Jaak Joala (26 June 1950 – 25 September 2014) was an Estonian singer, musician and a member of two bands: Kristallid and Virmalised. He began as a flautist, later adding singing and bass guitar.

Biography

Early life

Jaak Joala was born in

Viljandi Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

and grew up in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. His mother, Helgi Ridamäe, was a music teacher at various schools in Tallinn. His father was Arno Joala, who was a musician and who was later also known as a healer. When Jaak turned seven years old, he started to take piano lessons and in adolescence also began taking flute lessons.Яак Йоала: Больше не пою Лаванду
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Career

Joala is considered a music legend by some. He began his musical career with the beat group Kristallid (English: ''The Crystals'') in 1966 as a flautist, then as a singer and bassist. In 1968, he was the bassist and lead singer in the popular group Virmalised (English: ''Northern Lights''). With Virmalised, he sang several of Toivo Kurmet's songs: ''Ainult sul'' (''Only You Have''), ''Ma ei tea, miks (I Don't Know Why)'', ''Naer (Laughter)'', ''Taas on päev (Once Again The Day)'' and ''Üksinda (Alone)''. Joala introduced western rock music to Estonian and Soviet audiences by singing in his native language. Jaak Joala Kadrioru kõlakojas 74

In the 1980s, he earned the nickname Kremlin's Nightingale because he often performed and recorded in Russia, and a large part of his repertoire, comprising songs written by such great composers as Raimonds Pauls, David Tukhmanov and

Alexander Zatsepin Aleksandr Sergeyevich Zatsepin (russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Заце́пин; born 10 March 1926) is a Soviet and Russian composer, known for his soundtracks to movies, notably comedies directed by Leonid Gaidai. People's ...

, at that time was sung in Russian. Joala's bandmate Paap Kõlar recounted that eventually Joala grew tired of performing, saying that Goskontsert, the Soviet entertainment agency, demanded that he perform. Kõlar suggested that Joala did not have much choice as to whether to perform or not.

Later career

In the 1990s, Joala's most well-known projects as a singer were with Kollane Allveelaev G (English: ''Yellow Submarine G''). They performed 1960s music along with Ivo Linna, Karl Madis, Meelis Punder and others. In the middle of the 1990s he performed in joint concerts with Ivo Linna and Tõnis Mägi. The concert tour was informally nicknamed ''The Three Tenors Tour''. After the 1990s Joala devoted his time to teaching, producing and hosting on TV/radio. In the last ten years of his life he was largely reclusive.

Death

He died on 25 September 2014. He was buried in the Forest Cemetery of Tallinn.

Popular songs

* ''I'm Drawing You'' * ''Pick Мusic'' * '' Lavanda'' (duet with Sofia Rotaru) * ''Photos of the Loved Оnes'' * ''Wedding Horses''

Acknowledgements

Merited Artist Merited Artist or Honored Artist is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Russian Federation, Union Republics, and autonomous republics, also in some other Eastern Bloc states, as well as in a number of post-Soviet states. Specifically, the term ma ...

of the

Estonian SSR The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based adminis ...

(1980)

References

External links

Estonian comedian Hendrik Normann parodies Jaak Joala in his comedy show
(Video) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joala, Jaak 1950 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Estonian male singers Estonian flautists Estonian rock singers Estonian rock musicians People from Viljandi Burials at Metsakalmistu Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class 20th-century flautists