Rain - Sade

As we are at the moment experiencing showers of summer rain (and a little bit of thunder and lightning) here in Finland, I think it's more than appropriate to introduce "Sade" (Rain) as today's Finnpick. Markku Suominen (see previous entry) recorded "Sade" in 1970. It is one of Markku's best known songs and biggest hits. The original song "Rain" was written and performed by Jose Feliciano (b. José Montserrate Feliciano García). It was on his 1968 hit album "Light My Fire". Jose, who is often called "world's greatest living guitarist", was born in Puerto Rico, but moved to New York at the age of five. At early age he got guitar from his grandfather and reportedly sat in his room for up to 14 hours a day to listen to 1950s rock albums, classical guitarists such as Andrés Segovia, and jazz players such as Wes Montgomery. And as we all know, he learned well ... Besides his musical skills, Feliciano is known for his strong sense of humor. Blind from born, he often makes fun of people's reactions to his blindness. Rumour has it that in a show he said, "I was going to dedicate this song to Jackie Kennedy but I can't see her anywhere in the audience."

Here's the pair: