Seven Lonely Days - Seitsemän päivää

Some of you must have noticed that Finnpicks is counting up numbers. This time we have reached number seven. Not much is known about Anita Kuusi. Her real name was Alice Taimitarha and this "Seitsemän päivää" (seven days) is her only recording and it was released in 1953. Some say this is the first Finnish rock'n roll record. Well, actually it is western swing, but that's not far away from early rock'n roll. Anita is accompanied here by "Karjapojat" (Cowboys) and the Orchestra of Onni Gideon. Onni himself plays steel guitar. The original song was called "Seven Lonely Days" and it was a US Top 10 country hit for Bonnie Lou (b. Mary Jo Kath) in 1953. A little later Bonnie Lou became one of the first female Rock & Roll stars who proved to the public that female singers could indeed sing rock and roll.

Here's the pair:

Six String Orchestra - Monofilharmoonikko

After many years of building up a solo career, Hector decided to experiment performing and recording with a rock group. He founded a group called H.E.C. which, however, was short-lived and recorded only one eponymous album in 1977. From that album was culled a single with the A-side being "Monofilharmoonikko" (Monophilharmonist). It was a cover of one of the most famous songs by American singer-songwriter Harry Chapin. The original "Six String Orchestra" (lyrics here) was on Chapin's album "Verities & Balderdash". You can see Harry perform the song, here.

Six Ribbons - Vain kaksi nauhaa

Danny recorded "Vain kaksi nauhaa" (Only two ribbons) in 1981. There were 3 other Finnish versions of the same song recorded in that year. bur Danny's version turned out to be the most successful. The popularity of the song was based on the TV-series "Vastatuuleen" (Against the wind), that was hugely popular in Finland at the time. The main theme in this series was the original "Six Ribbons". It was written and performed by Jon English, who also played leading role. Jon came to fame in Australia in the stage musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" in the mid 1970s. "Against the Wind" was a 1978 Australian television mini-series. It was a historical drama portraying both the British occupation of Ireland, and the development of New South Wales and Australia.

Here's the pair:

Five Brothers - Viisi veljestä

Tapio Rautavaara (see earlier entry) recorded several country & western songs. On of those was his 1961 single "Viisi veljestä" (Five brothers). The original song was written by Tompall Glaser (of Glaser Brothers) and made popular by Marty Robbins. It was on his legendary "Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs" album and released also as a single. Although it was only on the B-side. "Five Brothers" is a true old Western song with a great storyline (lyrics here) that surprisingly never made the top of the Country music chart in USA, even though it reached 74 in the Pop chart.

Here's the pair:

Three Steps To Heaven - Et voi sä estää

After a successful decade, the Raittinen brothers both launched equally successful solo careers in the end of the 60's. Jussi Raittinen released many country- and rock'n roll flavoured albums in the 70's. On one of them "Mennään melomaan" (Let's go paddling), released in 1976, was this "Et voi sä estää" (You can't stop it). It was Jussi's tribute to Eddie Cochran , who recorded the original "Three Steps To Heaven" in 1960. Usually Jussi wrote the Finnish lyrics himself, but this time they came from the pen of Juha Vainio. "Three Steps To Heaven" became a posthumous UK number-one hit for Cochran following his death in a car crash in April 1960. In 1975 Showaddywaddy's cover version of this song was also a hit, reaching number 2 in the UK.

Here's the pair:

One Two Three O`Leary - Leikkimajan aikaan

Tapani Perttu (see earlier entry) had his great breakthrough with the cover of Gilbert Becaud's "Nathalie" in 1969. On the B-side of that single was "Leikkimajan aikaan" (In the days of the playhouse). Like so many B-sides. it is now completely forgotten, but still a fine piece of music. The original "One Two Three O`Leary" was a Top 10 UK hit in 1969 for Des O`Connor. Des is an English television personality and talkshow host. Although his singing ability has been criticized frequently, he has done a successful career as a singer, recording 36 albums, four of which reached the Top 30 charts. "One Two Three O`Leary" is an old game rhyme used in childrens' ball-bouncing games.

Here's the pair:

One Man Woman - Toisen oma

Mona Carita recorded "Toisen oma " (Owned by another) in 1981 and it was released on the B-side of her mega-hit "Anna kulta anna" (see earlier entry). Like the A-side this was also arranged by master himself, Veikko Samuli. The song was of course shadowed by the success of the flipside, but it's still worth to listen and a fine example of the rare breed of Finnish girlie pop. The original "One Man Woman" was a small hit in 1980 for Sheena Easton (b. Sheena Shirley Orr). Sheena is a Scottish singer who became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television program The Big Time, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract, This song was the follow-up single for her break-through smash hit "9 to 5". You can see Sheena perform the song, here.

Here's the pair:

One Fine Day - Paras päivä

Today is the day one of the fresh new year 2010. Let's hope that this and the days that follow will be the best days of our lives. Anja Niskanen (see earlier entry) recorded "Paras päivä" (The best day) in 1991 on her album "Ikkuna". Surprisingly this was the first Finnish version of the original classic song. The original "One Fine Day" was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and was a top ten hit in the summer of 1963 for girl group the Chiffons Goffin and King were inspired by the title of the aria "Un bel di" from the Puccini opera Madama Butterfly. The song originally featured a vocal by Little Eva, but was reassigned to the Chiffons who'd had a recent number 1 with the similarly entitled "He's So Fine". The Chiffons' vocals were recorded onto the original master with the Little Eva vocal erased.

Here's the pair: