Bylo no proshlo - Tule poika uimaan

Anna Hanski is the daughter of Seppo Hanski (see previous entry). She had her first great hit with "Tule poika uimaan" (Boy, come on and swim) in 1989. Anna was very popular in the first years of 90's having many big hits and best-selling albums. She has a special intimate style of singing not quite insimilar to Nancy Sinatra's and eventually she did several covers of Lee Hazlewood songs, which got her into collaboration with Lee. They even recorded an album together in 1993. I'm sure we hear a lot of more of Anna in future Finnpicks. The original song came from former Soviet Union. It was called "Bylo no proshlo" (It was, but it is gone) and was performed by Sofia Rotaru (full name Sofia Mikhaylivna Yevdokymenko-Rotaru). Sofia was born in Soviet Ukraine and is a singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, film producer, fashion designer, dancer, author and actress (person of many talents, isn't she!). She is known for combining a lyrical deep rich voice, sex appeal, and social or religious themes in her songs. In 2000 she was named "The Singer of the XXth Century" - that must be in the Eastern Europe, I guess ...

Here's the pair:

A Gde Mne Vzjat Takuju Pesnju - Mä mistä löytäisin sen laulun

Merja Rantamäki is known for her personal singing voice described as "gypsy vibrato". Her first recording and her big breakthrough in 1976 was "Mä mistä löytäisin sen laulun" (Where would I find that song). The end of the the 70's was her prime time with 4 succesful albums under her belt. In the beginning of 80's Merja abandoned her singing career and devoted to family life. The original song was called "A Gde Mne Vzjat Takuju Pesnju" (Where do I take this song ) and was recorded by Russian Olga Voronec in the 60's. Olga was a famous mezzo-soprano performing mainly Russian folk songs. In 1956 at the International Folk Festival in France, the Russian folk song "Kalinka" performed by Olga enjoyed such success that the singer was renamed as "Olga-Kalinka". Her voice ranging from delicate pianissimo to powerful forte contributed to her big success in Soviet Union.

Here's the pair:

Pesnya o druge - Ystävän laulu

From the end of the 60's through the beginning of the 80's was the era of left-wing song movement in Finland. It had its roots in political theatre in the 60's and the program groups of the radical youth movement of the university students. One of the later emblems of the era was Arja Saijonmaa and her "Ystävän laulu" (Song about a friend). Although the lyrics (written by Juha Vainio) of the song are nothing more than simple story of how a true friend behaves, the song has been labeled as "political". Arja Saijonmaa recorded the song in 1983 and it became one of her greatest hits. Arja was already an established entertainer at the time having recorded with Mikis Theodorakis and making other international appearences. She later made her biggest breakthrough in Sweden. The original song is of Russian origin and called "Pesnya o druge" (Song about friend). It was written and performed by legendary Russian troubadour Vladimir Vysotski. Vysotski sang simple ballads about love. war, peace and everyday Soviet life. However in Soviet Union he was considered as "forbidden singer", and thus his recordings are often made with elementary equipment. The quality of sound is not very good as you can hear yourself. But the feeling of utmost sincerity is there ...

Here's the pair: