Born in Ludvika, central Sweden,[3] Norman became interested in music at an early age and played the trumpet in his school orchestra.

[2] Norman got his first professional job as a musician in the summer of 1937, with the Sven Fors Orchestra at the Societetsrestaurangen ("High Society Restaurant") in Varberg.

[2] At the beginning of 1940, Norman was already a skilled boogie-woogie pianist and this musical genre became the most popular of his compositions and it also became his signature.

By then the record had already sold in excess of 10,000 copies[2] and the "Anitras Dance Boogie" became one of the most requested pieces in Norman's repertoire.

[5] During the 1940s, Norman made several appearances abroad, including his television debut in Paris in 1947,[3] on a program that also featured the legendary Édith Piaf.

In 1951, Norman formed a trio with Rolf Berg and Hasse Burman that toured and performed at a number of venues.

Norman was one of the artists in the popular radio program Dagens Revy (Today's Revue) along with Gösta Bernhard, Sickan Carlsson and Stig Järrel.

[7] He also wrote the score for the American television series, Foreign Intrigue of which 50 episodes were shown in Sweden.