Antti Yrjö Hammarberg (14 September 1943 – 14 January 1991), professionally known as Irwin Goodman, was a popular Finnish rock and folk singer. In the late 1960s he was widely known as a
protest singer
A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre.
Among social mov ...
. He recorded over 300 songs, most of which were his own compositions, with lyrics written by
Vexi Salmi
Veikko Olavi "Vexi" Salmi (; 21 September 1942 – 8 September 2020) was a Finnish lyricist. He wrote the lyrics to numerous popular songs for several prominent artists, including Irwin Goodman, Jari Sillanpää, and Katri Helena. His career ...
. Irwin Goodman started as a protest song singer in the folk boom of the mid-1960s; his humorous songs, often mocking the authorities, became favorites of the Finnish people, to the extent that small Irwin singalike contests are still held by some pubs for entertainment. Goodman had continuing troubles with Finnish tax authorities and had ever-worsening problems with alcohol. His escapades were eagerly followed by sensationalist magazines such as
Hymy
''Hymy'' (Finnish: "Smile") is a monthly celebrity magazine published in Helsinki, Finland. It has been in circulation since 1959.
History and profile
''Hymy'' was launched in 1959 by publisher Urpo Lahtinen and named after his wife Hymy Lahtine ...
.
Goodman died of a heart attack while on the way from
Vyborg
Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus ne ...
to
Hamina
Hamina (; sv, Fredrikshamn, , Sweden ) is a List of cities in Finland, town and a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately east of the country's capital Helsinki, in the Kymenlaakso Regions of Finland, reg ...
, Finland. The story of his life was turned into a feature film, ''
Rentun Ruusu
''Rentun Ruusu'' ( en, The Rose of the Rascal) is a 2001 Finnish biographical film drama directed and written by Timo Koivusalo. The film is based on the life of Antti Yrjö Hammarberg (Irwin Goodman) who is still today a very popular singer i ...
'', in 2001.
Irwin's most famous songs include "Poing Poing Poing" (1971), "Haistakaa paska koko valtiovalta" (1976), "Rentun ruusu" (1988), "Ei tippa tapa" (1966), "Työmiehen lauantai" (1965), "En kerro kuinka jouduin naimisiin" (1965) and "Tyttö tuli" (1978). He won the Syksyn Sävel song contest twice.
Common themes in his songs were poverty,
taxes
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or ...
,
drinking
Drinking is the act of ingesting water or other liquids into the body through the mouth, proboscis, or elsewhere. Humans drink by swallowing, completed by peristalsis in the esophagus. The physiological processes of drinking vary widely among o ...
and alcoholism ("Ei tippa tapa", "Vielä yhdet", "Kieltolaki", "Homma käy", "Työmiehen lauantai", "Rentun ruusu" - approximate English translations: "One drop won't kill you", "I'll have another one", "Prohibition", "It's OK", "The workman's Saturday", "The poor man's rose") and problems with money ("Raha ratkaisee", "Kun ei rahat riitä", "Meni rahahommat pieleen", "Manu vippaa muutama markka" - approximate English translations: "Money is the solution", "When you don't have enough money", "I failed the money job", "
Manu
Manu may refer to:
Geography
* Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region
**Manú National Park, Peru
** Manú River, in southeastern Peru
* Manu River (Tripura), which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh
*Manu Tem ...
, lend me a couple of
markkas"). He protested the government with songs like "Juhlavalssi" ("Celebration waltz"), and "Haistakaa paska koko valtiovalta" ("The whole government can go fuck themselves").
In 1971, Irwin released an album featuring the actor
Esa Pakarinen
Feeliks Esaias "Esa" Pakarinen (9 February 1911 – 28 April 1989) was a Finnish actor, singer, accordionist and comedian, best known for the role of Pekka Puupää in the '' Pekka and Pätkä'' films from 1953–1960. He was also a skilled, self ...
. His 1972 album ''Kohta taas on joulu'' consists of Christmas carols. The later songs ("Suruton nuoruusaika", "Maailma on kaunis", "Ai, ai, ai, kun nuori ois" and "Viimeinen laulu") were often darker in theme than the songs of the 1960s and 1970s.
Albums discography
* ''Irwinismi'' (1966)
* ''Ei tippa tapa'' (1966)
* ''Osta minut'' (1967)
* ''Reteesti vaan'' (1968)
* ''Irwin Goodman'' (1969)
* ''Työmiehen lauantai'' (1970)
* ''St. Pauli ja Reeperbahn'' (1970)
* ''Lonkalta (1971, feat.
Esa Pakarinen
Feeliks Esaias "Esa" Pakarinen (9 February 1911 – 28 April 1989) was a Finnish actor, singer, accordionist and comedian, best known for the role of Pekka Puupää in the '' Pekka and Pätkä'' films from 1953–1960. He was also a skilled, self ...
)
* ''Poing, poing, poing'' (1971)
* ''Kohta taas on joulu'' (1972)
* ''Las Palmas'' (1972)
* ''Si Si Si'' (1973)
* ''Häirikkö'' (1976)
* ''Kolmastoista kerta'' (1977)
* ''Cha Cha Cha'' (1977)
* ''Inkkareita ja länkkäreitä'' (1977)
* ''Tyttö tuli'' (1978)
* ''Kulkurin kulta'' (1979, feat. Hanne)
* ''Keisari Irwin I'' (1979)
* ''Härmäläinen perusjuntti'' (1984)
* ''Dirly dirly dee'' (1985)
* ''Rentun Ruusu'' (1988)
* ''Vuosikerta −89'' (1989)
* ''Hurraa – Me teemme laivoja'' (1990)
* ''Ai ai ai kun nuori ois'' (1990)
See also
*
Goodman
Goodman or Goodmans may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Goodman Games, American publisher.
* Goodman Global, an American HVAC manufacturer.
* Goodman Group, an Australian property company.
* Goodmans Industries, a British electronic co ...
, a shopping centre in
Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...
named after Irwin Goodman
*
List of best-selling music artists in Finland
These are the lists of the music artists that have the highest certified record sales in Finland (and/or sales explicitly confirmed by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland in their database). The lists consist of albums and singles (vinyl, CD, d ...
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, Irwin
1943 births
1991 deaths
People from Hämeenlinna
20th-century Finnish male singers
Finnish harmonica players