With an HPI of 69.27, Victor Borge is the most famous Danish Musician. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages on wikipedia.

Børge Rosenbaum (Yiddish: בורגע ראזענבוים; 3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000), known professionally as Victor Borge ( BOR-gə), was a Danish and American actor, comedian, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in both North America and Europe. His blend of music and comedy earned him the nicknames "The Clown Prince of Denmark," "The Unmelancholy Dane," and "The Great Dane."

2. Lars Ulrich (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 59.91, Lars Ulrich is the 2nd most famous Danish Musician. His biography has been translated into 63 different languages.

Lars Ulrich (; Danish: [ˈlɑːs ˈulˀʁek]; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician who is the drummer and a founding member of American heavy metal band Metallica. Along with James Hetfield, Ulrich has songwriting credits on almost all of the band's songs, and the two of them are the only remaining original members of the band. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his youth and moved to Los Angeles at age 16 to train professionally. However, rather than playing tennis, Ulrich began playing drums. After publishing an advertisement in The Recycler, Ulrich met Hetfield and formed Metallica.

3. Jacob Gade (1879 - 1963)

With an HPI of 55.89, Jacob Gade is the 3rd most famous Danish Musician. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Jacob Thune Hansen Gade (29 November 1879 – 20 February 1963) was a Danish violinist and composer, mostly of orchestral popular music. He is remembered today for a single tune, Jalousie (also known as Jalousie "Tango Tzigane" and Tango Jalousie).

4. Jørgen Ingmann (1925 - 2015)

With an HPI of 53.12, Jørgen Ingmann is the 4th most famous Danish Musician. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Jørgen Ingmann (born Jørgen Ingmann Pedersen; 26 April 1925 – 21 March 2015) was a Danish jazz and pop guitarist from Copenhagen. He was popular in Europe and had a wider international hit in 1961 with his version of "Apache". He and his wife Grethe Ingmann won the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Dansevise".

5. Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (1946 - 2005)

With an HPI of 52.24, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen is the 5th most famous Danish Musician. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (Danish pronunciation: [ne̝lsˈhene̝ŋ ˈɶɐ̯steð ˈpʰeðɐsn̩], 27 May 1946 – 19 April 2005), also known by his abbreviated nickname NHØP, was a Danish jazz double bassist.

6. Svend Asmussen (1916 - 2017)

With an HPI of 50.74, Svend Asmussen is the 6th most famous Danish Musician. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Svend Asmussen (28 February 1916 – 7 February 2017) was a Danish jazz violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking". A Swing-style virtuoso, he played and recorded with many other notable jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Stephane Grappelli. He played publicly until 2010 when he had a blood clot, his career having spanned eight decades.

7. Ole Beich (1955 - 1991)

With an HPI of 49.53, Ole Beich is the 7th most famous Danish Musician. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Ole Beich (January 1, 1955 – October 16, 1991) was a Danish musician best known as the bass guitarist for the original lineups of L.A. Guns and Guns N' Roses.

8. Michala Petri (b. 1958)

With an HPI of 46.65, Michala Petri is the 8th most famous Danish Musician. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Michala Petri (born 7 July 1958) is a Danish recorder player. She is celebrated for her technical virtuosity and versatility across various musical styles. She made her solo debut in 1969, at age eleven.

9. John Tchicai (1936 - 2012)

With an HPI of 43.79, John Tchicai is the 9th most famous Danish Musician. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

John Martin Tchicai ( chih-KYE; 28 April 1936 – 8 October 2012) was a Danish free jazz saxophonist and composer.

10. Kai Winding (1922 - 1983)

With an HPI of 42.72, Kai Winding is the 10th most famous Danish Musician. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Kai Chresten Winding ( KY WIN-ding; May 18, 1922 – May 6, 1983) was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of "More", the theme from the movie Mondo Cane, reached in 1963 number 8 in the Billboard Hot 100 and remained his only entry here.

People

Pantheon has 15 people classified as Danish musicians born between 1879 and 1985. Of these 15, 7 (46.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Danish musicians include Lars Ulrich, Michala Petri, and Flemming Rasmussen. The most famous deceased Danish musicians include Victor Borge, Jacob Gade, and Jørgen Ingmann. As of April 2024, 1 new Danish musicians have been added to Pantheon including John Tchicai.