Barbados - Lellelle

Pirkka-Pekka Petelius released "Lellelle" (For Lelle) in 1985 on a single together with "Tra la la" (see previous entry). It tells about a boy's flight to Kuopio, the capitol of Finnish Savonia to meet his girl Lelle. Flight captain Hujanen plays a prominent (Savonian) role ... The original song tells a story about a bus driver who escapes Brixton, London for the tropical island of "Barbados". It was performed by a group called Typically Tropical. It was not a real performing band but recording studio engineers Jeffrey Calvert and Max West joined with some studio musicians, including guitarist Chris Spedding. Calvert had been on vacation in Jamaica, and wanted to write a Reggae song. This came up with in 2 hours on a guitar and piano, in collaboration with West. Calvert and West provided also the vocals and the latter's Tobias Wilcock was also the hero of "Barbados," as the captain of the Coconut Airways. The song went all the way to number 1 in UK in 1975 but remained their only hit.

Here's the pair:

Hadschi Halef Omar - Sheikki Ali Hassan

It's Frederik Friday again!. Frederik recorded "Sheikki Ali Hassan" in 1980. It fit like a glove for him and became a moderate-size hit. The lyrics - made by Juha Vainio - tell about mischievous Sheik Ali Hassan in an unnamed country. Not politically correct these days, I guess. The original song was from the pen of the German songsmith Ralph Siegel. His compositions have been frequently covered in Finland - at least about 30 of those. The original song was titled "Hadschi Halef Omar" and performed by disco stomper group Dschingis Khan. "Hadschi Halef Omar" is not a Sheik but a character in the adventure books written by Karl May, and his whole name is Hadschi Halef Omar Ben Hadschi Abul Abbas Ibn Hadschi Dawud al Gossarah (whoah!). He's the side-kick of the German adventurer Kara Ben Nemsi ('Karl, the Son of the Germans' in Arabic) . Dschingis Khan was a group that was created for 1979 Eurovision Song Contest. Their entry was also called "Dschinghis Khan". It placed in 4th and the group gained some cult status among ESC fans. The group had some succesful singles, but they disbanded in 1985.

Here's the pair:

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:

You Were On My Mind - Olet mielessäin

The First (see previous entry) was a short-lived Finnish beat group in its first encarnation. They recorded "Olet mielessäin" (You are on my mind) in 1967 and it was released as the B -side of their debut single "Perjantai" ("Friday On My Mind" -cover). The First was singing in Hollies-like harmony, but was doing also Bluesbreakers and Hendrix stuff. What made the group somewhat extarordinary was that it was singing in Finnish which was rare at those times. After 3 singles the band broke up, but has resurrected at least three times with different line-ups and it's still active. The original song "You Were On My Mind" was done in 1964 by Canadian folk duo Ian & Sylvia (Tyson). It was written by Sylvia (née Fricker) and released on their third album, "Northern Journey". It was covered in a modified up-tempo version, with somewhat altered lyrics, the following year by the California pop quintet We Five. The song was also a major hit in the UK for Crispian St. Peters.

Here's the pair:

La riva bianca, la riva nera - Äänesi mä kuulen

Katri Helena - our old friend - recorded "Äänesi mä kuulen" (I hear your voice) in 1971 and it was released as a single. It was in a bit different format that was to be expected from Katri. But anyhow, it became very popular song, and it still belongs to her most requested songs. The earnest anti-war lyrics were done by Hector. The original was an Italian song called "La riva bianca, la riva nera" (White river, black river) and performed by famous Italian songstress, actor and TV personality Iva Zanicchi in 1971. This song was one of her big hits. and tells a story about 2 soldiers tired of fighting and basically deciding not to go on any longer. Iva Zanicchi, was also known as "L'aqila di Ligonchio", "The Eagle of Ligonchio" (her birth place). Later years she has been active in many fields, posing for Playboy and becaming politically active. She's presently attending in The European Parliament as Italian representative.

Here's the pair:

Bussa Il Vento - Tahdon takaisin sen mikä meni pois

Jouko & Kosti (see previous entry) recorded "Tahdon takaisin sen mikä meni pois" (I want back what went away) in 1968. It was the B-side of their first single "Muisto vain jää". The original was called Bussa Il Vento (The Wind knocks) and it was performed by Armando Savini, an Italian singer. He started his recording career in 1967 and in 1968 he had couple of hits of which this is one fine example. Armando never made it really big, but he's still performing in the Italian dance clubs with his own group.

Beautiful Sunday - Kaunis sunnuntai

Even if it's grey and foggy day here in Finland. I have chosen "Kaunis sunnuntai" (Beautiful sunday) to be the song of the day. Arto Sotavalta (see previous entry) released it in 1972. It was his single number 12, and quite popular at the time. The lyrics were done by Arto himself. The original "Beautiful Sunday" was composed - like yesterday's Finnpick - by Daniel Boone (born Peter Green). And this time he performed it himself. The song was a big hit around the world. In 1958 Peter took a stage name Peter Lee Stirling, and released altogether 10 singles between 1963 and 1970. In 1971 he changed his name to Daniel Boone (after the American pioneer). He had several hit records with the new moniker but none of them as big as "Beautiful Sunday". He seems to have been jolly good fellow, becouse in 1972, Boone was the recipient of the "Most Likeable Singer" award from Rolling Stone magazine.

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: