(Lament of) Cherokee Reservation - Cherokee-heimo

Jarkko & Laura recorded "Cherokee-heimo" (Cherokee tribe) in 1971. As a single it wasn't a great success, but the song has remained as an extraordinary artifact of the Golden Cover Era. The original song was written in the 50's by the famous songsmith John D. Loudermilk. It was first recorded (as "The Pale Faced Indian") in 1959 by an American country and rockabilly singer Marvin Rainwater (b. Marvin Karleton Percy), himself 25 percent Cherokee. The song went unnoticed at the time, but became a hit in 1968, when covered by English pop singer Don Fardon (b. Don Maughn). It reached number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song went all the way to number one in 1971, when recorded by US rock group Paul Revere and The Raiders. The song refers to the forcible removal and relocation of Cherokee people from southeastern states of the United States to territories west of the Mississippi River. This removal in the 1830s is often referred to as the "Trail of Tears".

The Windmills of Your Mind - Samanlainen onni

In our randomly recurrent series "Both Sides Now" we present now the flip side of yesterday's Jarkko & Laura entry. It was called "Samanlainen onni" (Same kind of happiness) and was more popular of the two. The lyrics, again, were done by Juha Vainio. The original was called "Les moulins de mon coeur" (The windmills of my heart) and composed by famous Frenchman Michel Legrand. The first vocal version, however, was done by English actor and singer Noel Harrison. Noel was the son of another British actor, Rex Harrison. "The Windmills of Your Mind", as the English title went, was used as the theme tune for the film The Thomas Crown Affair, and won the Oscar for best song in 1968, and was also a Top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart.

Come September - Kahden ollaan

OK, so September has come. Here's a happy song that will cheer you up. Jarkko & Laura (see previous entry) recorded "Kahden ollaan" (We're twosome) in 1969. It is a wonder that it wasn't a hit becouse it is that kind of melodic, happy tune that Finns usually love. And, on top of that, lyrics are done by Juha Vainio. The original song was called "Come September" and it was one of the 5 Lulu's entries in the UK Public National Final for Eurovision Song Contest 1969. (It placed 3rd, and the winner was 'Boom Bang-a-Bang that tied the first prize in the ESC). Lulu (b. Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, actress, model and television personality, who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day. She is now officially known as Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, and in 2000 she was awarded an OBE by the Queen.

Here's the pair:

Let's go to San Francisco - Taas kerran

Jarkko and Laura (see previous entry) recorded "Taas kerran" (Once again) in 1967. It was an ambitious move from the duo to excel in harmony singing. Somehow it didn't really work out and their version is long forgotten. Admittedly it is quite modest compered to the original song "Let's go to San Francisco", sung by The Flower Pot Men, It was one of hallmark tunes of the Summer of Love 1967. The Flower Pot Men were a British pop group and their sound was characterised by rich, three-part vocal harmonies. Actually, the group did not exist before this song had its big chart success. It was originally recorded by session singers and musicians along with songwriters John Carter and Ken Lewis, who, having no interest in going on the road themselves to promote the record, created the group to do it. The lead singer of the group was Tony Burrows who has sung lead on various hit singles under various group names (for example the classic 'Love Grows" as Edison Lighthouse). We present here rarely heard full-ledged version of this OTHER 'San Francisco' -song - Parts 1 & 2.

Here's the pair:

Cinderella Rockefella - Rakkain Rokkefeller

Jarkko & Laura (see previous entry) released "Rakkain Rokkefeller" (Rokkefeller dearest) as a single in 1968. The success of this and other singles helped the duo to win Finnish preliminaries for Eurovision Song Contest in 1969. The original song was worldwide hit for another female-male duo - Esther and Abi Ofarim. Esther Ofarim (b. Esther Zaied) is an Israeli female vocalist, who met Abi Ofarim (b. Abraham Reichstadt), a guitarist and dancer, in 1959 and subsequently married him. With her husband and without him she began to sing Hebrew and international folk songs. In 1963 Esther placed in the 2nd place at the Eurovision Song Contest with "T'en vas pas", representing Switzerland. From then on, her duo with Abi began take off. And in 1968 the Ofarims had their international breakthrough with this "Cinderella Rockefella", which hit the top of the charts in several countries.

Here's the pair:

Something Stupid - Kuin pieni tyhmä

Jarkko and Laura was a succesful pop duo in the end of the 60's. Jarkko (Jarkko Antikainen) and Laura (real name Laura Antikainen, b. Ruotsalo). They first had their break in 1966, with Laura's composition "Meidän laulumme". They were Finnish representatives in the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Kuin silloin ennen". They released many singles, along with a few covers of international hit songs. One of them was "Kuin pieni tyhmä" (Like a little fool) in 1967. The covered song was "Something Stupid", a smash hit for Nancy and Frank Sinatra. The original version was however done by the author of the song Carson C. Parks (brother of country singer Van Dyke Parks) together with his wife Gaile on their album "San Antonio Rose" (credited to Carson & Gaile) in 1966. It earned little attention, but a friend of Parks played the song for Frank Sinatra, who in turn played it for daughter Nancy's record producer, Lee Hazlewood. "I love it, and if you don't sing it with Nancy, I will," Hazlewood reportedly responded, and the father-daughter duet went on to top the charts all over the world. Here we present the rarely heard ORIGINAL "Something Stupid".

Here's the pair: