Tapio Rautavaara
Encyclopedia
Kaj Tapio Rautavaara (8 March 1915 in Northern Pirkkala
, Finland
– 25 September 1979 in Helsinki
, Finland
) was a Finnish
athlete, singer and movie actor
.
in 1939, he had worked as a roadworker, a lumberjack and as a storeman at a co-operative mill. His national military service
was with the Finnish Navy
in the mid 1930's.
broke out the Navy was not very active in the war and Rautavaara was allowed to continue working at the Osuustukkukauppa (OTK) mill. However, when the Continuation War
broke out he was called to the army
and he was ordered to be the first year of the war in the front line
.
In summer 1942 Rautavaara was transferred to the war entertainment troops and worked for two years as a radio journalist on the frontier based Aunus Radio
. During this time he became known to the troops. In the summer of 1944 the Finns had to pull out from East Karelia
and Rautavaara’s radio career ended.
), Lapin jenkka (The Lappland Schottische), Juokse sinä humma (Run, Horse, Run), Kulkuri ja joutsen (The Tramp and the Swan), Tuopin jäljet (Marks of the Tankard), Sininen uni (Blue Dream) and Anttilan keväthuumaus (Anttila’s Spring Fever).
After the war Rautavaara met Reino Helismaa
, who composed and made the lyrics to Reissumies ja kissa (The Trip man and the cat), which became Rautavaara’s first hit. Composer Toivo Kärki
joined this team, which produced over the next ten years many popular songs.
In addition, Rautavaara composed and wrote the lyrics for many of his records. Rautavaara received gold records for the songs Isoisän olkihattu (Grandpa's Strawhat), Vain merimies voi tietää (Only a Sailor Could Know) and Häävalssi (The Wedding Waltz). The first song was written and composed by Rautavaara, the second one was composed by him and the lyrics were written by Heikki Saari.
Rautavaara, Helismaa and Esa Pakarinen toured Finland together at the end of the 1940s and the beginning of the 1950s. The touring stopped due to personal problems, but continued for a short period in the 1960s before Helismaa's death in 1965.
By the time of his death in 1979 Rautavaara had recorded 310 songs.
in the javelin
at the 1948 Summer Olympics
in London
with the result of 69.77 meters and competed successfully in many international javelin competitions. Furthermore, he won a bronze medal with the result of 66.40 meters in the 1946 European Championships in Athletics
in Oslo.
He also received the gold medal in the Finnish team in the archery
World Championships of 1958.
Rautavaara also won the Finnish Championship in the javelin (1944—45 and 1947—49) and in the archery in 1955.
in numerous Finnish film
s, and was also supposedly a candidate for the part of Tarzan
after Johnny Weissmuller
had quit his career.
and tango music and the popularity of the television. He continued to perform regularly, however, right up until his death, even though his gigs in the 1970s were in department store
s and topping out
ceremonies.
and hit his head on the floor. He was taken to a nearby health center, where his injuries were not taken seriously, as staff believed him to be drunk. His head was bandaged and he was sent home. The next night, he died as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage at his home in Oulunkylä
, Helsinki
. He was buried in Malmi Cemetery.
, the district of Helsinki, where Rautavaara lived most of his life.
created a TV documentary on Rautavaara entitled Tapsa occurring at the time of Rautavaara's death, i.e., in 1979. Timo Koivusalo
used Rautavaara's and Helismaa's tours as the basis for his movie Kulkuri ja joutsen in 1999.
, the frontman of the Finnish
rock
band HIM, regards Rautavaara as his greatest idol in Finnish music.
Nokia, Finland
Nokia, Finland is a town and a municipality on the banks of the Nokianvirta River in the region of Pirkanmaa, some west of Tampere. As of it has a population of .-History:...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
– 25 September 1979 in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
) was a Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
athlete, singer and movie actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early life
Tapio Rautavaara was raised by his single mother and his formal education ended at the elementary level. By the outbreak of the Finnish Winter WarWinter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
in 1939, he had worked as a roadworker, a lumberjack and as a storeman at a co-operative mill. His national military service
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
was with the Finnish Navy
Finnish Navy
The Finnish Navy is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS" simply short for "Finnish Navy Ship"...
in the mid 1930's.
War years
When the Winter WarWinter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
broke out the Navy was not very active in the war and Rautavaara was allowed to continue working at the Osuustukkukauppa (OTK) mill. However, when the Continuation War
Continuation War
The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...
broke out he was called to the army
Finnish Army
The Finnish Army is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces.Today's Army is divided into six branches: the infantry , field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, engineers, signals, and materiel troops.-History of the Finnish Army:Between 1809 and 1917 Finland was an autonomous part of...
and he was ordered to be the first year of the war in the front line
Front line
A front line is the farthest-most forward position of an armed force's personnel and equipment - generally in respect of maritime or land forces. Forward Line of Own Troops , or Forward Edge of Battle Area are technical terms used by all branches of the armed services...
.
In summer 1942 Rautavaara was transferred to the war entertainment troops and worked for two years as a radio journalist on the frontier based Aunus Radio
Aunus Radio
Aunus Radio was a Finnish radio station operating in an area held by Finland in East Karelia during the continuation war.-Formation:Finnish military command was aware of the significant impact radio had on the troops in the front...
. During this time he became known to the troops. In the summer of 1944 the Finns had to pull out from East Karelia
East Karelia
East Karelia , also rendered as Eastern Karelia or Russian Karelia, is a name for the part of Karelia that since the Treaty of Stolbova in 1617 has remained Christian Orthodox under Russian supremacy. It is separated from the western part of Karelia, called Finnish Karelia or historically Swedish...
and Rautavaara’s radio career ended.
Music career
Rautavaara was one of the most beloved singers in Finland. Some of his famous songs include Isoisän olkihattu (Grandfather’s Straw Hat), Reppu ja reissumies (The Backback and the Hobo), Korttipakka (The Deck of CardsThe Deck of Cards
"The Deck of Cards" is a recitative that was popularized in both the country and popular music fields, first during the late 1940s. This religious, touching tale of a young American soldier arrested and charged with playing cards during a church service first became a hit in the U.S. in 1948 by...
), Lapin jenkka (The Lappland Schottische), Juokse sinä humma (Run, Horse, Run), Kulkuri ja joutsen (The Tramp and the Swan), Tuopin jäljet (Marks of the Tankard), Sininen uni (Blue Dream) and Anttilan keväthuumaus (Anttila’s Spring Fever).
After the war Rautavaara met Reino Helismaa
Reino Helismaa
Reino Vihtori "Repe" Helismaa was a Finnish singer-songwriter, musician and scriptwriter, mainly known for his humorous, yet homely songs. One of his best-known interpreters was Tapio Rautavaara.-Works:...
, who composed and made the lyrics to Reissumies ja kissa (The Trip man and the cat), which became Rautavaara’s first hit. Composer Toivo Kärki
Toivo Kärki
Toivo Pietari Johannes Kärki was a Finnish composer, musician, music producer and arranger. He is especially remembered for his collaboration with Reino Helismaa....
joined this team, which produced over the next ten years many popular songs.
In addition, Rautavaara composed and wrote the lyrics for many of his records. Rautavaara received gold records for the songs Isoisän olkihattu (Grandpa's Strawhat), Vain merimies voi tietää (Only a Sailor Could Know) and Häävalssi (The Wedding Waltz). The first song was written and composed by Rautavaara, the second one was composed by him and the lyrics were written by Heikki Saari.
Rautavaara, Helismaa and Esa Pakarinen toured Finland together at the end of the 1940s and the beginning of the 1950s. The touring stopped due to personal problems, but continued for a short period in the 1960s before Helismaa's death in 1965.
By the time of his death in 1979 Rautavaara had recorded 310 songs.
Sports career
Rautavaara was also a very talented athlete. He became the Olympic ChampionGold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
in the javelin
Javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
at the 1948 Summer Olympics
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with the result of 69.77 meters and competed successfully in many international javelin competitions. Furthermore, he won a bronze medal with the result of 66.40 meters in the 1946 European Championships in Athletics
1946 European Championships in Athletics
The 3rd European Athletics Championships were held from 22 August to 25 August 1946 in the Bislett Stadion in Oslo, Norway . For the first time it was a combined event for men and women, and for the first time a city in Scandinavia hosted the championships....
in Oslo.
He also received the gold medal in the Finnish team in the archery
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
World Championships of 1958.
Rautavaara also won the Finnish Championship in the javelin (1944—45 and 1947—49) and in the archery in 1955.
Acting career
Rautavaara was cast as the protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
in numerous Finnish film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, and was also supposedly a candidate for the part of Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
after Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...
had quit his career.
Later years
The peak of Rautavaara’s popularity was in the 1950s, stretching into the early years of the 1960s. After that, his music was left in the shadow of RautalankaRautalanka
In common usage the Finnish word rautalanka means instrumental rock in general. Some enthusiasts use the term more narrowly to refer to the somewhat distinct style of playing it that has developed in Finland over the years...
and tango music and the popularity of the television. He continued to perform regularly, however, right up until his death, even though his gigs in the 1970s were in department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s and topping out
Topping out
In building construction, topping out is a ceremony held when the last beam is placed at the top of a building. The term may also refer to the overall completion of the building's structure, or an intermediate point, such as when the roof is dried in...
ceremonies.
Death and tributes
On 25 September 1979 Tapio Rautavaara slipped and fell at the Tikkurila Swimming Center in VantaaVantaa
Vantaa is a city and municipality in Finland. Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen make up the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.Vantaa, with its population of , is the fourth most populated city of Finland. The biggest airport in Finland, the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, is located there...
and hit his head on the floor. He was taken to a nearby health center, where his injuries were not taken seriously, as staff believed him to be drunk. His head was bandaged and he was sent home. The next night, he died as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage at his home in Oulunkylä
Oulunkylä
Oulunkylä is a suburb and a neighbourhood of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is located north from the center of the city.It has been inhabited since the 13th century. Earlier an independent municipality, it was made part of Helsinki in 1946. A rink used for speed skating and bandy is...
, Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
. He was buried in Malmi Cemetery.
Memorial
A memorial by Veikko Myller entitled (Kulkurin uni A Vagabond’s Dream) to the memory of Rautavaara is located in the market square in downtown OulunkyläOulunkylä
Oulunkylä is a suburb and a neighbourhood of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is located north from the center of the city.It has been inhabited since the 13th century. Earlier an independent municipality, it was made part of Helsinki in 1946. A rink used for speed skating and bandy is...
, the district of Helsinki, where Rautavaara lived most of his life.
TV documentary and movie
Peter von BaghPeter von Bagh
Kari Peter Conrad von Bagh is a Finnish film historian and director. He currently works as a professor of film history in the University of Art and Design Helsinki. He has written around 20 books about film and worked as a presenter for numerous television and radio programs about film and other...
created a TV documentary on Rautavaara entitled Tapsa occurring at the time of Rautavaara's death, i.e., in 1979. Timo Koivusalo
Timo Koivusalo
Timo Johannes Koivusalo is a Finnish actor, director, writer, columnist, composer and musician. His most successful film to date was Työnnän syvälle kammioon, which debuted in the movie theaters in 2001....
used Rautavaara's and Helismaa's tours as the basis for his movie Kulkuri ja joutsen in 1999.
Play
In spring 2007 the Nokia Workers’ Theater presented a play entitled Sininen uni (The Blue Dream), which was based on the life of Tapio Rautavaara.Rautavaara's influence on later groups
Ville ValoVille Valo
Ville Hermanni Valo is a Finnish singer, songwriter and frontman of the Finnish rock band HIM. He has received the "Golden God" award in 2004 by the heavy metal magazine Metal Hammer. Valo has a baritone vocal range. Valo was ranked number 80 in Hit Paraders Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time...
, the frontman of the Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band HIM, regards Rautavaara as his greatest idol in Finnish music.
Rautavaara's most renowned recordings
- Päivänsäde ja menninkäinen (The Sunbeam And The Troll), 1949/1965
- Reissumies ja kissa (The Tramp and the Cat), 1949
- Kulkuri ja joutsen (The Tramp and the Swan), 1950
- Isoisän olkihattu (Grandfathers Strawhat), 1951/1963
- Ontuva Eriksson (Limping Eriksson), 1951
- Sininen uni (Blue Dream), 1952
- Juokse sinä humma (Run, Horse), 1953
- Kulkuriveljeni Jan (My Drifter Brother Jan), 1956
- Yölinjalla, (On The Night Line), 1962
- Tuopin jäljet (The Marks of My Tankard), 1963
- En päivääkään vaihtaisi pois (I Wouldn't Change A Day), 1979
Rautavaara's filmography
- Vain sinulle (1945)
- Synnin jäljet (1946)
- Kuudes käsky (1947)
- Kultamitalivaimo (1947)
- Sinut minä tahdon (1949)
- Aila, Pohjolan tytär (1951)
- Rion yö (1951)
- Salakuljettajan laulu (1952)
- Pekka Puupää (1953)
- 2 hauskaa vekkulia (1953)
- Me tulemme taas (1953)
- Kummituskievari (1954)
- Veteraanin voitto (1955)
- Villi Pohjola (1955)
- Kaunis Kaarina (1955)
- Kahden ladun poikki (1958)
- Molskis, sanoi Eemeli, molskis! (1960)
- Tähtisumua (1961)
- X-paroni (1964)
- Anna (1970)
External links
- http://www.tapiorautavaara.net/
- A Vagabond’s Dream / Memorial to Tapio Rautavaara.