Do It Over Again - Tee kaikki tuo uudelleen

Pirkko Mannola recorded "Tee kaikki tuo uudelleen" (Do that all over again) in 1963. This was one of the records she was accompanied by vocal group Four Cats. The Finnish lyrics were provided by Sauvo "Saukki" Puhtila. Although Pirkko was very popular singer at the time, this particular single was not a hit for her. The original song came from Sweden. Jerry Williams (b. Sven Erik Fernström) and The Violents was a very popular beat group in Scandinavia in the beginning of the 60's and they had a hit with the song in 1963. Jerry - "The Swedish King Of Rock'n'Roll" - was the lead singer in the Violents before going solo. We have already presented Jerry and the band in Finnpicks, see here.

Here's the pair:

Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport - Katso kenguru loikkaa

We continue with the theme Aspelund and Australia. Yesterday Ami Aspelund sang about boomerang, today her big sister Monica sings about kangaroo. Monika Aspelund (see earlier entry) recorded "Katso kenguru loikkaa" (See the kangaroo jump) in 1960 together with vocal group Four Cats. It was her first single and she was only 14 years old. The original song was called "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport " and it was a smash hit for Australian all-round entertainer and singer Rolf Harris. Rolf wrote it in 1957 - inspired by Harry Belafonte's calypsos - as an Australian calypso . The song was number 1 for four weeks in Australia in 1960 and  and reached the top 10 in UK.

Here's the pair:

Blah, Blah, Blah - Jäkäti jäk

This weekend we present two classic humour songs from the 60's. The first one is performed by Ismo Kallio, who recorded "Jäkäti jäk" (Yakety yak) in 1963 together with vocal group Four Cats. The original song is in the Database of The Finnish Institute of Recorded Sounds erroneously credited as being "Yakety Sax" (also known as the Benny Hill Theme) by Boots Randolph, but it is in fact a novelty record called "Blah, Blah, Blah" recorded by Italian-American singer, songwriter and restaurateur Nicola Paone in 1958. The song was ranked No. 1 on the US charts by Cash Box magazine in January 1959. Paone was very popular in the US in the 50's, especially among his 'paesanos' (countrymen). He was even called "the Italian Bing Crosby," The "Blah, Blah, Blah" presented here is probably the single version, becouse it misses the second verse, which is present in the Finnish version.

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:

Greenback Dollar - Suuret setelit

Four Cats is a harmony vocal group that saw the light of the day in 1958 as "Esa Laukka's Quartet", named after its founding member. In 1960 the group changed its name to Four Cats in line with famous international groups Four Freshmen and Four Aces. The group was very popular in the years 1961-65 scoring many hit records, for example "Saku Sammakko" (see previous entry) together with Brita Koivunen. One of their greatest 'solo' hits was "Suuret setelit" (Big money) in 1963. The covered song was "Greenback Dollar" originally written and performed by Hoyt Axton. (His mother was Mae Boren Axton, who co-wrote the classic rock 'n' roll song "Heartbreak Hotel", the first major hit for Elvis Presley). Hoyt establised himself as a well-known country music singer-songwriter with a unique earthy style and powerful voice. Many of his songs became well known throughout the world. Among them was this "Greenback Dollar", that was included in his first folk album titled "The Balladeer" (recorded live at the legendary Californian Troubadour nightclub). The song was made into massive hit by Kingston Trio in 1963. The trio was formed in 1957 by Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds, who were just out of college. They were greatly influenced by the calypso sounds of Harry Belafonte and other folk artists. It has been told that the group first considered itself primarily a calypso group, and therefore named itself after the capital of Jamaica. The group's first hit was a catchy rendition of a traditional folk song, "Tom Dooley" in 1958. By the time they struck gold with "Greenback Dollar", Guard had already left the group and replaced by John Stewart. The arrival of The Beatles and other rock bands pushed them out from the charts, and they disbanded in 1967.

Here's the triple: