Copper Coloured Years - Jäi talo tyhjilleen

Hector did not usually do any covers, but this "Jäi talo tyhjilleen" (The house was left empty) is one rare example of those. It was released as a single in 1970, but was not successful chartwise. The Finnish lyrics were, of course, done by Hector himself. The original song was called "Copper Coloured Years". It was performed by British harmony pop group West Coast Consortium. The band released only two singles under that name, and the rest were released as Consortium. They had one minor hit under the latter name, the Baroque -style "All the Love in the World", which you can hear here. Today's finnpick was composed by the band's lead guitarist Geoff Simpson.

Here's the pair:

Wichita Lineman - Tie jatkuu äärettömiin

Hector recorded "Tie jatkuu äärettömiin" (The road goes on infinitely) in 1969, and it was released on the B-side of his "Kuningatar" -single (cover of Peter Sarsted's "Where Do You Go To My Lovely").  The Finnish lyrics are of course written by Hector himself.  The original song "Wichita Lineman" is a classic song written by Jimmy Webb in 1968, first recorded by Glen Campbell. It appeared on his 1968 album of the same name, and reached number 3 on the US pop charts. Rolling Stone -magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" ranked "Wichita Lineman" at 192. It has been referred to as "the first existential country song" and some have praised it as "the greatest pop song ever composed". Wichita is a county in Kansas, USA.

Here's the pair:

Lay Lady Lay - Hei, leidi hei

Hector recorded his album "Hotelli Hannikainen" in 1976 and he himself has described it as an urban country album. One example of that is the track "Hei, leidi hei" (Hey lady hey). The use of pedal steel guitar and harmonica bring in some country flavours all right. The original song was one of Bob Dylan's greatest, "Lay Lady Lay". It was released in 1969 on his "Nashville Skyline" album. It became one of Dylan's top US hits, peaking at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was originally written for the soundtrack of the movie 'Midnight Cowboy', but wasn't submitted in time to be included in the finished film.

Here's the pair:

2-4-6-8 Motorway - Mopetilla maailmalle

Freeman (see earlier entry) recorded "Mopetilla maailmalle" (Into the world with moped) in 1978. It was released only as a single and was a modest hit, but not nearly as big one as Freeman's earlier single releases. The lyrics, as in yesterday's Finnpick, were from the pen of Heikki Harma/Hector. The original song "2-4-6-8 Motorway" was the first hit (and a big one) in 1977 for UK group Tom Robinson Band. It was written by band leader Tom Robinson. The lyrics tell about a gay truck driver driving down the motorway. Robinson was gay, and at the time active in the gay liberation movement. However, he himself became the subject of controversy in the 90's when he chose to live with a woman and become a father.

Updated on 18.09.2010: added the version "Kissojen taivas" by the group "Kissojen Taivas".

Here's the pair:

Queen of 1964 - Prinsessa 65

Seppo Närhi (see earlier entry) recorded "Prinsessa 65" (Princess of 65) in 1975. It was released as a single., but despite of getting a lot of radio plays. it didn't reach the top positions in the charts. The smart lyrics were done by Heikki Harma (i.e. Hector). The original somg was a lesser known tune "Queen of 1964" by Neil Sedaka, written of course by Sedaka himself and his songwriting partner Hovard Greenfield. Both the Finnish and original versions told about an old groupie, 'Stage-Door-Jenny', as she's called in the original lyrics. In the Finnish lyrics Hector has updated Elvis Presley to David Bowie.

Here's the pair:

Six String Orchestra - Monofilharmoonikko

After many years of building up a solo career, Hector decided to experiment performing and recording with a rock group. He founded a group called H.E.C. which, however, was short-lived and recorded only one eponymous album in 1977. From that album was culled a single with the A-side being "Monofilharmoonikko" (Monophilharmonist). It was a cover of one of the most famous songs by American singer-songwriter Harry Chapin. The original "Six String Orchestra" (lyrics here) was on Chapin's album "Verities & Balderdash". You can see Harry perform the song, here.

Less Of Me - Liian paljon liian vähän

Both Hector (see previous entry) and Päivi Paunu (see previous entry) were 'products' of the folk movement. As they at the time (1969) shared the same record company, it was no wonder that they eventually recorded together. "Liian paljon liian vähän" (Too much, too little) was the A-side of their one-off single, B-side being the cover of Beatles' "Fool On The Hill". It was not a big success, so there was no future for them to release further duets. The song that Päivi and Hector were covering was "Less of Me" performed by another duo - Glenn Campbell and Billie Gentry. Both were superstars as solo artists so this joint effort was sure to be a hit. And so it was. But not this song but the other side of the single - "All I Have To Do Is Dream", an Everly Brothers cover. "Less of Me" was Glenn's own composition and his own version is somewhat different. We present it here, too.

Here's the triple:

Universal Soldier - Palkkasoturi

Folk music took Finland by the storm in the beginning of the sixties. Hector (real name Heikki Veikko Harma) was one of the forerunners in the Finnish folk movement. Later in the 70's he really made his breakthrough, first in the group Cumulus and later as a prominent singer-songwriter on his own. Hector's first single was "Palkkasoturi" (The Mercenary) recorded in 1965. The Finnish lyrics were also done by him. The original is the classic folk anthem "Universal Soldier" written by a canadian folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie. The song was in her first album (1964) 'It's my way!'. It became internationally known in 1965 when Donovan made it a hit.

Here's the pair: