![Kari Tapio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Kari_Tapio.jpg)
Kari Tapani Jalkanen (22 November 1945 – 7 December 2010),
better known by his stage name Kari Tapio, was a Finnish
schlager and
country & western
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, old ...
singer. During his career, he was one of the most popular singers in Finland for decades; having sold over 830,000
certified
Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
records (during his career and posthumously), he is the best-selling soloist in the country.
Kari Tapio was born in
Suonenjoki
Suonenjoki (; literally means "vein's river") is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region, southwest of the Kuopio city.
The town has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The pop ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. In the 1960s he performed in his home town
Pieksämäki
Pieksämäki () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region, about north of Mikkeli, east of Jyväskylä and south of Kuopio. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The ...
with the local bands ER-Quartet and Jami & The Noisemakers.
In 1966 he took singing lessons from
Ture Ara.
After Kari Tapio's first single ''"Tuuli kääntyköön"/"Niskavuoren nuorimmainen"'' in 1972, he performed in
Ilkka "Danny" Lipsanen's show. In the beginning his role was to take care of the
snake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
that was used in the show. Before music became a job for him, he worked as a typesetter in a printing house.
In 1976 Kari Tapio finally broke through with his single ''Laula kanssain'' (literally "Sing with Me", a Finnish cover of
Jackpot
Jackpot or Jackpot! may refer to:
* A prize, such as a progressive jackpot
* Gardena jackpots, a poker variant
* Jackpot, Nevada, a community on the Nevada–Idaho state border
Comics
* Jackpot (comics), several comic book characters
* ''Jack ...
's ''Sing My Love Song''), which was followed by ''Viisitoista kesää'' ("Fifteen Summers," a cover of ''
Living Next Door to Alice
"Living Next Door to Alice" is a song co-written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. Originally released by Australian pop band New World in 1972, the song charted at No. 35 on the Australian chart. The song later became a worldwide hit for British ...
'') and ''Kaipuu'' ("Longing", a cover of
Mort Shuman
Mortimer Shuman (12 November 1938 – 2 November 1991) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter, best known as co-writer of many 1960s rock and roll hits, including "Viva Las Vegas". He also wrote and sang many songs in French, such as " ...
's ''Sorrow''). In later years ''Olen suomalainen'' ("I Am a Finn", a cover of
Toto Cutugno
Salvatore "Toto" Cutugno (; born 7 July 1943) is an Italian pop singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for his worldwide hit song, "L'Italiano", released on his 1983 album of the same title. Cutugno also won the Eurovision Song Conte ...
's ''
L'Italiano
"L'Italiano" (; Italian for "The Italian") is an Italian pop song by Toto Cutugno released in 1983. It was his biggest international hit and is his best-known composition. The song was forgotten during the 1990s and was re-discovered when Toto Cut ...
''), ''Myrskyn jälkeen'' ("After the Storm"), ''En pyydä paljon'' ("I Don't Ask for Much", a cover of
Paulina Rubio
Paulina Susana Rubio Dosamantes (; born 17 June 1971) is a Mexican singer. Referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Golden Girl" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Pop", she first achieved recognition as ...
's ''
Te Quise Tanto
"Te Quise Tanto" ( en, I Loved You So Much) is a song written by Coti Sorokin, Andahí and A. Schinoff and produced by Emilio Estefan Jr. and recorded by Mexican pop singer Paulina Rubio, and was included on her studio album ''Pau-Latina'' (2004). ...
'') and ''Paalupaikka'' ("Pole Position"), among others, were among his most popular songs. In 2003 the
Iskelmä-Finlandia award was given to him.
Many of Kari Tapio's songs have influences from
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
. He sang many Finnish versions of the songs of
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...
,
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music.
Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...
, and
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...
.
Kari Tapio was one of the candidates to represent Finland in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2008
The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Belgrade, Serbia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Molitva" by Marija Šerifović. Organised by the European Broadcas ...
with the song ''Valaise yö'' ("Light up the night"). In the finals, he placed second; and
Teräsbetoni
Teräsbetoni is a Finnish Heavy metal music, heavy/power metal band. Their first album, ''Metallitotuus'', was released in 2005 and has so far sold more than 32,000 copies. Teräsbetoni has been strongly influenced by bands such as Manowar. The d ...
was chosen to represent Finland.
Kari Tapio died of a heart attack in the yard of his home in Haukilahti, Espoo, Finland on the 7th of December 2010.
Discography
Albums
* ''Aikapommi'' (1974) (with
Erkki Liikanen
Erkki Antero Liikanen (born 19 September 1950) is a Finnish social democratic politician and a former Governor of the Bank of Finland.
Early life and education
Erkki Antero Liikanen obtained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Economic ...
)
* ''Nostalgiaa'' (1976)
* ''Klabbi'' (1976)
* ''Kaipuu'' (1977)
* ''Kari Tapio'' (1979)
* ''Jää vierellein'' (1981)
* ''Olen suomalainen'' (1983)
* ''Ovi elämään'' (1984)
* ''Osa minusta'' (1986)
* ''Elämän viulut'' (1987)
* ''Tää kaipuu'' (1988)
* ''Aikaan täysikuun'' (1990)
* ''Yön tuuli vain'' (1992)
* ''Sinitaikaa'' (1993)
* ''Laulaja'' (1994)
* ''Myrskyn jälkeen'' (1995) #23
* ''Meren kuisketta'' (1997) #9
* ''Sinut tulen aina muistamaan'' (1998) #7
* ''Valoon päin'' (1999) #5
* ''Bella Capri'' (2000) #6
* ''Kari Tapio konserttilavalla'' (2001) #30
* ''Joulun tarina'' (2001)
* ''Juna kulkee'' (2003) #4
* ''Toiset on luotuja kulkemaan'' (2004) #5
* ''Paalupaikka'' (2005) #5
* ''Kuin taivaisiin'' (2007) #1
* ''Kaksi maailmaa'' (March 26, 2008)
* ''Viimeiseen pisaraan'' (March 25, 2009)
* ''Vieras paratiisissa'' (May 5, 2010)
Compilations
* ''28 suosituinta levytystä'' (1987)
* ''Toivotut'' (1992)
* ''Viisitoista kesää'' (1995)
* ''20 suosikkia – Olen suomalainen'' (1995)
* ''20 suosikkia – Luoksesi Tukholmaan'' (1997)
* ''Parhaat'' (1997)
* ''Kaikki parhaat'' (1999) #2
* ''20 suosikkia – Kulkurin kyyneleet'' (2001)
* ''20 suosikkia – Sanoit liian paljon'' (2001)
* ''Kaikkien aikojen parhaat – 40 klassikkoa'' (2002) #17
* ''Nostalgia'' (2005)
* ''Lauluja rakkaudesta'' (2006) #13
* ''Laulaja 1945-2010'' (2011) #1
See also
*
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 ...
References
External links
MySpaceFacebookLast.FM
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapio, Kari
1945 births
2010 deaths
People from Suonenjoki
20th-century Finnish male singers
21st-century Finnish male singers