Danny recorded "Pojalleni" (To my son) in 1976 for his album "Elämän maku". The lyrics were this time crafted by Chrisse Johansson. It was released as a single and on the flip side was fittingly a song called "Isä" (Father). The original song was sung and co-written by French superstar Claude Francois (finnpicked before, see here). Claude's song was called "Parce que je t'aime mon enfant " (Because I love my child ), and it was a hit for him in France, but the song became world famous when Elvis Presley recorded it in 1974 as "My Boy".
Johnny recorded "Kaikki ruoka maittaa" (All the food tastes good) in 1965, and it was released on the B-side of his single (on the A-side was a Cliff Richard cover) . The original song was debut single called "Bread And Butter" for a Nashville pop vocal trio The Newbeats, which teamed singer Larry Henley and brothers Dean and Mark Mathis. The distinctive feature of the band was Henley's falsetto voice, and that helped "Bread And Butter" climb number two on the US pop charts in 1964. You can see the trio perform the song, here.
Topi Sorsakoski and Reijo Taipale (see earlier entry) did an excellent album "Kulkukoirat" in 1992. On that album was this song "Nuotiopiiri" (Ring of fire). Topi took care of the vocals, and the lyrics were done by Juice Leskinen. It's a version quite different from the original (or any subsequent version), which was a June Carter/Merle Kilgore composition called "(Love's) Ring Of Fire". June Carter went on tour with Johnny Cash in 1962; and also on that tour was singer-songwriter Merle Kilgore. On the tour and afterwards they worked on writing songs. June's sister Anita Carter was recording an album at the time and told June that she needed another another song for the album. This song was given to her and it was promptly recorded in November 1962. Johnny Cash heard Anita's record and he told Anita "I'll give you about five or six more months, and if you don't hit with it, I'm gonna record it the way I feel it." In fact, he recorded it in March 1963 (with Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters singing harmony, and with the the famous Mexican horns added in) and it became an international hit for him. We present here the original "(Love's) Ring Of Fire". In this rare footage you can see Johnny perform the song live in 1963.
Here's the 'smooch song' that was very popular in the 70's, but rarely heard anywhere nowadays. Anita Hirvonen recorded a version of it in 1976 with the title "Tule luoksein". For some reason it didn't gain much attention. Neither did the versions by Jukka Kuoppmäki and Danny in the previous year. The original was called "Do You Love Me" and it was written and performed by Algerian artist Sharif Dean. His real name was Sharafeddinne Kharroubi, and he was born in Casablanca, but soon moved to Paris and later to Brussels where he studied in university and started his singing career. This song was his second single and it became the first Belgian record to top the Dutch charts. The female vocals in the song are done by Belgian session singer Eveline D'Haese. You can see the song performed, here.
Monika Aspelund has been pop singer longer than I remembered. She recorded her first single already in 1960, when she was only 14 years old. It was the first Finnish version of "Tie Me Down Kangaroo Sport" (Let's see if we can present it here someday). This "Kanssas onneen taas mä astelen" (With you I'm walking to happiness again) was her 4th single and released in 1961. Monika's heydays were in the 70's, when she recorded some well received singles and albums. She also performed in many international venues. In Eurovision Song Contest 1977 (London) Finland's "Lapponia" sung by Monika placed 10th. The original song "Walking Back To Happiness" was big hit It was (number one in the UK for three weeks) for British teenage star Helen Shapiro . She was only 15 when recording the song. Before she was 16, Shapiro had been voted Britain's 'Top Female Singer'. You can see Helen perform the "Happiness" -song, here.
Marjo-Riitta (see earlier entry) tried hard to be a pop star in the 70's. Even if she got the voice and ambition, she never really made it. Marjo-Riitta recorded and performed at first with the group Savannah and later she joined in the vocal group Cascade. Neither of these projects turned out to be success. But the legacy of her recordings include some fine moments. One of those is this song "Rakkaus laajuudessaan" (Love in it's scale) that she recorded (with the group Savannah) in 1974. It was on her first album and was not released as a single. It's a pity, becouse it could have been a hit. The original song came from France. Famous French singer Sylvie Vartan had a hit with "L'amour au diapason" (Love in it's entire scale) in 1973. Sylvie (born in Bulgaria!) was one of the first rock girls in France, being the most productive and active artist among the so called yé-yé girls of the 60's. She has had succesful career also after the 60's and this epitome of the 'ye-ye girl' is now performing jazz ballads. You can see her performing "L'amour au diapason" in a TV Show, here.
Erkki Liikanen is one of the archetypes of Finnish pop music. He's been around since 60's and his first single was the cover of "Speedy Gonzales" in 1962. But his success peaked in the 70's, after he appeared in the popular TV comedy show "Merirosvoradio". This song "Hello Buddy" was recorded in 1974. It was released on the B-side of Erkki's first hit single 'Meiä Veera' (a Buck Owens cover), and the lyrics are written by Erkki himself. The original "Hello Buddy" was one of the numerous hits written by UK songwriter Alan Blaikley. The song was originally performed by one of the 60's pop legends The Tremeloes and it was co-written by the band member Leonard "Chip" Hawkes. This was the last top 40 hit for the band and peaked at number 32 in UK in 1971. You can see them perform it, here.
p.s. The first Finnish version, with different lyrics, was recorded in 1973 by the group Kalmar Union. I will present it here, if I happen to get hold of it.
Marion recorded "Harlemin laulu" (The song of Harlem) for her album"Lauluja sinusta" in 1974. The song shows Marion's ability as a singer, And as a gospel singer in particular. The original song "Harlem Song" was performed by the vocal group Sweepers. The song was eleased as a single in France in 1973 and it became a top 20 hit for them in France and some other western European countries. The group was a one-hit-wondeer, becouse the didn't succed in delivering another charted single. An very little is known about the group, in generally.
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