Sveriges elektriska ståltrådorkester - Paras rautalankayhtye

Juha Vainio's (see earlier entry) first big hit as a singer was this "Paras rautalankayhtye" (The best steelwire band) in 1964. Juha did not do much covers, but in the 60's he covered some Swedish novelty songs. This one was originally called "Sveriges elektriska ståltrådorkester" (The electric steelwire orchestra of Sweden). Vainio's Finnish version gave name to the distinctive era of Finnish guitar-driven pop music in the first part of the 60's. Prior to that the bands that played (imitating The Shadows) guitar pop, were called guitar bands, or instrumental bands, but since then they've been known as 'rautalanka' bands. The co-writer and performer of the oringinal Swedish record was Sören Andersson. He was famous in Sweden especially for his musical parodies of contemporary issues. We present here also a newer Finnish version of the same song, done by Kontra for their "Ei kontrollia" -album in 1977.

Here's the triplet:

My Ding-a-ling - Mun pippeli

Kontra (see earlier entry) recorded "Mun pippeli" (My weenie) on their album "Kontran toinen puoli" in 1978. The lyrics - as always on Kontra's records - were done by Mauri "Moog" Konttinen. The original has usually been credited to Chuck Berry, who had a big hit with the song in the 70's. His version was recorded live during the Lanchester Arts Festival in Coventry, England, on 3 February 1972. It went to number one in UK, despite the lyrics with strong sexual innuendo caused many radio stations to refuse to play it. Yes, Chuck got the hit, but the real original was done by New Orleans musician, band leader, composer and arranger Dave Bartholomew already in 1952, with the title "Little Girl Sing Ding-a-Ling". BTW, Berry had in 1968 recorded his first version of this song called "My Tambourine". We present here the rarely heard Bartholomew's original version. But you can see and hear Berry perform it live in TV studio, here.

Here's the pair:

Chewy Chewy - Enok

Here's another bubblegum classic ... The group Kontra (see earlier entry) recorded "Enok" in 1977 on an EP called "Kontravirtanen". The lyrics (made by Moog Konttinen) are based on a Robert Bloch's classic horror short story from 1946 called "Enoch", which tells a story about a psycopath Enoch, inside whose head is a voice that tells Enoch what to do. The storyline in the original song is, to put it mildly, something else ("Chewy" is a girl, who loves "so sweet"). "Chewy Chewy" was a big hit for bubblegum pop group Ohio Express. This group, along with the 1910 Fruitgum Co., was among the leading bubblegum pop groups in late 60's. Both these bands were produced by Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz, and both recorded for Buddah Records. The songwriter and producer Joey Levine took the vocals on Ohio Express early hits, like on this "Chewy Chewy".

Here's the pair:

The Return Of The Red Baron - Punaisen Paronin paluu

Kontra's biggest hit, in 1978 was "Jerry Cotton" (see entry here). On the B-side was "Punaisen Paronin paluu" (The Return Of The Red Baron), a sequel to previous year's "Ressu ja punainen paroni" (see entry here). The original song was of course a sequel, too - the follow up to "Snoopy vs the Red Baron" by US band The Royal Guardsmen in 1967 and reaching no. 37 in the charts of that year. This time it wasn't purely an air battle, but Snoopy landed for a 'pistol duel' with the baron.

Here's the pair:

I Can Hear The Grass Grow - Kuulen ruohon kasvun

We end this 5-day Finnpicks rock spree the same way we started it. It's time for Kontra again. The group recorded "Kuulen ruohon kasvun" (I hear the grass grow) in 1978. The song was on their album "Kontran toinen puoli" (The other side of Kontra). It was a truly remarkable album, covering songs from Rogers & Hammerstein to Frank Zappa. The original "Grass" -song was written by Roy Wood and of course performed by his group The Move in 1967. It was the second single by the group and the song itself was psychedelic rock song referring to the synesthetic effects of hallucinogenics. Moog Konttinen's Finnish lyrics even go beyond that and appear to be written under influence ... ;-9

Here's the pair:

Race With The Devil - Kilpa-ajot perkeleen kanssa

The next five days Finnpicks is rocking! We present some covers from the rockier side of Finnish pop. And we start with a bang. Kontra has been finnpicked before (see previous entry). The group - led by legendary Mauri "Moog" Konttinen - was famous for its almost word-for-word covers of UK/US rock singles. One of those is "Kilpa-ajot perkeleen kanssa" (Race with the devil) released in 1977 on the group's "Ei kontrollia" (No control) album. The original song was done by UK band called The Gun . The title was also "Race With The Devil" and was written by the group's lead guitarist/singer Adrian Gurvitz. "Devil" was issued as a single already in 1968. A fan of this hard rocking song, Jimi Hendrix performed it at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, although no recordings exist. The Gun was originally billed as a "psychedelic/crossover" band, and "Race With The Devil" was just an experiment, with a mixture of orchestration and hard rock and roll. Gurvitz later teamed up with Ginger Baker to form The Baker Gurvitz Army. But perhaps Gurvitz is mostly remembered for his 1982 worldwide hit ballad "Classic".

Here's the pair:

Jack The Idiot Dunce - Jerry Cotton

After parting ways with the group Virtanen, Mauri 'Moog' Konttinen put up his own group Kontravirtanen, but after one EP the name was shortened to Kontra. Contrary (;-)) to Virtanen, Kontra did mostly cover versions with the their inimitable style and with Moog's inimitable lyrics. Their secong single, and Kontras's biggest hit, in 1978 was "Jerry Cotton". It told about the FBI agent Jerry Cotton, whose escapades were read in eponymous kiosk magazine by every Finnish schoolboy in the 60's. This fictional character was born in print in Germany in 1954 and was very popular in German speaking countries. There were even 8 movies made of Jerry. The main character was played by American actor George Nader, whose name is mentioned in Kontra's song. There was also a hint about Jerry's sexual tendencies ("I care about women just formally, it's much nicer with Phil Decker"), that in a way turned out to be true - George Nader was gay ...
The original song was picked up from an underrated Kinks album 'Schoolboys In Disgrace' (1975). This Ray Davies -written concept album - and this song - told about a naughty schoolboy, who eventually would grow up to be Mr. Flash (the villain in The Kinks' rock opera, Preservation: Acts 1 & 2).

Here's the pair: