Lonely City - Yksinäinen kaupunki

On the B-side of Eino Grön's (see earlier entry) big hit "Suudelmin suljetut kirjeet" (cover of "Sealed With A Kiss") in 1962 was this song called "Yksinäinen kaupunki" (Lonely city). The Finnish lyrics were crafted by Reino Helismaa using pseudonym "Orvokki Itä" (which in turn was anagram of Toivo Kärki, Helismaa's musical partner). The original song was performed by British king of teen music, John Leyton.  He is best remembered for his debut single, the epic "Johnny Remember Me". It and his 5th single, this "Lonely City" were written by the same man, Geoff Goddard. "Lonely City" reached number 14 in the UK charts in 1962.  

86 Finnpicks to go.

Here's the pair:

Paradiso - Paradiso

Rauni Pekkala recorded "Paradiso" in 1962. This happy song became quite popular at the time. Rauni still performs the song frequently. The original "Paradiso" was of German origin. The song was composed by Werner Scharfenberger, who wrote many international hits in 60's. including the original of "Viimeinen mohikaani" (finnpicked here). The hit version of "Paradiso" in Germany was done by Connie Francis. Francis was the first American artist to regularly record in other languages. As a result, she enjoyed her greatest successes outside of the United States. In fact - in 1960, she was named the most popular artist in Europe,

Here's the pair:

Wilma - Vilma

As a third (and last) entry in our miniseries "Scandinavian Novelties in Finnish" we present Ismo Kallio's 1962 recording of "Vilma". It was on the B-side of his big success "Arabi Ahab" (see earlier finnpick, here). l The "Vilma" charcater in the song, is Wilma Flintstone ("Vilma Kivinen" in Finnish), the level-headed wife of Fred Flinststone in the popular animated TV series "Flintstones" ("Kiviset ja Soraset" in Finnish TV). The song, however, wasn't ´included in the series and wasn't even originating from USA, but from Sweden where a revue artist and singer/songwriter named Owe Thörnqvist wrote and performed it. The swedish title for the song was "Wilma (Nya stenåldersvalsen)" (Wilma - new stone age waltz).

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The Ways Of A Woman In Love - Kun ei niin ei

Tapio Rautavaara had a voice that suited well for country songs. And he also did record several conuntry & western covers. One of them was this "Kun ei niin ei" (When it's no, it's no) that he recorded in collaboration with vocal group Neloset in 1962. The lyrics were done by Tapio himself. Also Rauli Badding Somerjoki did later another Finnish version of the song. You can hear it here. The original was called "The Ways Of A Woman In Love" and it was written by Charlie Rich and made popular by another country legend Johnny Cash in 1958. You can see him perform the song in this rare filmclip from that particular year.

Here's the pair:

Alley Cat - Meidän katti

There have been quite a few finnpicks that were covers of an originally instrumental tune. This is one of those. Vieno Kekkonen (see earlier entry) recorded "Meidän katti" (Our kitty) in 1962. It was released as a single (not a hit), on an EP and on an compilation album, with music targeted to children. The lyrics were done by Sauvo "Saukki" Puhtila. The original tune "Alley Cat" was a worldwide hit for Danish composer and pianist Bent Fabric (b. Bent Fabricius-Bjerre). The story of the tune started in 1961, when Bent's instrumental music piece "Omkring et Flygel" (Around a Piano) became a hit in Denmark. The song was re-released worldwide under the name "Alley Cat" the following year, and hit the charts all over, reaching number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100. "Alley Cat" also won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental.

p.s. I'm taking a Holiday Trip, so no Finnpicks for about a week ...

Here's the pair:

Speedy Gonzales - Hiiri Gonzales

Per-Erik "Pärre" Förars (see earlier entry) recorded "Hiiri Gonzales" (Gonzales the Mouse) in 1962 (on the flipside of the single was a cover of Shadows' "Guitar Tango"). The humorous lyrics were provided by Sauvo "Saukki" Puhtila. The original song was the worldwide smash hit for Pat Boone in 1962, "Speedy Gonzales". Boone's version was however not the original one. That was recorded in 1961 by a singer named David Dante (b. David Francis Hess), who also co-wrote the the tune. It was not hit in his native USA, but went all the way to top three in the Philippines. David was singer and actor who recorded many demos for Elvis under the name "David Hill". He also wrote "I Got Stung" for Elvis. Later David starred in, co-wrote and scored the cult B-movie "Last House On The Left". As everybody has heard the Pat Boone rendition, we present here the rarely heard original version.

Here's the pair:

A Wonder Like You - Olet ihme häikäisevin

Timo Jämsen (see earlier entry) recorded "Olet ihme häikäisevin" (You're the wonder most shining) in 1962 with the vocal group Four Cats. It wasn't, however, nearly as successful as Timo's earlier recordings. Perhaps the audience expected a bit more rocking sound. The lyrics were by Sauvo "Saukki" Puhtila. This song was also versioned (with different lyrics) by duo Pinja & Ville in 1999. The original was written by Jerry Fuller and performed by Ricky Nelson. Jerry was a promising singer himself, but after striking gold as a songwriter with "Traveling Man" for Ricky, he concentrated more on the songwriting and producing. He went on to write no less than 23 of Ricky's recordings, including this "A Wonder Like You", a Top Ten hit. Jerry and his friends, Glen Campbell and Dave Burgess sang back-up on many of Ricky's recordings.

Here's the pair:

Little Miss Lonely - Neiti yksinäinen

In the early 60's when Anki Lindqvist (see earlier entry) was starting her singing career, the record company decided to make her a teen starlet. For that purpose, the songs for her first single in 1962 were chosen accordingly. "Neiti yksinäinen" (Miss Lonely) was cover version of the hit (number 8 in UK chart) by England's own teen sensation of the time, Helen Shapiro. Her "Little Miss Lonely" hit the charts in 1962 and told story of a teenage girl crying over being left alone by his boyfriend. Teenage angst at its best ...Helen was only 15 years old at the time, but her voice sounded like a mature woman. BTW, on the flipside of Anki's single was a cover of another Shapiro song, "I Don't Care". When I get hold of that, I will of course present it here.

Here's the pair:

Wonderful Land - Luvattu maa

As stated before, there are surprisingly many Finnish covers of songs that have originally been instrumental tunes. One of these is "Luvattu maa"(Promised land), a single released by Irmeli Mäkelä (b. Hellä Muisto Irmeli Liikanen), together with vocal group Four Dogs), in 1962. Irmeli was quite popular schlager singer in the end of 50's and in the beginning of 60's. She won the Finnish preliminaries of Eurovision Song Contest 1963 with "Muistojeni laulu", but for some reason another songstress, Laila Halme, was chosen as Finnish representative. The original song "Wonderful Land" was massive hit for Shadows in 1962. It went to number one in the charts in UK and stayed there more weeks than any other single during the 60's - including those by The Beatles. The tune was written by Jerry Lordan, as was their first hit, "Apache", which is also covered vocally in Finnish (we might hear it here someday ...).

Here's the pair:

Johnny Will - Kilpakosijat

On the next few days I'm going to present somet artists that rarely recoerded any cover versions, and mainly wrote their own songs. Maybe that's one of the reasons these artists became extremely popular in Finland. Let's start with Jukka Kuoppamäki , who is one of the living legends of Finnish pop music. His career began already in the end of 1950's. He was at first singing tenor in the vocal groups Neloset and Kukonpojat (see previous entries here and here) before launching a very successful solo career. After 1969 he has exclusively relied on his own material, and has done a remarkable task in writing over 1o00 songs for other artists. Many of them becoming Finnish pop classics. However, in the 60's Jukka did some covers, and one of those was on his first solo single in 1962, a song called "Kilpakosijat" (Rivals in love). The song sank without a trace and has been rarely played since. The original was performed by Pat Boone (b. Charles Eugene Boone) as "Johnny Will" in 1961. It was one of Pat's minor hits and written by Paul Evans, who was a singer himself, but gained reputation with hit songs he wrote for others. You can hear his demo version of "Johnny Will" here.

Here's the pair:

Der Mann Im Mond - Kuu-ukko

We interrupt the Finnpicks Country Jamboree for a special announcement. Now is the 40th anniversary of the Man In The Moon! We celebrate it with Pirkko Mannola (see previous entry) who recorded several records with the vocal group Four Cats (see previous entry). And one of those was "Kuu-ukko" (Mister Moon) in 1962. The original song "Der Mann Im Mond" (The Man In The Moon) was composed by an Austrian composer and musician Carl "Charly" Niessen, who wrote over 1000 songs. Best known of his schlager -songs is perhaps the "Banjo Boy" fron the 1959. "Der Mann Im Mond" was performed by our old Finnpicked friend Gus Backus (see previous entry), who once was one of the members of the famed vocal group Del-Vikings. This 'moon song' was his third huge hit in Germany for in 1960. He did also a version in English "Queen of the Stars", but it sunk without trace. Perhaps he should have stuck with the moon instead of stars ...

You Can Have Her - Kaikki muuttuu

Four Cats (see previous entry) released "Kaikki muuttuu" (Everything is changing) in 1962 as a single, and it was very popular song at the time. Thr excellent arrangement was done by Jaakko Salo. The contemporary Finnish lyrics were by Kari Tuomisaari. The original song was called "You Can Have Her" and it was performed by US singer Roy Hamilton, who achieved major success in both the R&B and pop charts in the 1950s. This was his last hit record, reaching number 6 in R&B- and number 12 in pop charts in 1961.

Here's the pair:

Who Put the Bomp - Maailman paras levy

Pirkko Mannola (see previous entry), singer, actress and former Miss Finland, recorded lots of songs in the beginning of sixties. Most of them were very popular, and most of them were cover versions. One of those was "Maailman paras levy" (World's best record), released as a single in 1962. The lyrics of the song reflect interesting change of roles, as compared to the original song. The girl in Pirkko's song thinks the record is great mainly becouse she got it from the boy she loves, and the boy in the original thanks those who put the 'bomp' in the record that made the girl fall in love with him. The original song was performed and co-written by Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman). Barry Mann was a staff songwrtiter, and did most of his work with his wife Cynthia Weil. Perhaps the most famous song written by them is "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" for Righteous Brothers. In 1961 Mann sang this novelty "Bomp" -song that made the Top 10, which parodied the nonsense words of the then recently popular doo-wop songs.

Updated on 01.01.2010: added Pirkko's German language version "Bam-schi-bam" as Pirko Manola.

Here's the triple:

Happy Jose (Ching, Ching) - Hauska Jose

Now here's something funny. Brita Koivunen was one of the leading ladies in Finnish pop music in the end of 50's and in the beginning of 60's. She started her career in 1954 after winning a singing contest. For 10 years she was releasing many records that became hits, often with jazzy arrangements. Jazz was personally her favourite music genre, but she didn't got the chance to cut a jazz record until 1985. Aside of pop songs she recorded also children songs, and songs that were liked by adults as well children. "Hauska Jose" (Funny Jose) was one of those, and recorded in 1962 with the vocal group Four Cats. The original was called "Happy Jose" and of course best remembered by it's catchy "Ching ching ching, oop-bop a-loop-a loop" -refrase and the laughing bits. It was performed by American band leader Jack Ross (or rather Jack Ross Orchestra) in 1961 and became a small hit for him. But numerous national versions became bigger hits in their respective countries. The tune is mostly instrumental, but broken up by short outbursts of laughter. And it's funny ...

Here's the pair:

Ahab, The Arab - Arabi Ahab

Let's listen to one fine Finnish novelty cover. Ismo Kallio was not a singer, but an actor and very popular one, and is still today. He's become known especially for his comic roles, but he's played in wide range of roles in theatre and in 31 movies. In the 60's he also recorded various novelty records, and one of them was "Arabi Ahab" in 1962. Today this kind of record is definitely not politically correct, but in those days it was quite OK to tell a story about an arab and his camel and his mistress Fatima. The original tune "Ahab, The Arab" was composed and performed by Ray Stevens (b. Harold Ray Ragsdale), famous for his many, many novelty records in the 60's, which often employed canned laugh tracks. "Ahab" was one of Stevens' biggest hits and contributed greatly to his popularity. It reached number 5 on the Billboard chart in 1962.

Here's the pair: