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Olavi Virta
Olavi Virta in the 1950s
Background information
Birth name
Oskari Olavi Ilmén
Born
(1915-02-27)27 February 1915 Sysmä, Grand Duchy of Finland
Died
14 July 1972(1972-07-14) (aged 57) Pispala, Tampere, Finland
Genres
Finnish tango
Occupation(s)
Songwriter, Actor
Years active
1939-1966
Labels
Warner Music Finland
Musical artist
Olavi Virta (originally until 1926 Oskari Olavi Ilmén; 27 February 1915 in Sysmä, Grand Duchy of Finland – 14 July 1972 in Pispala, Tampere, Finland) was a Finnish singer, acclaimed during his time as the "King" of Finnish tango.[1][2][3] Between 1939 and 1966 he recorded almost 600 songs, many of which are classics of Finnish popular music, and appeared in many films and theatrical productions.[4][2] Of his most acclaimed tangos are Punatukkaiselle tytölleni ("For My Red Haired Girl"), Ennen kuolemaa ("Before Death"; French: Avant de Mourir) and Täysikuu ("Full Moon"), while standouts from his other popular songs are Poika varjoisalta kujalta ("Boy From a Shady Alley"; Italian: Guaglione), Hopeinen kuu ("Silver Moon"; Italian: Guarda Che Luna), Eva and Kultainen nuoruus ("The Golden Youth").[5][4][6] He was also the second tenor of the quartet Kipparikvartetti in the early 1950s.
At the beginning of his career he received three gold records for the songs Ennen kuolemaa, Tulisuudelma (El Choclo) and La Cumparsita. Virta also acted in sixteen different Finnish films, including ones of the then-popular Pekka Puupää series. When he began his career in 1939, he was marketed as the "Bing Crosby of Finland." He has also been compared to the American singer-actor Frank Sinatra.[4][2]
Virta was very much popular in the 1950s
in Finland, however, around 1959 is when his life began to go into a bit of a sour direction. His wife Irene, whom he had three children with, left him and moved to Sweden in that year, he also began having health issues from an ever augmenting problem with alcoholism, diabetes, and a stroke. His career was officially off the ropes when it was cut short one night in 1962 when he was scandalously arrested for drunken driving in Ilomantsi, after which the press mockingly called him "The Singing Meatball." Ten years later he succumbed to alcoholism, living his final years in poverty.[4][2][3] He was buried in the Malmi Cemetery.
His influence in contemporary Finnish music has not been forgotten, and today a number of Finnish Schlager singers cite him as a particular role model or influence when it comes to the realm of music. At least one movie, debuting in October 2018 and simply called, "Olavi Virta" has been produced about his life, as well as one documentary by Finnish film director and historian, Peter von Bagh. He was one of the ten people to be chosen by the upcoming Finnish Music Hall of Fame museum due to be opened in Helsinki.[4][7][8]
^"The First Tango King Archived 2006-01-18 at the Wayback Machine by Pekka Gronow, Virtual Finland, November, 2001, retrieved June 17, 2006.
^ abcd"Olavi Virta". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
^ ab"Elämän kuluttama Olavi Virta tunsi yhä arvonsa tangon mestarina". yle.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2019-03-20.
^ abcde"Finland's Sinatra featured in new bio-pic". The Finnish-American Reporter. Vol. 33, no. 2. February 2019. p. 6.
^"Täysikuu (Full Moon), Olavi Virta. Video, Youtube". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2 Dec 2015.
^"Hopeinen Kuu (Guarda Che Luna) Olavi Virta. Video, Youtube". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2 Dec 2015.
^Olavi Virta, retrieved 2019-03-20
^Bałaga, Marta (17 August 2018). "The "king of Finnish tango" gets the biopic treatment in The Singer". Cineuropa. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
OlaviVirta (originally until 1926 Oskari Olavi Ilmén; 27 February 1915 in Sysmä, Grand Duchy of Finland – 14 July 1972 in Pispala, Tampere, Finland)...
include: Hannu Virta (born 1963), Finnish ice hockey player Nikolai Virta (1906–1976), Russian writer, Stalin Prize winner OlaviVirta (1915–1972), Finnish...
cinematographer Olavi Uusivirta (born 1983), Finnish rock/pop singer, songwriter and actor OlaviVirta (originally to 1926 Oskari Olavi Ilmen) (1915–1972)...
sole published book; his passion for fast cars led to his young death. OlaviVirta Reijo Taipale Eino Grön Tita Merello[TT] Edmundo Rivero[TT] Pyotr Leschenko...
versions of "Kiss of Fire" by Connie Francis and Nat King Cole. In 1953 OlaviVirta and Metro-Tytöt released a Finnish version, titled "Tulisuudelma", which...
Nunzio Gallo, Nilla Pizzi, Jos Cleber, Giacomo Rondinella, Mario Trevi, OlaviVirta, Renzo Arbore, Jo Basile [fr] (accordion), and the tenor Aldo Conti [ru]...
tango into the festival and perhaps a musical based on tango singer OlaviVirta. The idea was developed for a couple of years, but Ilmajoki was not interested...
Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic, Korean singer Insooni, Finnish singer OlaviVirta (in Finnish), Vietnamese singer Tùng Dương, Spanish singer Andrea Motis...
elements. After World War II but before rock and roll, names such as OlaviVirta or Tapio Rautavaara were popular singers, and Toivo Kärki and Reino Helismaa...
Children of Bodom), Petri Gerdt (Perpetrator of the Myyrmanni bombing), OlaviVirta, Tapio Rautavaara and Laila Kinnunen, designer Birger Kaipiainen, and...
composer, drummer Jussi Heikki Tapio Vuori – drummer of the 69 Eyes OlaviVirta – singer Laura Voutilainen – pop singer Maija Vilkkumaa – pop/rock singer...
of Tango festival). The most well known Finnish tango composers are OlaviVirta ("Punatukkaiselle tytölleni"), Toivo Kärki ("Liljankukka") and Unto Mononen...
a version with French lyrics under the title "Seize Tonnes" in 1956. OlaviVirta with Triola Orchestra released a version with Finnish lyrics by Reino...
composers of popular music was Toivo Kärki, and the most famous singer OlaviVirta (1915–1972). Among the lyricists, Sauvo Puhtila [fi] (1928–2014), Reino...
Carola Standertskjöld Mel Tormé René Touzet King Tubby The Ventures OlaviVirta Lawrence Welk Desi Arnaz sings the Spanish version in the 1941 film Father...
Nurmi, 1978; Otto Ville Kuusinen in Mies varjossa, 1994), musicians (OlaviVirta, 1972; Suomi Pop, 1984), actors (Tauno Palo, 1981) and film directors...
singing crew of a steamboat, under the direction of Bergström. Only OlaviVirta was seen on screen and Teijo Joutsela, Auvo Nuotio and Kauko Käyhkö only...
album by South Korean boy band Shinee re-released as Amigo "Amigo", by OlaviVirta, 1954 "Amigo" (Roberto Carlos song), 1977 "Amigo", by Roberto Blanco...
sculpture Elämän virta ("Flow of life") designed by Aimo Taleva is located at the park. It is a memorial to the schlager and tango singer OlaviVirta, who lived...
together with the band Agents, also singing songs earlier performed by OlaviVirta. Sorsakoski later had a solo career and also worked with the band Kulkukoirat...
truce period, the family returned home, where Gauriloff listened to OlaviVirta and Tatu Pekkarinen on his grandfather's gramophone. In 1944, after the...
Bad Company "Matalan Torpan Balladi" (Traditional, Reino Helismaa) by OlaviVirta, Johannes Virolainen, Katri Helena, Jukka Ruusumaa "Mean Conductor Blues"...
driver Lauri Viita (1916–1965), poet Sofia Vikman (born 1983), politician OlaviVirta (1915–1972), singer Juuso Walli (born 1996), professional ice hockey...
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