Summer Holiday - Toiveloma

Today's Finnpick honors the start of my summer vacation (tomorrow). And it means that there will be no new posts for a long while. Lasse Liemola (see previous entry) recorded "Toiveloma" (Ideal holiday) in 1963. It was not a big hit but the single was somewhat extraordinary becouse both sides were covers of the same artist's songs and also the song writer was the same on both. "Toiveloma" was cover of "Summer Holiday" and the other side of the single "Tanssikengät" was cover of "Dancing Shoes". Both were originally done by Cliff Richard & Shadows and both were penned by Shadows band member Brian Bennett, the former with Bruce Welch and the latter with Hank Marvin. Additionally, both songs were featured in the "Summer Holiday" music film released in February 1963 The film was the debut direction of Peter Yates. "Summer Holiday" was one of Cliff's biggest hits and it still one of the epitomes in summer records.

Have a nice summer (holiday) you all ...

Here's the pair:

Country Comfort - Maalaismaisema

Petri & Petterson Brass (see previous entry) recorded "Maalaismaisema" (Country scenery) in 1971. It was the breakthrough single for the band and has become a Finnish pop classic. There's no noubt that the songs popularity is largely explained by the touching and witty lyrics made by Jukka Virtanen (see previous entry) . The story line follows the original - depicting everyday life in the countryside - but Jukka has succeeded in adding a special Finnish flavour to it. The original song was written and performed by Elton John, and the original lyrics were of course done by Bernie Taupin. It was on Elton's 1970 album "Tumbleweed Connection".

Here's the pair:

Rain - Sade

As we are at the moment experiencing showers of summer rain (and a little bit of thunder and lightning) here in Finland, I think it's more than appropriate to introduce "Sade" (Rain) as today's Finnpick. Markku Suominen (see previous entry) recorded "Sade" in 1970. It is one of Markku's best known songs and biggest hits. The original song "Rain" was written and performed by Jose Feliciano (b. José Montserrate Feliciano García). It was on his 1968 hit album "Light My Fire". Jose, who is often called "world's greatest living guitarist", was born in Puerto Rico, but moved to New York at the age of five. At early age he got guitar from his grandfather and reportedly sat in his room for up to 14 hours a day to listen to 1950s rock albums, classical guitarists such as Andrés Segovia, and jazz players such as Wes Montgomery. And as we all know, he learned well ... Besides his musical skills, Feliciano is known for his strong sense of humor. Blind from born, he often makes fun of people's reactions to his blindness. Rumour has it that in a show he said, "I was going to dedicate this song to Jackie Kennedy but I can't see her anywhere in the audience."

Here's the pair:

The Girl In The Wood - Tyttö metsässä

The legendary Finnish crooner Olavi Virta (see previous entry) probably recorded more covers in the 50' than other Finnish artists combined. One of Olavi's better known songs from those years is "Tyttö metsässä" (Girl in the wood"), released as a single in 1960. The song is also credited to the backing vocal group Nordias. The original song was sung by Frankie Laine (b. Francesco Paolo LoVecchio) in 1951. It was written by Terry Gilkyson, who later wrote the classic "Greenfields". Frankie Laine is perhaps best known for singing well-known theme songs for many Western movies. However, he was not a country & western singer, but rather a singer's singer who sang in variety of song styles and genres, stretching from big band crooning to pop to gospel, to rock, to folk, to jazz and blues, all delivered in his inimitable singing style.

Here's the pair:

Many the Memories - Parhaimmat muistot

Today is the First Anniversary of Finnpicks. Close to 300 posts has been posted. To celebrate the day I have chosen "Parhaimmat muistot" (Best of memories) to be today's Finnpick. Becouse that's what the year has done to me - brought back some of my best memories. I hope something like that has happened to you, too. Jouko and Kosti (see previous entry) recorded "Parhaimmat muistot" in 1970 and it was only a minor hit for them. But the song has some staying power. The original was done by an Irish showband called The Real McCoy. The song reached #4 in Irish charts in 1969. The band was one of Ireland's first true "pop" bands scoring two hit singles in 1968. In mid-1969, they added trumpet player, Dave Coady to the lineup to both fill out the sound and strengthen their vocal sound. Their first release with Dave on lead vocals was this "Many The Memories".

Here's the pair:

Kids in America - Kaupungin lapset

Mona Carita (see previous entry) released "Kaupungin lapset" (Kids of the city) as a single in 1981. It gained some attention but it's success didn't match up with the original "Kids in America". It was the break-through song of one Kim Wilde (b. Kim Smith). Kim was a member of very musical English family. Her father Marty was one of theher fab rockers of the early 60's and her brother Ricky was a singer and a musician . This song was recorded in 1980 after record boss Mickie Most heard Kim singing on a backing track for her brother. He liked her voice and image and expressed an interest to work with her. Ricky, together with his father wrote the song "Kids in America" for Kim to record. Most remixed the track himself and released it on RAK as Wilde's first single in January 1981. And worldwide hit was born. The new wave-flavoured song has since become a pop classic and was the start of a highly successful career for Kim.

Here's the pair:

Comment ça va - Je t'aime je t'aime

Eini (see previous entry) recorded "Je t'aime je t'aime" (I love you, I love you) on her album "Aika Pakkaus" in 1983. It is one of those 'should-have-been-hit' songs, but what can you do... The title of the song was somewhat peculiar, becouse the original French title was "Comment ça va" (meaning something like 'how are you doin’). Perhaps the lyricist Vexi Salmi thought that the Finns don't know more about French than "je t'aime". The original version was made by Dutch teenage boy group The Shorts. Organiser/producer/composer Eddy de Heer scouted new talents and he discovered the band that first appeared as 'De Bliksemafleiders'. In 1982 De Heer wrote "Comment ça va" , which became an international hit in 1983 thanks to the boys, who had by then changed their name to The Shorts. Later it was released in German, French, Spanish and English. A total of four million copies of the song were sold. It was later also translated by foreign (adult) artists and released in Scandinavia, Japan and other countries. The follow-up singles did not match the success of "Comment ça va" and The Shorts stopped playing in 1986,

Here's the pair:

For My Lady - Naiselleni

Pertti Nieminen - better known as Neumann - was the lead singer in the legendary Finnish pop group Dingo. During his solo career he in 1986 recorded "Naiselleni" (For my woman). It was a considerable success, not only becouse of Neumann's Dingo-based fame but also on the count of the beautiful melody and the lyrics written by Neumann himself. It also remained as his biggest solo hit. Neumann is still actively performing with a new line-up of Dingo. The original song was performed by The Moody Blues and was written by group-member and flautist Ray Thomas. It was first released on the 1972 album Seventh Sojourn and later released on the B-side of the single "I'm Just a Singer" in 1973. The song prominently features Ray Thomas on the flute and lead vocals. BTW, The Moody Blues can only perform the song live when they are backed by a live orchestra, since Ray Thomas cannot sing and play the flute at the same time.

Here's the pair: