This Ole House - Torppavanhus - Seiska

Kipparikvartetti ("Skipper Quartet") was the father of all Finnish vocal groups. It's heyday was in the 50's and at the time it was one of the most popular entertaining acts in Finland, doing radio- and TV shows, movies and recording a wealth of good music. Like this "Torppavanhus" (Old cottage) that was released in 1955 on a 78 rpm record. The lyrics were provided by Sauvo Puhtila. Puhtila did also a modernized version of the lyrics and Ismo Kallio (see earlier entry) recorded "Seiska" (Seven) in 1965, scoring a medium-size hit with it. The original song originated from the US country scene. "This Ole House" was written in 1954 by Stuart Hamblen, one of American radio's first singing cowboys. The version by Rosemary Clooney, featuring bass vocals by Thurl Ravenscroft, reached number 1 on the Billboard chart, but we present here the writer's version. There's a (non-verified) story behind the song. Hamblen was on a hunting expedition with his fellow hunter, actor John Wayne, when they came across a old hut in the mountains, many miles from civilization. They went into the hut and there, lying amongst the rubbish and rubble of a crumbling building, was the body of a dead man. This inspired Hamblin to write "This Ole House", an epitaph for a mountain man.

Here's the triplet:

The Ballad of Davy Crockett - Miesten mies

Kauko Käyhkö was a legendary singer, musician and actor. He is best remembered for his appearance in several Finnish movies and radio plays, and for his participation in the famous vocal group Kipparikvartetti. Using pseudomym "Justeeri" he also wrote hundreds of songs. He recorded this "Miesten mies" (THE Man) in 1955. Although he's not mentioned in the title, the song is all about Davy Crockett, see the lyrics here. The original "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" was first recorded by American actor/singer Fess Parker in February 1955. The song was first introduced on the television as the theme song for Walt Disney Studios TV miniseries "Davy Crockett". Fess Parker played the role of Davy Crockett. The first three episodes of the serial were edited together as the 1955 theatrical film "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier". David "Davy" Crockett was a celebrated 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician.

Here's the pair:

Mama's Pearls - Suklaasydän

This song is one of the absolute classics in Finnish popular music. Everybody knows it and everybody can sing it (at least some parts of it). Brita Koivunen recorded "Suklaasydän" (Chocolate Heart) in 1955 accompanied by the jazz vocal group Ditty Dealers (one of the Dealers was Brita's furure singing partner Eino Virtanen). The song was instant hit and the sales awarded Brita a Gold Record., only the second one in Finland. The catchy phrase "bumtsi-bum" (Boom-chi-boom) that Ditty Dealers sang, became over 40 years later a title of very popular TV music programme. The lyrics. written by Saukki (Sauvo Puhtila), undoubtedly played major part in the songs success. In view of the songs immense popularity it's peculiar that not many Finns (including me) have heard the original version. Now it has been made availbale (thanks to FiftySixtyGhost in Youtube). It was an obscure 1954 song by American singer Margaret Whiting and called "Mama's Pearls". Margaret was one of the top recording artists of the so-called Interlude Era, betwwen World War WII and the arrival of rock'n roll in the mid-fifties. The song was composed by Geoff Clarkson, the pianist in the Bob Hope's touring band; Whiting was 7 years touring with them.

Here's the pair:

Tiger Shark - Tiikerihai

Juha Eirto was a popular singer in the 50's. He had a classical training in singing (his father was an opera singer) and this clearly had impact on his popular music recordings. His most famous song is "Tiikerihai" (Tiger shark), recorded in 1955. It is one of the ultimate classics of Finnish popular music. And again - like the other 50's classic "Kuningaskobra" (see previous entry) this isn't actually a love song .... The original was an instrumental record called "Tiger Shark" and recorded in the 30's by a group called Hawaiian Islanders. In spite of the name, the group wasn't from Hawaii, but from Birmingham, England! This steel guitar group included brothers Hodgkinson led by Peter, the eldest brother. Peter was also the composer of "Tiger Shark". I'm not aware of any other vocal versions of this tune, but perhaps those exist ...

Here's the pair: