Friday, May 20, 2011

Glendora - Ikkunaprinssi - Ikkunaprinsessa

This is a familiar song, but I wasn't aware of the first Finnish version - sung from the female point of view - until recently. Seija Lampila (see earlier entry)  recorded "Ikkunaprinssi" (Window prince) in 1957. It was not a hit and remained a forgotten gem. However, the same song became more popular when released by Olavi Virta in 1958 on the B-side of his mega-hit "Poika varjoisalta kujalta". But the biggest Finnish breakthrough came in 1982, when Rauli Badding Somerjoki released his classic version as "Ikkunaprinsessa" (Window princess). The original song "Glendora" was a great succes for Perry Como in 1956. The song deals with a man's unusual attraction to a department store mannequin, and his disillusionment when, at the end of the song, he happens to see it disassembled during the store's renovation.

Here's the bunch:

2 comments:

Tapio said...

The original version before Perry Como was recorded by Jack Lewis and it was released on on Crest 1018 in '56.

DM said...

Thank you Tapio, for pointing that out. It seems that the Jack Lewis original is very hard to find. But, well, if I find it, I of course will publish it here.