Real name: Eric William Olson

Effective period / Period of releases: 1916 - 1920

Swedish-American accordion player (born June 18, 1895 in Österåker, Södermanland, Sweden - died February 17, 1984 in Palm Beach, Florida, USA)

Born Erik Olsson, the son of professional violinist Per Olsson, Olson studied the violin and piano from age 6. When he was 12, he received accordion lessons from the former accordion champion of Sweden, David Hellström. At age 13, Olsen performed professionally all over Europe. In 1912, the seventeen-year-old Olson immigrated to the United States, where he settled in Brooklyn. In 1920, he and his wife Eva shared an apartment with fellow Swedish accordionist John Lager, with whom he also recorded. In July 1942, Olson became a naturalized U.S. citizen and legally assumed the name Eric Olzen.

Olson recorded over 200 records, mostly for Columbia. In 1926, he founded an accordion school in Brooklyn and taught there for many years.