Sorrow - Vaaraa

Here's a rare single form Kristian. He recorded "Vaaraa" (Danger) in 1975. It was three years since his previous single ("Se syntikö on", finnpicked here) and the public had obviously forgotten about him, becouse the single was a flop. The lyrics were provided by Heikki "Hector" Harma. The trigger for this single release was of course the David Bowie's version of the original "Sorrow", being a Top 10 hit for him in 1973. The song was, however, recorded originally in the 60's. It was written by US songwriter trio Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer for the group The McCoys. But it was made a hit by British beat band The Merseys. The Merseys was a duo formed by two former members of the Liverpudlian group The Merseybeats; Tony Crane and Billy Kinsley. This song, their first single, reached number 4 in the UK charts in 1966. I present here also the excellent Finnish cover by Muska from the year 1993, with different lyrics and titled "Anteeks" (Sorry).

Here's the triplet:

Luglio - Ai ai ai ai ai

Kristian (see previous entry) did several covers of Italian beat schlagers. On of those was "Ai ai ai ai ai" that was released in 1969. It was on the B-side of a single and has been long forgotten. But it is a nice tune, worth to hum along. The original Italian song was called "Luglio"(July), and it was performed by the man that also co-wrote the song - Riccardo del Turco. We have met Riccardo before - see this entry. As the title suggests, this was a summer sog. It won first prize in "Un disco per l'estate" (A Disc for the Summer) -contest in 1968 and remained in the Italian Top 10 for fifteen weeks. Later the same year famous English group Herman's Hermits took the English version "Something Is Happening" into Bristish Charts reaching number 6. We present here also Herman's version.

Here's the pair:

La sorpresa - Vapaapäivä

Now when we have a couple of days off ahead of us, let's listen to Kristian (see previous entry) sing about "Vapaapäivä" (Day off). For some reason Kristian was particularly fond of doing covers of Italian hits. This is one of many, and one of his best. It was released in 1968 as Kristian's second single. The original was called "La Sorpresa" (The surprise) and performed by Jimmy Fontana (b. Enrico Sbriccoli) in the Italian TV song contest "Canzonissima" in 1968. Jimmy is famous Italian actor, composer and singer, especially known for the worldwide hit in 1971 "Che sará" that he performed and co-wrote.

Here's the pair:

Ma che freddo fa - Seikkailu

Kristian (real name Bengt Huhta) won a song contest in Finnish television in 1968. This launched his career that lasted only couple of years. His initial backing group evolved into famous Finnish pop group Wigwam. In 1969 he released a song that became a minor hit. It was called "Seikkailu" (Adventure). The original was performed by a teenage Italian songstress Nada in 1969 Sanremo Music Festival and was titled "Ma che freddo fa" (But What The Cold Makes). The Sanremo Festival has been a source for many Finnish cover versions, as you will see ...

Updated 08.10.2011: Added Tuire Lehtomäki's version "Käyn tyhjää rantaa" (I walk on empty beach).

Here's the bunch: