Annikki Tähti
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Annikki Tähti (in 1959–1978 Tähti-Tiensuu; 5 December 1929 – 19 June 2017) was a Finnish schlager singer, known for her wide
repertoire Repertory or repertoire () is the list or set of works a person or company is accustomed to performing. Whether the English or French spelling is used has no bearing, but it was the French word, with an accent on the first e, , that first took ho ...
ranging from
waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...
and
tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...
to swing and
Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and ) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America, which encompasses Music of Latin America, Latin America, Music of Spain, Spain, Mu ...
, over a career lasting more than fifty years.


Music career

Tähti's career began when a colleague arranged, behind her back, an audition with the composer and conductor
George de Godzinsky George de Godzinsky (5 July 1914 – 23 May 1994) was a Finnish composer, pianist and conductor. De Godzinsky is known for his Schlager music although he composed music for movies and operettas. De Godzinsky was born in Saint Petersburg, Russian ...
in 1950. After a few years working together, with de Godzinsky coaching and preparing Tähti for a singing career, she signed a deal with the newly established ''Scandia'' record label. Her breakthrough was a slow and nostalgic waltz, ' ( 'Remember Monrepos?'): released in 1955, it was the first
gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
in Finland, and decades later remains the fourth- best-selling Finnish single of all time. It was originally intended only as the
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
to Tähti's hit single ''Pieni sydän'', but became much more popular and was released in its own right. Tähti followed this in quick succession with more hits, including the 1955 ''Balladi Olavinlinnasta'' ( '
Olavinlinna Olavinlinna (), also known as St. Olaf's Castle, is a 15th-century three-tower castle located in Savonlinna, Finland. It is built on an island in the Kyrönsalmi strait that connects the lakes Haukivesi and Pihlajavesi (Saimaa), Pihlajavesi. It is ...
Ballad') and the 1956 ''Kuningaskobra'' ( 'King Cobra', Finnish version of
Teddy Powell Teddy Powell (born Teodoro Paolella; March 1, 1905 – November 17, 1993) was an American jazz musician, band leader, composer, and arranger. Some of his compositions were written under the pseudonym Freddy James. Born in Oakland, California, P ...
's 'Snake Charmer'), both of which were certified gold and are still among the best-selling Finnish singles, in 6th and 12th places, respectively. The peak of her career was in the 1950s and 1960s, fading somewhat after that, although she enjoyed a slight resurgence in the late 1970s and early 1980s.


Film career

Tähti's first film appearance was in the 1953 musical comedy ''
Two Funny Guys ''Two Funny Guys'' (Finnish: ''2 hauskaa vekkulia'') is a 1953 Finnish comedy film directed by Lasse Pöysti and starring Pöysti, Toini Vartiainen and Pentti Viljanen.Qvist & von Bagh p.256 The film's sets were designed by Kai Lappalainen. Ca ...
'', performing the song ''Onnen sävel'', which also became her first published record and therefore launched her career as a recording artist. Later she sang in
Matti Kassila Matti Kassila (12 January 1924 – 13 December 2018) was a Finnish film director who achieved fame as one of the most prominent Finnish filmmakers in the 1950s and 1960s. He is most famous for the series of four Inspector Palmu movies, based on t ...
's 1959 short film ''Iskelmäkuvia'', and in the 1960 musical film ''Iskelmäkaruselli pyörii''. More than forty years later, Tähti gained a new, younger audience, when she reprised her iconic ''Muistatko Monrepos’n'' in
Aki Kaurismäki Aki Olavi Kaurismäki (; born 4 April 1957) is a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the award-winning '' Drifting Clouds'' (1996), '' The Man Without a Past'' (2002), ''Le Havre'' (2011), '' The Other Side of Hope'' (201 ...
's 2002 film ''
The Man Without a Past ''The Man Without a Past'' () is a 2002 Finnish comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Aki Kaurismäki. Starring Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen and Juhani Niemelä, it is the second installment in Kaurismäki's ''Finland'' trilo ...
'', as a
Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
flea market manager performing at a ''
juhannus Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer, taking place on or near the date of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere; the longest day of the year. The name "midsummer" mainly refers to summer solstice festivals of European or ...
'' party for homeless people. She also featured in numerous TV music programmes and documentaries between 1959 and 2009.


Recognition

Tähti was awarded an honorary knighthood in the
Order of the Lion of Finland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...
. In 1992, she received the City of Vantaa Cultural Award for her distinguished artistic career. In 1998, she received a 'Special Emma' (''Erikois-Emma'') award. In 2004, Tähti was included on the ''
Suuret suomalaiset ''Suuret suomalaiset'' (''Great Finns'') was a 2004 television show broadcast in Finland by Yle (the Finnish Broadcasting Company), which determined the ''100 greatest Finns of all time'' according to the opinions of its viewers. The viewers we ...
'' ('Great Finns') top-100 list compiled by
Yle Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...
, at number 89. She was not originally nominated by the organisers, but received enough support in the public vote to make it to the list.


Personal life

Originally from the
Kallio Kallio (; ; literally " the rock") is a district and a neighbourhood in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, located on the eastern side of the Helsinki peninsula about one kilometre north from the city centre. It is one of the most densely pop ...
district of Helsinki, Tähti lived for much of her adult life in the
Martinlaakso Martinlaakso () is a district in Vantaa, Finland. Located in the Myyrmäki major region, it is the second most populous district in all of Vantaa, after Myyrmäki itself. In 2014, Martinlaakso had a population of 11,811, narrowly beating out Hakun ...
area of Vantaa. She was a private person, and in her own words "rather boring", who saw herself as a singer rather than a celebrity. In 2008, Tähti suffered a stroke (
cerebral infarction Cerebral infarction, also known as an ischemic stroke, is the pathologic process that results in an area of necrotic tissue in the brain (cerebral infarct). In mid to high income countries, a stroke is the main reason for disability among peo ...
), after which she stopped performing and no longer appeared in public. She had been married to conductor Pentti Tiensuu (m. 1959 — div. 1978), with whom she worked for many years. They had one child. Tähti spent her last years largely alone in a care home, her husband and son having died earlier, and she having no siblings or other close family. She died virtually destitute, despite the enduring success of her music.


See also

*
Laila Kinnunen Laura “Laila” Annikki Kinnunen (8 November 1939 – 26 October 2000) was a Finnish singer. She was one of the most popular Finnish singers of the 1950s and 1960s, and represented Finland at the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest, the first time Fi ...


References


External links


Annikki Tähti
in
Yle Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...
archives * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tähti, Annikki 20th-century Finnish women singers Singers from Helsinki 1929 births 2017 deaths Finnish schlager musicians Scandia (record label) artists