1988: How A Minnesotan Brought Roxette To The US

With the news today of Roxette's lead signer Marie Fredriksson dying on Monday after a 17-year battle with cancer, I decided to take a look at the Minnesota tie to the 80's and 90's group. We may not have known about the Swedish band here in the US if it weren't for a lone Minnesotan on winter break in Sweden. 

The story goes something like this.

"It was while studying in Sweden that an American exchange student from Minneapolis, Dean Cushman, heard "The Look" and brought a copy of Look Sharp! home for the 1988 holiday break. He gave the album to a Minneapolis radio station. The station started playing "The Look" and based on positive caller feedback, the song became very popular, quickly spreading to other radio stations. The song became a radio hit before any Roxette product had been commercially released or promoted in the US market." - LA Times 1989

Fredriksson at the time and into the future dismissed rumors that Cushman was paid to take the record to the radio station.

1988 in Minnesota brought us a summer drought, the Vikings with an 11-5 record, and a family murdered by an ax in Olmsted County.