Las Campanas del Olvido - Vuoriston kellot

After a long time, we meet Carola again. Upon entering in the 70's she changed record company and in 1971 on the B-side of the first single was this "Vuoriston kellot" (The bells of the mountain range). The A-side song "Herrojen kanssa pellon laidassa" became a hit, but the B-side has also become one of Carola's classics. The Finnish lyrics were this time written by Tuula Valkama. The original song was an old Colombian folk song "Las Campanas del Olvido" (The bells of oblivion), that has of course been versioned several times. I have chosen the legendary Colombian duo Garzon y Collazos. Dario Garzon and Eduardo Collazos began their collaboration in the end of thirties in the town of Ibague, the capital of the Tolima province. Their golden age was in the latter part of the 40's and in the 50's. Garzon wrote their songs, but their most precious legacy was performing the traditional Colombian folklore music, in the genres like 'bambuco', 'guabina' and 'pasillo'. Today's finnpick is an example of 'bambuco' music.

Here's the pair:

Highway Song - Kaikki tiet vievät Roomaan

"Kaikki tiet vievät Roomaan" (All roads lead to Rome. in Latin: omnes viae Romam ducunt) was released in 1970 on Carola's album "Kielletyt leikit". It clearly had some hit potential, but it was never released as a single. The Finnish lyrics were provided by Vexi Salmi. The original was one of Nancy Sinatra's lesser known songs called "Highway Song". It peaked at 21 in Billboard Hot 100 in January 1970.
Well, the highway is calling me too, and Finnpicks will be on vacation for next two weeks. After that we're going to take a musical journey across USA!
Here's the pair:

Gotta Travel On - Nyt nostan kytkimen

Carola released the single "Nyt nostan kytkimen" (Now I'll release the clutch) in 1964. It was a minor hit but her most successful years were still to come. Thr lyrics were provided by Johan "Mosse" Viksted., who is best known for being a legendary boss of a record company and helping to build the career for such artists as Lasse Mårtenson and Carola. The covered song was called "Gotta Travel On". It was made popular by Billy Grammer, an American country music singer and noted guitar player. The song was million-selling single in 1959 and made it onto both the country and pop music charts.

Here's the pair:

Ljuva sextital - Se oli silloin

Yesterday's Finnpick was a song for "years gone by". And, literally, so is today's. Carola recorded "Se oli silloin" (That was then) in 1970. The lyrics (by Lasse Mårtenson, using the pseudonym "Savinainen") told about the colourful events that took place in Finland during the decade of 60's. The original song had the same theme. It was of Swedish origin and was called "Ljuva sextital" (Wonderful 60's). It was the first big hit composition for future Abba trio Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stikkan Anderson and it was performed by Brita Borg. Brita was the 50's schlager queen in Sweden, and represented her country in the 1959 Eurovision Song Contest with "Augustin". Later she was popular as revue artist. This "Ljuva sextital" was her last pop hit.

Here's the pair:

A quoi pensent les tziganes - Jostain vielä laulun kuulen

In our sporadic series of "Both Sides Now" we now present the A-side to yesterday's 1969 Finnpick "Armonaikaa". It was a song called "Jostain vielä laulun kuulen" (I still here a song from somewhere). It is one of the lesser known Carola songs, even if the melody line is beautiful, similar to the one of "Partisaanivalssi" (a popular song in Finland, telling about Polish partisans in WWII). The original song "A quoi pensent les tziganes" (What the gypsies think) has been labeled "traditional", but it was made to pop hit in French-speaking Europe in 1968 by the Belgian singer named Luigi. Luigi Verderame, usually known just as Luigi, was popular internationally in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He sang mainly in French, but made also a succesful career in Israel with Hebrew songs.

Here's the pair:

Oneero - Armonaikaa

"Armonaikaa" (Grace time) was released on the B-side of Carola's 1969 single that was a follow-up to her big success "Rakkauden jälkeen" (featured earlier in Finnpicks, here). It was not a hit at the time, but it showcases very well Carola's extraordinary voice and it is frequently requested song even today. The original song was called "Oneero" and it was performed by Nana Mouskouri. The song was composed by Manos Hadjidakis, the famous Greek songwriter., who in 1960 he received an Oscar for Best Original Song for his song "Never on Sunday" from the film of the same name (featured earlier in Finnpicks, here). Hadjidakis can be credited with the introduction of bouzouki music into mainstream culture.

Here's the pair:

Mohair Sam - Tyttöjen iskijä Mohair Sam

Carola (see earlier entry) was a very versatile singer. She sang pop, schlager, r&B, jazz - you name it - and always with credibility. In the 1968 she recorded a song called "Tyttöjen iskijä Mohair Sam" (Girl picker Mohair Sam). It was released as a single, but was not a big success chartwise, however highly acclaimed piece of music at the time, and still today. The original song was written by US country musician and songwriter Dallas Frazier and made popular by another country ace Charlie Rich. Charlie was a regular session musician for Sun Records in the 50's, playing on records by Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, etc., and also writing songs for them. In 1965 he had a TOP-30 hit with this "Mohair Sam," an R&B-influenced novelty-rock number. His follow-up singles weren't successful, until he broke through in big way in 1973 with "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl".

Here's the pair:


New! You can see a selection of some hand-picked Youtube videos of today's Finnpick song by playing my shared playlist in tuberadio.fm (includes Carola singing "Mohair Sam" in English).

Jackson - Mä lähden stadiin

Lasse Mårtenson (see earlier entry) teamed up with Carola (see earlier entry) in 1967 and they recorded "Mä lähden stadiin" (I'll go downtown). It was released as a single (Carola covered James Bond -theme "You only live twice" on the B-side). The record was a big success, as would be expected. The original was done Kingston Trio in 1963 on their album "Sunny Side!" The song called "Jackson" was penned by Billy Edd Wheeler with the help of veteran songsmith Jerry Leiber. Billy was inspired by the bickering couple in Edward Albee's play 'Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf', The song became worldwide hit when it was recorded by Johnny Cash & June Carter, and Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood. But now we present the rarely heard original "Jackson".

Updated on 15.01.2011: added the version that might be the true original one - by Billy Edd Wheeler and Joan Sommer.

Here's the bunch:

Seul Sur Son Etoile - Se onko hän

Carola (see previous entry) released "Se onko hän" (Is it him) in 1970. It was not the first Finnish version of this song, it was done By Marjatta Leppänen a year before (we hope to find also that version to be presented here). Carola's version is impressive and the song fits well to her melancholy voice. The original was written by the legendary Frenchman Gilbert Bécaud (b. François Silly, no wonder he chose another stage name) and it was published in 1967. The best-selling version was recorded as "It Must Be Him" that same year by Texan singer Vikki Carr (real name Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona, no wonder she chose another stage name. too). It reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Carr went on to record it in Spanish and Italian, as well. Later years Vikki has had enormous success in the Latin music world.

Here's the triple:

Was ich dir sagen will - Rakkauden jälkeen

This song is one of the absolute classics. "Rakkauden jälkeen" (After the love) was recorded by Carola (see previous entry) and released as a single in the end of the year 1968. Her interpretation is perfect and the arrangement of the song is lighter and thus more sensitive as in the original. It's not so heavy on the piano, although the piano parts are essential to the song. The original song was composed and performed by the Austrian superstar Udo Jürgens (real name Udo Jürgen Bockelmann) in 1967. There's a piece of information at Udo's website that the English version of the song entitled "The Music Played" became an worldwide success in 1969, but I can't recall ever hearing the English version. It seems to have been especially popular in Japan. Udo is of course best known for winning the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest with "Merci, chérie".

Updated on 18.2.2009: added Matt Monro's English language version.

Here's the triplet:

Stessa spiaggia stesso mare - Kuinkas käy nyt

Carola (see previous entry) recorded "Kuinkas käy nyt" (How it's gonna go now) as the b-side of her second single in 1963. The a-side was a cover of Neil Sedaka's Italian hit "Terza luna", but this b-side is much more exciting. Somehow it is still sounding fresh today. As it happens, it was also a cover of an Italian hit. The original song was called "Stessa spiaggia stesso mare" (Same beach, same sea). The performer was Piero Focaccia, who had only two big hits in the 60's, of which this is the first one. The other Piero, the composer of the song Piero Soffice, had more success writing many hits for several Italian artists in the 60's.

Here's the pair:

Zigeunerjunge - Nuori tumma

Carola (real name Carola Standertskjöld) was among the most popular Finnish female singers in the 60's. Her style was perhaps more jazzier and bluesier than her contemporaries had. Her songs have stood well the test of time and recently released compilation album turned out to be a success too. The song "Nuori tumma" (Young darkie) was released on 1968 as a B-side to 'La La La (version of Spanish Eurovision winner). The tune was a German original called "Zigeunerjunge" (Gypsy boy) and recorded by Alexandra (real name Doris Nefedov), a Lithuania-born singer, guitarist and composer, who died in a car crash in 1969.

Here's the pair: