It's Alright - Olen syytön

Kirka (see previous entry) was a singer of many talents. His repetoire covered pop and rock songs as well as heart-breaking ballads. A fine example of that is his single in 1969 that combined his covers of "Put Your Head My Shoulder" and this "Olen syytön" (I'm not guilty). It's a pure pop song that was later in 1995 successfully covered also the legendary retro-band Agents with Jorma Kääriäinen as vocalist (see previous entry). We present both of those versions here. The original song was recorded 1965 by an obscure British Brumbeat group called The Ugly's. It was written by the members of the band. Ugly's released 5 singles in 1965-1967, but perhaps their choice of moniker was the reason why they didn't ever really make it. This "It's Alright" -song (2nd single) was an 'almost hit' for them. The vocalist Steve Gibbons, however, achieved success later in the 70's with his own group Steve Gibbons Band. Those familiar with SGB will undoubtedly recognize Steve's voice in this song. Pay also attention to the prominent use of a harpsichord.

Here's the triple:

Over and Over - Vieläkin vieläkin vain

Kai Hyttinen (see previous entry) released "Vieläkin vieläkin vain" (Still over and over again) in 1973 as a B-side of his 18th single "Honolulu". It was not a big hit. but this is a decent version of the original one. A teenage popduo called James Boys had a smash hit in UK with "Over and over" in 1973. The duo consisted of two brothers Bradley and Stewart. But their last name was not James, but Palmer. The boys were only 11-12 years old at the time, and you might hear it in their singing. They remained one-hit-wonders, but returned to pop and recording business in the 90's uder various pseudonyms. This "Over And Over" was composed by Daniel Boone, who had hits in his own right.

Here's the pair:

Goodness Gracious Me - Voi hyvä tavaton

Brita Koivunen (see previous entry) and Eino Virtanen were both singers in their own right, but recorded also many duets together. Most of those were novelty songs, like this "Voi hyvä tavaton" (Oh goodness gracious), released as a single in 1961. It is a story of a male doctor, a female patient and a heart that goes 'boom-boudy, boom-boudy, boom, boom, boom'. The song was at the same time covered also by Finnish actors Maikki Länsiö and Esa Saario, and I remember their version beíng the more popular one. The original song was recorded in 1960 in order to promote the movie "The Millionairess", a 1960 romantic comedy film set in London, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Peter Sellers (The Doctor) and Sophia Loren (The Millionairess) . The song "Goodness Gracious Me" was performed by the leading actors. It became a considerable hit (at least in UK), which is no wonder, becouse the song is marvellous, and the actors deliver it with impeccable charm. Peter Sellers (real name Richard Henry Sellers) is not much of a singer but Sophia Loren (real name Sofia Villani Scicolone) has a very nice voice and has she has recorded well over two dozen songs.

Here's the pair:

Ha! Ha! Said The Clown - Oy sanoi hän

This is the 3rd song in a row with the word "hän" (he/she) in the Finnish title. Fredi (see previous entry) had his first big hit with "Oy sanoi hän" (Ltd said he) released in 1967. The somewhat peculiar lyrics are made by Juha Vainio, telling of some hazards that go with the consumption of alcoholic beverages. The original song was called ""Ha! Ha! Said The Clown"" and was written by UK songwriter Tony Hazzard and performed by Manfred Mann . The other mega success for Mann written by Hazzard was "Fox On The Run". Manfred Mann was one of the most successful British Beat, R&B and pop bands of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboard player and founder, who later led the successful 1970s follow-on group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. This ""Ha-Ha" -song was made after original vocalist Paul Jones had already left for solo career. With the new lead singer Mike d'Abo, the group pursued a soft acoustic pop sound, with a tinge of social comment and surrealism in the lyrics - as in this song.

Here's the pair:

One more Reggae for the Road - Rantaregee

Here's another classic B-side. Anita Hirvonen (see previous entry) released "Rantaregee" (The Beach reggae) as a B-side of a single in 1981. This song suited well for Anita, and it was aptly arraged by Veikko Samuli. The original was a kind of monster summer hit for Bill Lovelady in 1980 as "One more Reggae for the Road". The song was also written by him. Bill, as well as being a singer and composer, is also a virtuoso guitarist. His guitar and choral music has been performed worldwide. In 1979 he had another 'reggae' hit with the song "Reggae For It now".

Here's the pair:

Beautiful lover - Paras

Let's take another "Paras" -song. Paula Koivuniemi (see previous entry) released this tune called simply "Paras" (The Best) as a B-side of a single in 1978. The single sold well and perhaps this song had something to do with it. The original was a sizeable hit for Brotherhood Of Man, a British pop group who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1976 with "Save Your Kisses for Me. "Beautiful Lover" was released In May 1978 and reached the UK top 20. The group was formed by record producer & composer Tony Hiller and, he wrote this song, too.

Here's the pair:

Follow The Bouncing Ball - Sillä lailla pallo pomppii

This was a tough song to get by - I mean the original version of course. Our old friends Jouko & Kosti recorded "Sillä lailla pallo pomppii" (That's the way the ball bounces) in 1971. It was the flip side of "Sisäinen kauneus" (see entry here), and was a modest hit for the boys. The original was recorded by another duo - Steve & Albert and was titled "Follow The Bouncing Ball". The song wasn't a hit and in fact I hadn't heard it until a couple of days ago. which is a shame, becouse the song is an irresistibly catchy pop piece. No wonder it caught the ear of some Finnish recording business people. The "Steve" was Steve Rowland and the "Albert" was Albert Hammond. Steve was an US actor and musician that found his way via Spain into UK in the 60's and ended up producing thirteen Top Ten hits for Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. He also discovered Peter Frampton and The Herd, and with "Way Of Life" had UK Singles Chart hit with his own group, The Family Dogg, in which Albert was also a member. Steve and Albert had already been singing together in Spain and before Family Dogg they even tried as a duo. And that's when "Follow The Bouncing Ball" was recorded. In later years Albert Hammond made a very succesful career as a solo singer and songwriter. I guess we will meet him in the future Finnpicks ...

Here's the pair:

Congratulations - Mua onnitelkaa

As this is the Independence Day of Finland, and the 91st birthday of Finland, it's time for congratulations. Robin (real name Esa Simonen) was a gym teacher but also pop singer. He sometimes combined both by performing while standing on his head. He recorded "Mua onnitelkaa" (Congratulate me) in 1968, gaining moderate success with it. The original was the English entry in that years Eurovision Song Contest "Congratulations" presented by Cliff Richard.

Here's the pair:

Dracula's Tango - Dracula-tango

Let's continue our mini series 'Miss Finland becomes a Pop Star". And - as it is Halloween time, this song is perfectly in the mood. Johanna Raunio won Miss Finland paget in 1974. She was 2nd runner-up both in Miss Universum and in Miss Europe paget. Her singing career however didn't start until 1993. The career didn't last long; she recorded only one album. Since then she has focused in acting and has frequently performed in TV dramas and soap operas. Johanna's "Dracula-tango" was on his only album that was released in 1994. The original "Dracula's Tango' was the second single for the girl group Toto Coelo in 1982. The group's name is Latin and means "by the whole extent of the heavens" or "heaven-wide". This song was a follow-up to their worldwide hit "I Eat Cannibals" but for some reason wasn't nearly as big as a hit. It was written by the groups manager Barry Blue, who had a couple of big glam rock hits under his own name. One member of the group, Anita Mahadervan, later changed her name to Anita Chellamah, and formed Cherry Bombz with several former members of legendary Finnish group Hanoi Rocks.

Here's the pair:

Jack The Idiot Dunce - Jerry Cotton

After parting ways with the group Virtanen, Mauri 'Moog' Konttinen put up his own group Kontravirtanen, but after one EP the name was shortened to Kontra. Contrary (;-)) to Virtanen, Kontra did mostly cover versions with the their inimitable style and with Moog's inimitable lyrics. Their secong single, and Kontras's biggest hit, in 1978 was "Jerry Cotton". It told about the FBI agent Jerry Cotton, whose escapades were read in eponymous kiosk magazine by every Finnish schoolboy in the 60's. This fictional character was born in print in Germany in 1954 and was very popular in German speaking countries. There were even 8 movies made of Jerry. The main character was played by American actor George Nader, whose name is mentioned in Kontra's song. There was also a hint about Jerry's sexual tendencies ("I care about women just formally, it's much nicer with Phil Decker"), that in a way turned out to be true - George Nader was gay ...
The original song was picked up from an underrated Kinks album 'Schoolboys In Disgrace' (1975). This Ray Davies -written concept album - and this song - told about a naughty schoolboy, who eventually would grow up to be Mr. Flash (the villain in The Kinks' rock opera, Preservation: Acts 1 & 2).

Here's the pair:

Mr. Loving Luggage Man - Meni remonttiin

Under just 2,5 years of existence Topmost managed to cut 6 singles and 1 album, and was the most populat pop group in Finland in 1967. The group sang usually in English but all their biggest hits were in Finnish. The drummer of the group Kristian "Kisu" Järnström had success as a solo artist in the 70's. The 6th and last single of Topmost was "Meni remonttiin" (Went in repair) in 1968. The original was done by a little-known British group Young Idea. The group was actually a duo (Tony Cox & Douglas MacCrae-Brown) whose cover of The Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends" was a Top Ten hit in 1967. "Mr. Loving Luggage Man" was the follow-up single in the same year, but didn't have success in charts. Which is quite peculiar, becouse it's very catchy song. Don't know how they picked up in Finland (perhaps from Pirate Radio?), but I'm glad they did. This record is nowadays even harder to find, and the version you hear here is a bit scratchy, sorry about that.

Here's the pair:

Beautiful In The Rain - Kolmatta linjaa takaisin

One of the greatest hits of Fredi was "Kolmatta linjaa takaisin" (Back on 3rd lane again). It was recorded in 1968 and has become a Golden Classic. Not only becouse of Fredi's singing but also becouse of the witty lyrics by famous Finnish lyricist Juha Vainio. The original was an instrumental tune called "Beautiful In The Rain" composed and recorded by British orchestra leader Tony Hatch. The vocal version was done by Petula Clark, but for some reason never got the attention that it really deserved. That is - nowhere else but in Finland!

Here's the triple: