Juha Eirto was a popular singer in the 50's. He had a classical training in singing (his father was an opera singer) and this clearly had impact on his popular music recordings. His most famous song is "Tiikerihai" (Tiger shark), recorded in 1955. It is one of the ultimate classics of Finnish popular music. And again - like the other 50's classic "Kuningaskobra" (see previous entry) this isn't actually a love song .... The original was an instrumental record called "Tiger Shark" and recorded in the 30's by a group called Hawaiian Islanders. In spite of the name, the group wasn't from Hawaii, but from Birmingham, England! This steel guitar group included brothers Hodgkinson led by Peter, the eldest brother. Peter was also the composer of "Tiger Shark". I'm not aware of any other vocal versions of this tune, but perhaps those exist ...
Here's the pair:
Posts
3 comments:
One of the Hodgkinson brothers is still alive, he often attends Aloha Dream conventions.
Also see this http://www.chanos-isgf.org/ForumESG/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=221
Basil Henriques (Waikiki Islanders)
I forgot to put my site in the comments.
Don't forget the European Steel Guitar Forum where all Hawaiian related music throughout Europe is discussed and dissected !!
BAsil
Than you Basil for these interesting comments. http://www.chanos-isgf.org/ForumESG/index.php seems to be the place for real steelies! Via the forum post link you gave we have an opportunity to hear more Finnish covers on "Tiger Shark". I did know that in Finland we had many versions of the tune, but I'm still wondering if there are any non-Finnish song versions?
Post a Comment