The term smooth sailing certainly applies to the life of Norwegian country music artist Arne Benoni. Arne grew up in the land of the midnight sun with a love of music and a love of the sea. Born and raised in Napp, a little fishing village in northern Norway, Arne was the son of a sailor and followed in his father's footsteps, captaining his first freighter by the time he was only 18 years old. He eventually captained an entire fleet of his own but from an early age music kept calling Arne. It was a call that proved to be stronger than the call of the sea.

Arne’s love of music goes back as far as he can remember. "My mother told me I knew the names of symphonies as soon as I could talk," he recalls. His introduction to country music came by way of the late Jim Reeves, who today remains Arne’s single most important musical influence. "My love of Jim Reeves’ music was what started my interest in country music," Arne says. "When I heard his voice I liked him right away. I still listen to his records and I still love them. In skill and style, Jim Reeves was always ahead of his time."

Arne’s first instrument was harmonica but he found most of his favorite country artists played guitar and, as Arne jokingly puts it, "It was hard to play harmonica and sing at the same time.” Arne asked for a guitar but his father didn’t want Arne to be a musician so it took a lot of convincing. Arne’s father finally surprised him with a guitar and Arne says, "I found out it wasn’t so easy to play.”

With determination and the help of a friend, Arne taught himself to play guitar, and at about age 14, he began playing and singing with a local band. He sang the songs of his favorite country singers and soon was being asked to perform at more and more events. His career as a singer and musician was underway and on very solid ground.

It wasn’t long before Arne started recording and his first single releases in Norway were well received, leading to concerts and TV appearances, not only in Norway, but throughout Scandinavia. Arne has released 14 albums, most of them recorded in Nashville under the direction of Leo Jackson, Jim Reeves’ guitar player. Arne’s recordings have found chart success in Billboard and Cash Box and in international charts. A recent duet with Nashville singer Lori Brooks titled Even If I Do stayed on international charts for two years.

Arne’s singing career has taken him around the world, far from the little fishing village of Napp. He appeared three times at London's prestigious Wembley Festival, made two appearances as a part of the Opry Spectacular concerts at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, and made three appearances at the Norsk Høst Fest, the largest Scandinavian Festival in the world held in Minot, North Dakota. Arne has also been a hit on cruise ships, performing on two European tours aboard the SS Norway and a tour of the Caribbean. NRK, Norway’s largest television network, sent a crew to film Arne’s performances on the Caribbean cruise where his band included Jim Reeves’ guitar player, Leo Jackson.

Arne’s trips to Nashville have been extremely successful. He performed on Ralph Emery’s nationally televised program Nashville Now on The Nashville Network. He made several featured guest appearances on the Ernest Tubb Mid-Nite Jamboree and, perhaps the highlight of his career, has performed at the world famous Grand Ole Opry.
Arne also holds the distinction of singing a duet with the late country legend, Dottie West, a recording session that would unfortunately be her last. A few months after that session, Dottie was killed in an automobile accident on her way to a performance at the Grand Ole Opry.

Arne sailed into the new millennium while performing on a cruise ship that traveled from Stockholm to Helsinki to Oslo, an appropriate beginning of a new millennium for the sailor turned singer. And the new millennium holds many new horizons for Arne…

In 2002, he was signed by Denmark’s largest booking agency, CB & OLE B Booking. Since then, he has performed many times in Denmark, working every possible venue from small nightclubs to outdoor festivals with more than 3,000 people attending.

In 2003, Arne and a business partner started a full service recording studio called Studio2000 in Sandefjord, Norway. Studio2000 can handle everything from music tracks to vocals, mixing and mastering. In addition to being a place to work on his own recording projects, Studio2000 has allowed Arne to take on an exciting new role of mentor, advisor, producer, and even guitar teacher, for young singers who follow in his footsteps. Arne says, "Decades of trial and error have taught me a lot about the music business—the shortcuts to success and the pitfalls to avoid. I get a lot of pleasure in letting other singers benefit from my experience.”

In July of 2004, Arne performed at a festival called Draugendagan near the town of Ramberg, Lofoten in northern Norway, just a few miles from the little fishing village of Napp where he grew up. He played two sold-out shows on the same day, and it goes without saying, the hometown boy was very well received. Well-known Nashville session musician, Ronny Light, played lead guitar on the shows.

From September 15th to October 2nd of last year, Arne toured most of Denmark. He was joined on the tour by Lani Arnold, the niece of country legend Jim Reeves, and Joyce Jackson who was Reeves’ secretary. Reeves’ guitarist, Leo Jackson from Nashville, played for Arne on the well-attended tour.

The Danish concerts drew Arne Benoni fans from many European countries and created such a stir that Arne and Leo Jackson were invited to make a live appearance on SøndagsBingo, a popular show on the national Danish television station, DK4. One newspaper review summed up the tour by stating "Arne Benoni melted a lot of hearts during his Denmark tour.” Arne and Leo Jackson will team up once again at Easter to perform at the Caithness Country Music Festival in Scotland.

Arne’s songs are played around the world. He hit the number one spot many times and continues to find new fans wherever he goes. He performs at festivals, nightclubs, cruise ships and concert halls across Scandinavia, but Arne’s true measure of success is pleasing the people who buy his records and attend his concerts.

When he was a young boy many thought his destiny was the sea but many years ago Arne Benoni, son of a sailor, charted an uncertain course that would take him from the little fishing village of Napp to a world stage where he is recognized as one of Norway’s musical treasures. Arne Benoni fans are happy he made that journey.