National Brotherhood Week - Valtakunnallinen toveruusviikko

We presented Vesa-Matti Loiri's "Voi saasta" song here. On the B-side of this 1970 single was "Valtakunnallinen toveruusviikko" (National brotherhood week). The Finnish lyrics (by Sauvo "Saukki" Puhtila") referenced to some real then-day Finnish celebrities by their real name. The idea of the song was of course the same as in the original: there should be one designated week of the year when even the most bitter enemies would be friends/brothers. The original song was the namesake "National Brotherhood Week", and it is one of the most famous songs of the American satirist Tom Lehrer. Lehrer does not name names, with one exception: The line "Lena Horne and Sheriff Clark are dancing cheek to cheek" refers to singer and civil rights activist Lena Horne and to Sheriff Jim Clark, of Selma, Alabama, who was responsible for a violent attack on civil rights marchers. You can see Tom present the song - with oral introduction - here.In this live concert version "Cassius Clay dances cheek to cheek with Mrs (Lurleen) Wallace", the Governor of Alabama, who strongly opposed to racial desegration in Alabama.

39 Finnpicks to go.

Here's the pair:

Roland the Roadie and Gertrude the Groupie - Roudari Roope ja hengari Hertta

We leave the Finnpick Humour Week with a couple of Shel Silverstein songs. Vesku Loiri - yes, again - released "Roudari Roope ja hengari Hertta" (Roope the Roadie and Hertta the groupie) in 1973 on the B-side of his "Uuno Turhapuro" single (Uuno Turhapuro is the most legendary of Vesku's 'alter egos'). The lyrics were done by our (and Loiri's) old friend Jukka Virtanen. The original song "Roland the Roadie and Gertrude the Groupie" was written by poet and singer-songwriter Shel Silverstein and performed by US pop-country rock band Dr. Hook. It was on their 1973 album "Belly Up" and was also released as a single. They started as Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show releasing in 1971 their debut album, which included their first hit, "Sylvia's Mother." Shel Silverstein wrote the lyrics for many of Dr. Hook’s early songs - in fact, he wrote their entire second album.

Here's the pair:

Pollution - Voi saasta

Let's take another ride with Vesku Loiri. In 1970 he released a single that was extraordinary as it covered two songs from the same artist. On the B-side was "Kansallinen toveruusviikko" (National brotherhood week) and on the A-side this "Voi saasta" (Oh, pollution). The sharp lyrics were written - surprisingly - by a veteran lyricist Sauvo Puhtila. Both songs were originally written and performed by US satirist, songwriter and mathematician Tom Lehrer. They both were written for the television series 'That Was The Week That Was', but these and other his songs were performed in somewhat censored form. In order to give the public the chance to hear the original lyrics, Tom recorded a live album called 'That Was The Year That Was' in 1965. This "Pollution" might be the first popular song about air and water pollution.

Here's the pair:

Foggy Mountain Breakdown - Saiskos pluvan

In addition to Simo Salminen (finnpicked yesterday) , Vesa-Matti "Vesku" Loiri was one of the regular members of Spede Pasanen's 'wild bunch'. Vesku (see previous entry) has been entertaining Finns more than 40 years now. He is multi-talented musician, singer, comedian, actor and who know's what else ... He has recorded several novelty songs, but lately concentrated on more serious pop and chansons. In 1968 Vesku released single with "Saiskos pluvan" (May I have 'tis dance) on it, and it became an instant hit. The original was one in the surprisingly long row of instrumentals that have had a vocal version in Finnish. The tune called "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" was written by bluegrass artist Earl Scruggs in 1949 and was recorded by Scruggs with Lester Flatt and the Foggy Mountain Boys. On it, Scruggs plays a Gibson Granada 5-string banjo, while Flatt is playing lead guitar. It was used as background music in the 1967 movie 'Bonnie and Clyde', especially in the car chase scenes. And I guess that was the trigger for Vesku's cover version.

Here's the pair:

Gambler's Guitar - Naurava kulkuri

Famous Finnish entertainer, singer, musician and actor, Vesa-Matti Loiri has had many stage characters. One of them was Jean-Pierre Kusela in one of his TV shows. It was a parody of a typical French chanson singer and crooner - someone like Jean-Claude Pascal, for example. The most memorable and hilarious song in Jean-Pierre's repertoire was "Naurava kulkuri" (Laughing vagabond) from the year 1986. It is impossible to listen this song without laughing, or at least smiling. The original song was actually in quite different tone. This C&W -flavoured tune was called "Gambler's Guitar" and written and performed by Jim Lowe already in 1953. Jim's greatest moment came in 1957, when his "Green Door" was a big hit. A German version of "Gambler's Guitar" hit the European charts in 1958 and was done by Fred Bertelmann. The title was "Der lachende vagabund" (Laughing Vagabond) and it was included in the movie of the same name. The Finnish versions (incl. Jean-Pierre's) are based on this interpretation.

Updated on 18.09.2010: added the first Finnish version by Per-Erik Förars.

Here's the bunch: