Massachusetts - Muistan valon vain

Finnpicks Grand Tour of USA heads to North. Martti Koskimo (see earlier entry)  recorded "Muistan valon vain" (I remember only the light) in 1967. Unfortunately it faced the same destiny as all his few recordings; it was not a hit. Even if the original song was quite popular in Finland. "Massachusetts" was a big worldwide hit for Bee Gees in 1967. The state of Massachusetts (or "Commonwealth of Massachusetts", as it's officially called) has got it's name from the original people of a region, the Massachusett, which can be traslated as people living "near the great hill". When the Bee Gees wrote the song, they had never been to Massachusetts. The boys simply loved the word. It was originally intended to be recorded by The Seekers, but they didn't. The Seekers finally recorded it after Maurice Gibb's death in 2003, as a tribute to him.
  
Here's the pair:

To Love Somebody - Kun yksin kulkee

Danny recorded "Kun yksin kulkee" (When you're going on your own) in 1968 for his "Danny" album. It was released as a single, but it turned out to be one of the rare non-hit singles for Danny at the time. The original was a Bee Gees classic "To Love Somebody". The song was written in 1967 by Barry and Robin Gibb and it was originally meant to be a soul song for Otis Redding to record. Redding died in a plane crash before he could record it. So the Bee Gees decided to record their own version of the song with Barry taking the lead and the result was a pop classic. We present here a live performance of the song.

Here's the pair:

Only One Woman - Viimeiseen mieheen

The single "Viimeiseen mieheen" (To the last man) was a big hit for Kirka in 1969. The remarkable lyrics were from the pen of Pertti Reponen,and the fine arrangement by Esko Linnavalli. The original song was written by the Gibb brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice, better known as Bee Gees. The song became a smash hit for another Brithish rock duo The Marbles in 1968. The duo consisted of Graham Bonnet and Trevor Gordon, who were cousins. Trevor grew up in Australia where he met the Gibb brothers. Subsequently they wrote six songs for the Marbles and provided some background vocals. The Marbles were typical one-hit wonders because "Only One Woman" became their one and only major hit. After the group broke up in 1969, Bonnet started a lengthy solo career. From 1978 to 1980 he was the lead singer with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow.

Here's the pair:

How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - Kaikkeni teen

Now something for the first time in Finnpicks - a cover of a Bee Gees' song. For some reason they were seldomly covered in Finland, but here's a rare example. Petri & Pettersson Brass (see earlier entry) recorded "Kaikkeni teen" (I'll do my everything) in 1972 on their first album. The original was a smash hit for Bee Gees called "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" and it was jointly written by Gibb brothers Barry and Robin and included it on their 1971 album, Trafalgar. This was the first album following a period of break-up, and Robin going solo. The song became the Bee Gees' first US number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Here's the pair: