Boy On A Dolphin - Delfiinipoika

Seija Karpiomaa recorded "Delfiinipoika" (Dolphin Boy) in 1957. It was the A-side of her first single that included our earlier finnpick "Maruzzella" (see previous entry) on the B-side. Both songs were great successes and launched her career in a good foot. Her career although remained short as she took singing only as a hobby. The original song "Boy On A Dolphin" was from a sountrack for the movie of the same name. The film was set in Greece and starred Sophia Loren and it was Sophia's American film debut. The plot of the movie revolves retrieving an ancient Greek statue of a boy riding a dolphin from the bottom of the Aegean Sea. Loren plays a Greek sponge diver who accidentally found the statue. The title song can be heard in the opening credits. It was performed in smoky, sensual voice delivered by the famous songstress Julie London (b. Gayle Peck), in her famous style of singing intimately close to the microphone accompanied only by a guitar.

Here's the pair:

Maruzzella - Maruzella

Italian songs became especially popular in Finland in the latter part of the 50's. The reason for that was probably the success of Italian movies at the same time. In 1957 altogether FOUR Finnish singers recorded "Maruzella", a song made famous in finalnd by Italian Umberto Marcato. One of those 4 was Seija Karpiomaa. Seija was known for her dark alto voice. She also played harmonica and guitar. Her singing career was a short one, lasting only until 1962. "Maruzella" was the B-side of her first record which was a great success. The original song titled "Maruzzella" was composed and first performed by the Neapolitan singer legend, Renato Carosone. The song was dedicated to his wife Marisa, and is sometimes referred as 'the official song of Naples'. There was also a movie (directed by Luigi Capuano) in 1956 called "'Maruzzella' in which Renato played a part.

Here's the pair: