With this finnpick I want to thank you all 200-300 regulars who have visited this blog on daily basis. Added up with those random visitors we have come up to about 120000 visits from 132 countries during blog lifetime. This finnpick is called "Kiitos sulle" (Thank you) and it was recorded by Armi Aavikko in 1981 to the Finnish lyrics by Raul Reiman. This song will also be the first (and only) cover of an Icelandic song presented here. The original title was "I Reykjavkurborg" and it was composed by Icelandic pop singer Johann Helgason and tells about Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. It was performed by Johann himself and Helga Möller under the moniker Du og Eg (You and I). The discofied song became a hit in Iceland and also in Europe when covered in English by Judy Jackson. Judy's version was perhaps the one that inspired Armi.
Mona Carita usually sang fast-paced discofied songs. But perhaps her voice would have been better suited for slower ballads. At least this "Loppumaton ikävä" (Endless yearning) is a nice example of that kind of delivery. She recorded in 1981 for her album "Nykyaikainen", Raul Reiman wrote the lyrics and Veikko Samuli did the arrangements. The original song "I Can't Get Enough" was the B-side to Kelly Marie's (b. Jacqueline McKinnon) great 1980 disco hit "Feels Like I'm In Love". As with Mona Carita, this song showcases the often overlooked, more sombre, side of Kelly Marie. The song was co-written by our old acquaintance Peter Yellowstone - together with his pals Steve Voice and Mike Tinsley.
Mona Carita got to be known as sexy disco chick singing cute and silly disco songs. But she did also other kind of music. Like this country-flavoured road song "Matkaan vaan" (To the road), It was released as the final track on her album "Nykyaikainen" in 1981. The Finnish lyrics were written by Raul Reiman. The original song was called "One Two Three" and it was a Euro-hit for the Dutch girl duo Maywood. http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maywood_(duo) The duo consisted of sisters Alie and Doetie de Vries, who used stage names Alice May and Caren Wood respectively. They were relatively unknown in Finland, but immensly popolar in Russia. Today's finnpicked song was written by Alice May. Maywood represented Netherlands in the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest with "Ik wil alles met je delen" (no success, but they beat Finland ;-)).
This is one of Kirka's absolute classics. The song "Kyyneleet" (Tears) was released in 1981 on eponymous album. It has ever since been one of the most popular songs in his repertoire. The touching Finnish lyrics were provided by Raul Reiman. The original was called "Caroline" and it was written by famous Dutch producer, songwriter, DJ and musician Eddy Ouwens. He was the man behind the Dutch Eurovision winner "Ding-a-Dong". In 1977, following the death of Elvis Presley, he recorded and released the worldwide hit single "I Remember Elvis Presley" uber pseudonym Danny Mirror. Well, what about today's finnpicked song, "Caroline". It has been very hard to find the original recording. But (thanks to fellow blogger Magomusiikki for research) I can now present an almost original version. It was done by Dutch schlager singer Arne Jansen. It was released on his album "Zomerzon En Zuidenwind" and also as a single. As far as I know this took place in 1985 - 4 years after Kirka's "Kyyneleet". So it's not THE original, but I'm sure it's quite like it. BTW, Arne and Kirka had more in common than this song; they were born just months apart and they died just months apart. You can see Arne perform the song, here. Here's the pair:
Kirka recorded "Toisenlainen nainen" (Other kind of woman) in 1981. It was on his album "Kirka" and also released as a single but did not turned out to be a hit. Kirka's second period of mega success was still some years away. The lyrics were provided by Raul Reiman. The original song "Oh No No" was co-written and performed by a German singer and producer Bernd Vonficht. He was of course better known by his stage name Bernie Paul. This "Oh No No" was mumber 2 hit in Germany and Top Ten hit in various other Middle-European countries.
This song resembles somewhat yesterdays finnpick. Birgitta Leinonen recorded "Usko pois" (You better believe) in 1981, and had a minor hit with it. Birgitta was Miss Finland pageant in 1980 and was part of the "Hot Roller Honeys" dance girl group. This single was her one and only recording. The original song was called "Mark My Words" and it was of Norwegian-German origin. It was co-written by Norwegian producer, songwriter and guitarist Thore Engen who as the man behind the songs performer - Chrissy (b. Tone Senstad). Tone was one of the first punks in Norway. She became pop star after winning the radio competition European Radio Pop Jury. This single "Mark My Words" was released in 1980 in several countries and sold at least 500000 copies in Europe. That made it one off the biggest hits to come from Norway ever in pre- A-HA days. You can see Chrissy perform the song here.
After presenting so many smooth female voices recently, it's now time to change into more manly rendition. Kirka recorded "Raskas työ" (Hard work) for his 1981 "Kirka" -album. The lyrics were again provided by Raul Reiman. Although this song had some single potential it remained just as an album track. The original song came from Germany. The writer was producer-songwriter Bernd Möhrle (finnpicked earlier here and here) . The performing artist was a female disco duo called Le Angeli. They had a continental disco hit with this song originally titled as "Hello Mr. Business Man" in 1981. You can see them perform their other hit "Easy Lovin', Easy Livin" here.
Let's pick another goodie from Katri Helena's 1981 album "Kotimaa". This "On hienoa olla ihminen" (It's fine to be human) is another masterpiece of Katri and lyricist Raul Reiman. And the arrangement is also first class; done by Veikko Samuli. The original song was also this time coming from Germany. The writer was Bernd Dietrich, who also wrote earlier Finnpicks "Banaania poskeen" (see here) and "Tavataanko taas" (see here) and the performer G. G. Anderson. His real name is Gerd Günther Grabowski and he was quite successful especially as a composer, but also as a producer and performer during the Eurodisco -era of 70's and and 80's. You can see him perform this "Mama Lorraine", here.
Katri Helena recorded "Altaelva" in 1981. It was released on her album "Kotimaa" and also as a single, which however did not have chart success. The lyrics (by Raul Reiman) deal with the "Altaelva controversy". The river Altaelva lies in the municipality of Alta in Finnmark county, Norway. During the 1970s and 80s, the river was the site of a controversy regarding the construction of a hydroelectric power plant. The original song got also it's title from a river. "Rio Bravo" was a big hit for a Lithuanian-German schlager singer Lena Valaitis. It was a follow-up single for her 1981 Eurovision success "Johnny Blue" (also covered by Katri Helena), both written by Ralph Siegel.
This is the last day of the this year . It's time to ponder of what's coming in the next year. And this song fits in well. Marion Rung recorded "Ensi vuonna" (Next year) in 1981. It was on the album "Rakkaimmat lauluni" and released as a single, but didn't fare well chartwise. Marion has versioned several songs of Hebrew origin, and this was one of those. The song was written by famous Israeli conductor and composer Nurit Hirsh. Internationally she's perhaps best rememberd by conducting in the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest the Israeli entry A-Ba-Ni-Bi, which won first prize. This "Bashana haba'ah" (Next year) -song was first made popular by Israeli vocal duo Ilanit (finnpicked before, see here) & Ilan. You can see them perform the song, here. In Usa it was a minor hit for Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. You can hear their version, here.
So, what we are doing next year in Finnpicks. Well, we are presenting the remaining (third week) of Chinnichap covers, continuing the "Finnpicks for Kids" and "Finnpicks Goes To Movies" -series, and of course presenting again some Eurovision Song Contest covers in the spring, and last by not least, we're taking a "Finnpicks Tour Across USA" at some point. Of course we'll be delivering the usual bunch of more or less obscure Finnish covers of hit songs from all over the world.
Well, today's finnpick is a truly international song - or dance, if you like. Jaana Wilenius was Finnish one-hit-wonder with her 1981 hit song "Tiina Titityy". The catchy lyrics were written by Raul Reiman. And the winter 81-82 was the high season for 'chicken dance' danced to the tune of "Tiina Titityy", in all Finnish restaurants. The tune was originally composed for accordion in the 1950s in Switzerland, by Swiss accordion player Werner Thomas. Thomas tended a flock of ducks and geese, so the tune was first named "Der Ententanz" (The Duck Dance). Thomas played the tune in restaurants and people started to dance to it. However, the national and international breakthrough came in the 70's. Bobby Setter Band was a Belgian dance band and formed in 1963 in Gent. When they in 1973 released this Thomas's song with the title "Tchip tchip", the group was for some reason renamed to "Cash and Carry". The single was a smash hit in Switzerland and spent 5 weeks at the very top of Swiss charts. In 1981 the tune became European and worlwide hit when it was released in Britain as an instrumental novelty tune "The Birdie Song" performed by studio combo called The Tweets. It sold over 1.6 million in the UK alone, making it the most popular version of this song. BTW, this version has been voted as "the most annoying song of all time". There are approximately 140 versions of the original "Ententanz" recorded, selling about 40 million pieces.
As the girls, women, senoritas and senoras sooner or later evolve into ladies, we move with them. The next entries are dedicated to these ladies. At first, perhaps the most beautiful song written about a lady, that for some reason got Finnish title "Yksin" ("Alone"; lyrics made by Raul Reiman)) when Matti Esko (see previous entry) recorded it in 1981. The original song "Lady" was made famous by Kenny Rogers. Kenneth Ray "Kenny" Rogers is a well-known American country music singer-songwriter, but also a photographer, record producer, actor and entrepreneur. In his long career he has charted more than 70 hit singles across various music genres. This particular song went all the way to number one in 1980. It was written and produced by another American legend, Lionel Richie. You can see Kenny perform the song live in 1980, here.
Danny recorded "Vain kaksi nauhaa" (Only two ribbons) in 1981. There were 3 other Finnish versions of the same song recorded in that year. bur Danny's version turned out to be the most successful. The popularity of the song was based on the TV-series "Vastatuuleen" (Against the wind), that was hugely popular in Finland at the time. The main theme in this series was the original "Six Ribbons". It was written and performed by Jon English, who also played leading role. Jon came to fame in Australia in the stage musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" in the mid 1970s. "Against the Wind" was a 1978 Australian television mini-series. It was a historical drama portraying both the British occupation of Ireland, and the development of New South Wales and Australia.
Mona Carita recorded "Toisen oma " (Owned by another) in 1981 and it was released on the B-side of her mega-hit "Anna kulta anna" (see earlier entry). Like the A-side this was also arranged by master himself, Veikko Samuli. The song was of course shadowed by the success of the flipside, but it's still worth to listen and a fine example of the rare breed of Finnish girlie pop. The original "One Man Woman" was a small hit in 1980 for Sheena Easton (b. Sheena Shirley Orr). Sheena is a Scottish singer who became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television program The Big Time, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract, This song was the follow-up single for her break-through smash hit "9 to 5". You can see Sheena perform the song, here.
On this day of Friday we are proud to present a song called "Perjantaina" (On Friday). Satu Pentikäinen (see previous entry) recorded it for her 1981 album "Pellit auki". The title of the original song was addressing a different day of the week. "No More Monday " was co-written and performed by Cherry Laine. She released two versions of this song; one in Germany in 1980 and another in France in 1981. Cherry was Jamaican-born singer who moved to England in early age. In the 70's she became a protegee of the German producer Bernd Möhrle and broke through in 1977 with "Night in Chicago" which was a disco hit all over Europe.
Kari Tapio (see previous entry) - if any - is THE Finnish artist that can be described as country singer. Of course his repertoire is much more versatile and in the latest years focused on mainstream schlagers and pop ballads. He recorded "Ei toiset toipua voi" (Some can not recover) on his "Jää vierellein" -album in 1981. The original song "Some Broken Hearts Never Mend" is a cross-over country hit by Don Williams. Don Williams is a US country singer and songwriter. who started his career in the 60's with the folk-pop group Pozo-Seco Singers. The group had a series of Top 50 hits, but disbanded in 1971, at which point Williams embarked on a very succcesful solo career. His deep vocals, soft tones, and an imposing build earned him the nickname "The Gentle Giant" of country music.
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.
Tonight is the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Final. We end the Finnpicks ESC week with "Halayla" (Tonight), which was the Israeli entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 in Dublin. It was performed in Hebrew by group called Hakol Over Habibi. The song is a dramatic ballad, with the singer describing what will happen between herself and a lover "tonight". It received 56 points, placing 7th. Finland's Riki Sorsa with "Reggae OK" placed 16th, Hakol Over Habibi had originally been offered the song "Hallelujah" as a potential Eurovision entry in 1978 but turned it down. The song went on to represent Israel in 1979 and won (!) but was performed by Gali Atari & Milk & Honey. The Finnish version of was done by Eini (see previous entry), who recorded it as "Liian pian ilta päättyy" (The night ends too soon). This song is more or less forgotten, which is sad becouse it is a very good song (one of my ESC favourtites) and one of Eini's better peformances.
Just when you thought it was safe to browse this blog, the Frederik Friday strikes again! Frederik recorded "Tyttö kuin tiikeri" (A girl like tiger) on his album "Alta pois" in 1981 and it was also released as a single. It was not one his big successes, but kept up with the proven standard of Frederik. The original song was called "Avec les filles je ne sais pas" "With the girls, I dont know" and performed by French singer Philippe Lavil (real name Philippe Durand de La Villejégu du Fresnay). He was born in Martinique but emigrated to France at early age. He was introduced to singing by his English teacher, and the young man bought a guitar and decided to become a singer. He recorded his first single in 1969. This 'filles' -song was one of his biggest hits and released in 1970.
Here's another classic B-side. Anita Hirvonen (see previous entry) released "Rantaregee" (The Beach reggae) as a B-side of a single in 1981. This song suited well for Anita, and it was aptly arraged by Veikko Samuli. The original was a kind of monster summer hit for Bill Lovelady in 1980 as "One more Reggae for the Road". The song was also written by him. Bill, as well as being a singer and composer, is also a virtuoso guitarist. His guitar and choral music has been performed worldwide. In 1979 he had another 'reggae' hit with the song "Reggae For It now".
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