Irwin Goodman

Artist: Irwin Goodman

LP: Si Si Si
Song: "Si Si Si"
[ listen ]
Song: "Pannaan Menemään"

[ listen ]

I tried stumping Shazam this morning with a track from this 1973 LP, but the app didn't take long to figure out it was something by Irwin Goodman (born Antti Yrjö Hammargerg), the Finnish folk-rock singer whose favorite themes were poverty, taxes, drinking, and money troubles. You can read about Irwin here. I picked this record up at Råkk og Rålls in Oslo when I was on that trip to Scandinavia with my sister back in the spring of 2017.

[ Irwin Goodman: September 14, 1943 — January 14, 1991 ]

Lea Laven

Artist: Lea Laven

LP: Chanson Laven

Song: "Kesämieli"
[ listen ] 
Song: "Ei Syytä Huoleen"
[ listen ]

Here's a bit of Scandi-disco from Finnish pop princess Lea Laven. Born June 19, 1948 in Haukipudas, on the Northwestern Finnish coast. Lea worked in Swedish hotels and nursing homes before the northern wind set her vocal chords a-fluttering, sending her sailing to stardom on a cloud of snowy white. As she shot her way to fame, she worked a desk day job at the Helsinki office of EMI-Columbia Records. You can read more about Lea Laven's life and career in Finnish here or in English here. This is one of the things I picked up at Green Grass Records last year on my trip to Helsinki.

 [ Lea Laven ]

Kirka

Artist: Kirka

LP: Rautaa Ja Kettinkiä

Song: "Häikäisy Oot Vaan"
[ listen ]

As I mentioned before, I only had a few minutes to thumb through the vinyl stacks at A.H. Records before they closed for the day, so I didn't end up finding much. (They had a wall of boxes with 7" singles in them that looked beguiling, but they also looked incredibly difficult to get to. When I asked about taking a look at them, the proprietor asked if I could come back tomorrow. Alas, I could not.) 

In any case, I did find this neat 1973 LP by famous Finnish rock-n-roller Kirill "Kirka" Babitzin, who was 23 years old when this, his fifth LP, was released. You can read all about Kirka here. The track "Häikäisy Oot Vaan" sounded awfully familiar to me, and since I've realized that lots of Finnish pop from the 1970s is made up of international hits re-performed in the country's own language, I used Google (to) Translate. 

"Häikäisy" means "Dazzle." Interesting. Then when I added the "Oot" it became "Dripping." That didn't ring any bells, but it was then that I noticed the label on the record itself lists this particular track as "Häikäisy Oot Vaan," so I added the "Vaan," certain that this missing piece would complete the puzzle, thereby producing the title of a well-known, world-famous song:

Hmmm. Was that by The Rolling Stones? Anyway, turns out "Häikäisy Oot Vaan" is a cover of "Gudbuy T'Jane" by Slade. And it's a very fine rendition, indeed.

 
[ Kirka: September 22, 1950 — January 31, 2007 ] 

[ A.H. Records — Helsinki, Finland ]

Ami Arvola

Artist: Ami Arvola

LP: Ami Arvola

Song: "Kun Silmiin Katsellaan (Here We Are Falling In Love Again)"
[ listen ]

I'm back! Before exploring Norway, my sister and I dropped by Helsinki, Finland for a few days to visit our friend Kenneth who has been living and working there for the past decade or so. He showed us around the lovely old city, took us to dinner where I ate my very first reindeer meat, and he directed me to several of the Helsinki record stores I'd put stars next to on my list; the first one was Green Grass Records. 

By the time I arrived there I only had about an hour to browse before they closed (well, by the time I re-arrived after running pell-mell down the street to the nearest ATM to get some Euros, since the store doesn't accept credit cards). I found some terrific gems at Green Grass, including this 1977 Ami Arvola LP. I was certain I'd gravitated toward one of the most popular Finnish heartthrobs of the 1970s (just look at what a natural he is when a camera gets pointed his way!) but it seems he only released this one LP and then was never heard from again. I did find this though, which includes some Ami info I can't understand. Anyway, this nice album-opener is a cover of a 1976 Neil Sedaka song that I'm also being introduced to for the very first time.

 [ Ami Arvola ]

[ Green Grass Records — Helsinki, Finland ]

Polyteknikkojen Kuoro

Artist: Polyteknikkojen Kuoro

LP: Joulupukki

Song: "Tonttuparaati" 
[ listen ]

Song: "Talven Ihmemaa" 
[ listen ]

This 1972 record from Finland sat on my shelf for over a year before I realized it was actually a Christmas album. Then it took me at least another year to figure out that that's an abstract depiction of Santa Claus on the cover, with a black tassel hanging from the point of his cap. The music on the LP was recorded by the 1971 version of the Polytech Choir, which had just been taken over by conductor Heikki Saari, who went on to lead the choir for the next 13 years. You can read all about Polyteknikkojen Kuoro here and go here to see the 2011 version of the choir with opera singer Placido Domingo (the Polytech "Nikkojen" Choir has been around since 1900). Photos of the 1971 choir members and conductor Saari are included below, along with mysterious Finnish notes that I've been unable to decipher.

[ Heikki Saari: Conductor of Polyteknikkojen Kuoro, 1971-1984 ]

The Turuttaret Trio

Artist: The Turuttaret Trio

LP: From Finland With Love: Folk Songs and Dance Music

Song: "Tammerkoski" 
[ listen ]

Song: "El Porompompero" 
[ listen ]

The Turuttaret Trio performed on Finnish television and in leading hotels and nightclubs (the ones with high ceilings that could accommodate Hannele's hair) throughout Finland before releasing this collection of native folk songs and dances in 1974. The Turuttarets even completed a tour of the USA! (Does anyone remember if they performed in Seattle? Maybe even in Ballard?) You can read a little more about The Turuttaret Trio on Wikipedia here—and no offense, Finland, but I definitely prefer your dance music to your folk songs.

 [ Amelita Tammela ]

[ Hannele Lehtonen ]
 

 [ Maire Tammenlaakso ]

 [ The Turuttaret Trio ]