Sebastian was the stage name for Rainer Laamanen. Sebastian recorded two singles in 1970, but after that he kept low profile. But since the year 1994 he has been the lead vocalist in popular Finnish dance & schlager band Tulipunaruusut. On the second of his 1970 singles was this "Kuunnellaan" (Let's listen), that should've been a hit. But was overlooked at the time and forgotten since. The (probably) original version was done by Italian singer and actress Milva (b. Maria Ilva Biolcati) as "Iptissam (Love's Song Adelina)" in 1970. Milva has been finnpicked before, see here. The song was co-written by the French producer and songwriter Jean Kluger, whose productions/compositions have been frequently presented here in Finnpicks.
One of the biggest hits of Kai Hyttinen was "Käymään vain" (Just dropping in). It was the best selling single in Finland in the autumn of 1968. Juha Vainio's catchy Finnish lyrics and Jaakko Borg's arrangement contributed to the success. The original song was called "Le Stagioni dell' Amore" (The seasons of love) and it was a small hit in Italy for songstress Milva(b. Maria Ilva Biolcati). She was also known as 'La Rossa', (Italian for 'The Red'), due to the colour of her hair. Milva was one the most populra female Italian singers of the 60's. This original Italian version of the song has been very hard to find, and since I don't have it, I'll present the - even rarer - English language version. Apparently Milva was trying to reach the vast English -speaking audience and become a truly international star. The song was released in UK on the B-side of a single in 1967, with the title "Seasons Of Love". However, it failed to draw any attention.
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