Honey Come Back - Luoksein jää

I recall this song from the 70's, and I remember liking especially it's fine and beautiful melody line. Ossi Ahlapuro's (see earlier entry) "Luoksein jää" (Stay by me) was released in 1970 on the B-side of his big hit "Azzurro", and maybe therefore it's nowadays largely forgotten. No wonder the song has it's moments in the melody department, becouse it's written by master songwriter Jimmy Webb. The man who performed the song and made it a major hit in USA in 1970, was Glenn Campbell. You can see him perform the song live on Johnny Cash Show, here. The song was also versioned in that same year at least by country singers Patti Page and Lynn Anderson, whose version you can hear, here.

Here's the pair:

La Lontananza - Etäisyys

Ossi Ahlapuro (see entry here) recoded "Etäisyys" (The Distance) on his first album in 1970. This beautiful song is almost forgotten but deserves to be resurrected. The original song "La Lontananza" (The Distance) was written and performed by the great Italian singer and songwriter Domenico Modugno. He has written such classics as "Lazzarella". "Volare" (the only song originating from Italy to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100) and "Piove". This "La Lontananza" is famous for it's chorus part and it tells a melancholy story of reindez-vous interrupted by a siren, and what happened thereafter ...

Here's the pair:

Maria Isabel - Maria Isabel

Let's enjoy of some summer feelings in the middle of darkest winter. This song makes me always think happy thoughts. Ossi Ahlapuro and Ritva Oksanen recorded "Maria Isabel" in 1970. It was the A-side of the only single they did together. Both Ossi and Ritva were actors, but both also cut several records, primarily in the 70's. Ossi can be called "voice actor". He has given his voice to several animated movie characters and he has often been heard in radio productions. Ritva is an esteemed all-round actor with many appraised performances especially in TV Dramas. The original "Maria Isabel" was THE summer hit in Spain in 1969. It was performed by the group Los Payos, a trio from Sevilla. The song was their big breakthrough and became an anthem in the Spanish discotheques in the tourist resorts, and many tourists bought the single as a souvenir. What was unique in the sound of Los Payos was the combining of flamenco guitar with the normal acoustic pop guitar and spicing it up with flute.

Here's the pair:


p.s. I will now leave for holiday, so no Finnpicks for 2 weeks ...