Dschinghis Khan - Tsingis Khan

It's Frederik Friday and Frederik's contribution to Finnpicks Disco Week is his rendition of "Tsingis Khan". The album of the same name was released in 1979. It was Frederik's biggest success to date and earned him his first Gold Record. I don't know it this is true, but it has been told that when the German composer of the song Ralph Siegel heard this version, he called to Finland saying that this was better than original. The original being of course "Dschinghis Khan" performed by the group Dschinghis Khan. The group was initially formed for just one purpose; to perform this song in Eurovison Song Contest 1979 (as it did, and placed 4th) but it became a much bigger and long-lasting phenomenon and has earned some cult status among disco people. The real Genghis Khan - the name meaning ‘Universal Ruler’ - lived about 1155–1227. He was originally called Temujin and was the son of a Mongol chieftain. He became ruler of all Mongols in 1206 and subsequently conquered other areas in Asia. When he died, his empire ranged from the Yellow Sea to the Black Sea. Genghis Khan controlled probably a larger area than any other individual in history. The ruins of his capital Karakorum are southwest of Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia.

Here's the pair:

Whos That Lady With My Man - Ken tuo nainen oikein on

The fourth Finnpicks Disco offer this week is "Ken tuo nainen oikein on" (Who that woman really is) recorded by Anita Hirvonen in 1977 on her album "Villitsee mun". This is already the third finnpicked track from that album, the two previous ones being the title track (here) and "Milloin saavut" (here). The original song was entitled "Whos That Lady With My Man" and it was Roberto Danova -penned disco hit for at least two up and coming disco songstresses - British Kelly Marie in 1976 and Dutch Patricia Paay in 1977. We of course present here the first version by Kelly Marie (b. Jacqueline McKinnon). Kelly Marie was an early bird, appearing in singing competitions at age twelve and made her television debut at age fifteen. At age 16 as Keli Brown she appeared on the television talent show Opportunity Knocks winning four times. This exposure led to her debut single "Who's That Lady With My Man" in 1976. It reached #1 in France and earned a gold disc for sales in excess of 500000 copies. The song that Kelly Marie is best known for is of course the classic disco anthem "Feels Like I'm in Love" released in 1977.

Here's the pair:

Todo passara Maria - Mulle suostuthan Maria

The third Finnpicks Disco Week song is "Mulle suostuthan Maria" (Would you be mine, Maria). Hard to believe it's performed by famous Finnish balladeer Juhani Markola, who was nothing BUT a disco artist. But this is an excellent version of the song. For my taste, I would even consider it to be better than the original. The song appeared on the other side of the "Ääni puhelimessa" -single (see previous entry) in 1977. The original was called "Todo passara Maria" (Maria passes all). It was a modest disco hit for the Mozambique-born Afric Simone, who has been previusly finnpicked (see and listen here). Like Afric's smash hits "Hafanana" and "Ramaya", the song was collaboration of Stanislav Regal and Afric Simone.

Here's the pair:

Crazy Woman - Villi nainen

The second contribution in Finnpicks Disco Week comes from a man that's not usually known for doing disco. Kari Tapio (real name Kari Jalkanen) is a Finnish singer legend. And perhaps the most popular of today's Finnish male singers. He has made a long long career in music business, starting in the 60's and recording his first single in 1972. However, his final breakthrough didn't happen until in the latter part of 70's. Kari's "Villi nainen" (Wild woman) was released in 1977 on the B-side of his mega hit "Viisitoista kesää" (the cover of Smokie's "Living Next Door to Alice"). The original was done by our old friend Joe Dolan (see previous entry). The son of a bicycle-shop owner, Joe Dolan was one of the most successful vocalists in Ireland. He's the only Irish singer to reach the top ten in the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. His biggest hit was "Make Me an Island" in 1969 which topped the music charts of 14 countries. Later, in the 70's, he was collaborating and scoring hits with Italian songwriter and producer, Robert Danova, who wrote this "Crazy Woman".

Here's the pair:

You're The Greatest Lover - Vetonaula

It's a time for another Finnpicks Disco Week. We start with "Vetonaula" (Attraction) which was a hit single for Eini (real name Eini Orajärvi) in 1979. Eini was herself an attraction with not-so-typically-Finnish looks - raven dark hair and voluptuos body. She was acting Finnish Disco Queen in the end of 70's and beginning of the 80's. Eini made her breakthrough with Baccara's "Yes Sir I Can Boogie" -cover in 1977. This "Vetonaula" single was culled from second album "Laululintunen" (songbird). The original was a big disco hit for Dutch girl group Luv (Marga Scheide, José Hoebee and Patty Brard) and called "You're The Greatest Lover". The group was formed in 1976 by Dutch music producers Hans van Hemert and Piet Souer and manager Han Meijer, inspired by the German disco trio Silver Convention. This song was the fourth single of the group, released in the summer of 1978. It was Luv's international breakthrough and is often considered as their signature song.

Here's the pair:

Pretty Belinda - Pikku Belinda

Johnny released "Pikku Belinda" (Little Belinda) as a single in 1970. It was a little hit, but Johnny's popularity was somewhat diminishing at this point. This upbeat number has however remained one of his most requested tunes. The original song "Pretty Belinda" was written and performed by Chris Andrews in 1969. Chris started in the show business already in 1959 making his UK television debut, performing on the "Oh, Boy!" show. Later he gained success as a songwriter writing a string of hits for Sandie Shaw, our finnpicked artist from yesterday. Andrews cut also some hits as solo artist and had chart topping success in mainland Europe, particularly in Germany. "Pretty Belinda" was one of those continental hits.

Here's the pair:

Tell The Boys - Itke vaan jos helpottaa

Anita Hirvonen (see previous entry) recorded "Itke vaan jos helpottaa" (Just cry if it makes you feel better) in the spring of 1967. It turned out to be her first big hit. BTW, on the B-side of the single was Anita's version of Hollies' "Tell It To My Face". I will add her version on this old Finnpick -page in the near future. The original song "Tell The Boys" was one of Sandie Shaw's entries in the UK national preliminaries for Eurovision Song Contest 1967. The rumour has it that Sandie herself preferred this song to the winner "Puppet On A String". But - eventually - she won the contest hands down (and barefooted), so I guess she had no hard feelings ...

Here's the pair:

Avec les filles je ne sais pas - Tyttö kuin tiikeri

Just when you thought it was safe to browse this blog, the Frederik Friday strikes again! Frederik recorded "Tyttö kuin tiikeri" (A girl like tiger) on his album "Alta pois" in 1981 and it was also released as a single. It was not one his big successes, but kept up with the proven standard of Frederik. The original song was called "Avec les filles je ne sais pas" "With the girls, I dont know" and performed by French singer Philippe Lavil (real name Philippe Durand de La Villejégu du Fresnay). He was born in Martinique but emigrated to France at early age. He was introduced to singing by his English teacher, and the young man bought a guitar and decided to become a singer. He recorded his first single in 1969. This 'filles' -song was one of his biggest hits and released in 1970.

Here's the pair: