Rock and Roll Is Back - Rock and roll taas soi

OK, we present now a second Vanity Fare -cover in a row. The group Karma recorded "Rock and roll taas soi" (Rock and roll plays again) in 1973 and had a minor hit with it during the 70's rock and roll revival. Many of the youth of those days still remembers the chorus line of the song. The Finnish lyrics were crafted again by Vexi Salmi (it seems we have had quite a few of those lately, but just by coincidence). The original song was called "Rock and Roll Is Back" and it was the last hit for Vanity Fare, and not a big one at that. You can see the them perform the song here.

51 Finnpicks to go.

Here's the pair:

Lay Back in the Arms of Someone - Tunteitaan ei voi estää

Karma released "Tunteitaan ei voi estää" (You can't turn down your feelings) as a single in 1977, and on the album "Morjens, Karma" in the same year. The group was already scored two minor hits with Chinnichap rocker songs for Sweet (see "Blockbuster" here and "Wig Wam Bam" here . This was the third one, but the group didn't fare so well with this pop ballad. The original song "Lay Back in the Arms of Someone" was the follow-up single to Smokie's biggest hit "Living Next Door to Alice" in 1977 and it was equally successful. You can see them perform the song here.

Here's the pair:

Blockbuster - Katujen uhka

Here's another Karma song and the second one of their ChinniChap & Sweet covers. They recorded "Katujen uhka" (Threat on the streets) in 1973. It was released as a single, but did not repeat the success of "Wig wam bam". The original song "Blockbuster" proved to be The Sweet's only British number 1; it stayed at the top for 5 weeks. This song featured an air-raid siren and in fact, "Blockbuster" was originally a World War 2 newspaper name for a large bomb, which had enough explosive power to destroy an entire city block. You can see The sweet perform the song in Top of the Pops, here.

Here's the pair:

Wig Wam Bam - Wig wam bam

Karma (see earlier entry) was a pop-rock/country-rock group formed in 1972. And their first single (1973) was "Wig wam bam". It wasn't their biggest hit, but very popular anyway. Vexi Salmi wrote the lyrics. The original "Wig Wam Bam" was the sixth consecutive ChinniChap hit for The Sweet. The first verse is about lovers Hiawatha and Minnehaha, who were fictional characters from the 1855 poem "The Song of Hiawatha" by famous American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The second verse is about Running Bear and Little White Dove from the popular 60's hit song "Running Bear". You can see Sweet perform "Wig Wam Bam", here.

Here's the pair:

Woodstock - Kesäpäivä

We interrupt this Finnpick Humour Week for a special announcement. Today is the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock Festival. Woodstock Music & Art Fair (informally known as Woodstock Festival) was held at Max Yasgur's 240 ha dairy farm in the rural town of Bethel, New York - 69 km southwest of the town of Woodstock. Joni Mitchell was originally booked to perform, but canceled at the urging of her manager to avoid missing a scheduled appearance on The Dick Cavett Show. However Joni was so impressed about the festival that he afterwards wrote a song to honour the event, a song simply called "Woodstock". She wrote this song in a hotel room in New York City, watching the reports of the Festival on television. "The deprivation of not being able to go provided me with an intense angle on Woodstock," she told an interviewer. The song was later released on her third album, Ladies of the Canyon in 1970. The Finnish pop-rock group Karma, very popular in the 70's, recorded it on their 1976 album "Huomenta suomi". It was called "Kesäpäivä" (Summer day) and the lyrics were by another popular Finnish artist Erkki Liikanen. It was never released as a single and is sadly forgotten becouse it is a decent version of the song.. The most famous version of "Woodstock" was done by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, who themselves played in Woodstock. The song become a hit and the recording most associated with the festival.

Updated on 02.10-2009: added Joni Mitchell's original

Here's the triplet: