(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear - Nalle-karhu

The "Finnish King Of Rock'n Roll" Pekka Loukiala (see earlier entry) kept quite a low profile in the latter part of the 60's playing mainly in the dance music bands. In the 70's during rock'n roll revival, he started recording again and did some Elvis covers. This "Nalle-karhu" (Teddy Bear) was first one of those, released in 1974. The single, on whose flipside was cover of "Baby I Don't care" failed to make charts. Elvis Presley recorde the original "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" in 1957, and it became a number one hit in the summer of that year. BTW, as you all know, the teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear, but did you know the story behind the name. You can read it here.


Here's the pair:

Suspicious Minds - Epäilet Vain

Eero Raittinen recorded "Epäilet Vain" (You just suspect) in 1970. It was not a hit and it's one of the forgotten singles of Eero. The Finnish lyrics were crafted by his Brother Jussi Raittinen. The original song "Suspicious Minds" was written and first recorded by American singer and songwriter Mark James. After the failure of his own recording, the song was handed to Elvis Presley and it became one of his most notable hits and a number one in 1969. It turned out to be the last number-one single for him in the United States. Rolling Stone later ranked the song number 91 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Here's the triplet:

Summer Kisses, Winter Tears - Kesän suukot talvi vei

In the same line with yesterday's Peter - when it comes to stage names - is Richard. He was born as Robert Richard Orjavuono and as far as I know released only one single - in 1972. On the A-side was this "Kesän suukot talvi vei" (Summer kisses taken away by winter). Richard is no Elvis, but his voice has certain 'something' and it's a wonder he didn't continued his recording career. The original song "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears" was written for Elvis Presley's 1960 movie Flaming Star. It was a ballad written by Ben Weisman and meant to be sung by Elvis to his leading lady during a love scene. Unfortunately, it was decided to have him sing it to a group of Indians sitting around a campfire smoking a peace pipe. At the screen preview, the audience broke into laughter when the scene occurred. As a result, the song was cut from the film.

Here's the pair:

When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again - Elokuun viimeinen päivä

The Icons of Finnish popular music Topi Sorsakoski (b. Pekka Tammilehto) and Reijo Taipale joined forces in 1992 and recorded the album "Kulkukoirat" (Stray dogs). Topi has been playing in various backing bands until he in the 80's started his own career in close collaboration with the legendary retro-band The Agents. Reijo's recording career started already in 1962 when he cut the classic Finnish tango 'Satumaa' and has since been among the most popular Finnish crooners. One of the singles taken from their 1992 album was "Elokuun viimeinen päivä" (The last day of August). The lyrics were made by still another Finnish legend Juice Leskinen. The original was called "When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again". The song was written in USA during the Great Depression by Wiley Walker and Gene Sullivan, and has been recorded by many country- and other artists. Most notably, by Elvis Presley, whose version we present here.

Here's the pair:

Flaming Star - Kohtalon tähti

As I promised earlier (see this entry) we present now the A-side of Timo Jämsen's legendary single from 1961. It was "Kohtalon tähti" (The star of destiny). Timo's version fared in Finland much better than the original. And the original was done by the King himself. Elvis recorded "Flaming Star" in 1960 and the song was included in the movie of the same name, a western film starring Elvis Presley. It is said that Elvis gave one of his best acting performances as the half-breed "Pacer Burton.". The movie was directed by Don Siegel. It contains only two songs and only "Flaming Star" was released on an EP entitled "Elvis By Request - Flaming Star" to coincide with the film's release.

Updated on 17.04.2010: added the "original" original version. The song was originally recorded as "Black Star", but when the title of the film changed, that version was dumped.

Here's the triplet:

The Walls Have Ears - Seinillä on korvat

The recording career of Eino Grön started already in 1958. He got his first in 1959, and several more in the 1960's. He is still performing actively today. Eino was (and is) especially famous as a singer of tangos. On of those tango hits of his was "Seinillä on korvat" (The walls have ears), recorded in 1963. Elvis Presley performed the original "The Walls Have Ears" in 1962 in the movie 'Girls, Girls, Girls!'.

Here's the pair: