The First had a couple of hits in the 60's. The biggest of those was "Meni hermot" (finnpicked earlier, see here) but this 1967 release of "Jos sais kerran reissullansa" (If I could once get lucky) was also popular. The original song was a a hit for folk group Peter, Paul and Mary in 1967, peaking at number 9 on the Billboard Top 100. The song was co-written by Paul (Stookey). It includes several lyrical and musical references to contemporary artists, including The Mamas & the Papas, Donovan, and The Beatles. The final verse suggests that socially conscious messages CAN be included in rock and roll songs, but they must be hidden "between the lines" in order to make them suitable for commercial radio airplay. You can see P,P&M's free-spirited live performance of the song here.
Lemon was a modestly successul Finnish pop group in the beginning of the 70's. It's main claim to fame was the cover of Uriah Heep's "Lady In Black" in 1972, but on their second single in 1970 they covered an even more famous song. This "Ilman ystävää et jää" (You won't be left without a friend) didn't however win many friends at the time, and is still largely forgotten. The Finnish lyrics were done by Chrisse Johansson. Prior to and after Lemon, the band was known as The First (see earlier entry). The original song "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" was collaboration between veteran US songwriters Bobby Scott and Bobby Russell. The title came from the motto for "Boys Town", a community for troubled and homeless boys, formed in 1917 by a priest named Father Edward Flanagan in Omaha, Nebraska. Father Flanagan found a drawing of a boy carrying a younger boy on his back, with the caption, "He ain't heavy Mr., he's my brother." Father Flanagan thought the image and phrase captured the spirit of Boys Town, so he got permission and commissioned a statue of the drawing with the inscription, "He ain't heavy Father, he's my brother." The statue and phrase became the logo for Boys Town. In 1938, Spencer Tracey portrayed Father Flanagan in the movie "Boys Town". The song has of course become known as the mega-hit for Hollies, but it was originally recorded by Kelly Gordon, mainly known for his production work for Glen Campbell, Bobbie Gentry, Aretha Franklin, a.o. This slow and soulful original version was on Kelly's 1969 album "Defunked". We present here the original version, but you can see Hollies performing the song, here.
The First (see previous entry) was a short-lived Finnish beat group in its first encarnation. They recorded "Olet mielessäin" (You are on my mind) in 1967 and it was released as the B -side of their debut single "Perjantai" ("Friday On My Mind" -cover). The First was singing in Hollies-like harmony, but was doing also Bluesbreakers and Hendrix stuff. What made the group somewhat extarordinary was that it was singing in Finnish which was rare at those times. After 3 singles the band broke up, but has resurrected at least three times with different line-ups and it's still active. The original song "You Were On My Mind" was done in 1964 by Canadian folk duo Ian & Sylvia (Tyson). It was written by Sylvia (née Fricker) and released on their third album, "Northern Journey". It was covered in a modified up-tempo version, with somewhat altered lyrics, the following year by the California pop quintet We Five. The song was also a major hit in the UK for Crispian St. Peters.
The First calls itself "the oldest rock band in Finland". It was born in 1964, and is still gigging actively. The first 3 singles of the band were all sizeable hits. The second one was "Meni hermot" (Lost my nerves) in 1967. It was originally an Italian tune recorded (also in1967) by our old friend Little Tony, and called "Cuore matto" (Mad heart). It was his biggest hit. Tony has recently done come back, and wants to celebrate his 50 years in music by representing San Marino in next year's Eurovision song Contest(!). Perhaps The First should try to do the same for Finland ...
t they must be hidden "between the lines" in order to make them suitable for commercial radio airplay. You can see P,P&M's free-spirited live performance of the song here.
Posts
