Tapio Rautavaara

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Kaj Tapio ”Tapsa” Rautavaara (March 8, 1915 in Northern Pirkkala, Finland – September 25, 1979 in Helsinki, Finland) was a Finnish athlete, singer and movie actor.

[edit] Early life

Tapio Rautavaara was born to a poor single mother in Northern Pirkkala. His school career ended after elementary school. Before the wars, he did physical labor as a stone crusher at roadwork sites, as a lumberjack and as a warehouse worker at a co-op mill. He completed his mandatory military service halfway through the 1930s with a stint in the Finnish Navy.

[edit] The war years

When the Winter War broke out, the draft board stated that the Navy would not see much action in the war, so Rautavaara was allowed to continue working at the Osuustukkukauppa (OTK) mill. When the Continuation War broke out, however, he was called up and transferred to the army and he spent the first two year’s of the war on the front line.

In summer 1943, Rautavaara was transferred to the entertainment troops and spent approximately one year as a radio journalist on Aunus Radio, which was meant for Finnish soldiers. This was thus the first time that his voice was heard by a large number of Finns. In the summer of 1944, the Finns rapidly pulled out of East Karelia and Rautavaara’s radio career came to a close.

[edit] Career

[edit] Music career

Rautavaara was one of Finland’s most beloved singers. Some of the other songs he is famous for include Isoisän olkihattu (Grandfather’s Straw Hat), Reppu ja reissumies (The Knapsack and the Travelling Man), Korttipakka (Deck of Cards), 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).

In the post-war era, Rautavaara met Reino Helismaa at the Puistola Community Hall. Helismaa went on to write and compose 'Reissumies ja kissa' for Rautavaara and this song became Rautavaara’s first hit. Their teamwork over the next ten years resulted in a significant number of songs that have left their mark on the history of Finnish music and many of the songs that Reino Helismaa wrote the lyrics for and that Toivo Kärki composed the music for were made famous by Rautavaara.

In addition, Rautavaara composed and wrote the lyrics for many of the songs he performed. Rautavaara received three gold records during his career, for the songs Isoisän olkihattu, Vain merimies voi tietää (Only a Sailor Could Know) and Häävalssi (The Wedding Waltz). The first song was completely written and composed by Rautavaara, the second one he composed for lyrics written by Heikki Saari.

Rautavaara, Helismaa and Esa Pakarinen toured Finland together at the end of the 1940 and the beginning of the 1950s. Rautavaara and Helismaa started having problems, however, when Rautavaara decided that it was more sensible that each one of them should perform separately and stopped their joint tours. Things started to go better, however, in the 1960s for a few years before Helismaa died in 1965.

By the time of his death in 1979, he had recorded a total of 310 songs and the most comprehensive collection of his works is the CD box set from 1995 that contains 100 of his songs.

[edit] Sports career

Rautavaara won the gold medal in the javelin at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London with a throw of 69.77 m and placed in the top three in many other international javelin competitions. He was also a member of the winning team representing Finland in the archery World Championships of 1958. Furthermore, he won a bronze with a throw of 66.40 m in the 1946 European Championships in Athletics held in Oslo. Rautavaara also won the Finnish Championship in the javelin throw in 1944–45 and 1947–49 in archery in 1955.

[edit] Acting career

Rautavaara acted in numerous Finnish films, and was also supposedly a candidate for the part of Tarzan after Johnny Weissmuller quit his career.

[edit] The 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 Rautalanka and tango music and the entertainment provided by the television. He continued to perform regularly, however, right up until his death, even though his gigs in the 1970s were in department stores and topping out ceremonies.

[edit] Death and tributes

On September 25, 1979 Tapio Rautavaara slipped and fell at the Tikkurila Swimming Center in Vantaa 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 passed away as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage at his home in Oulunkylä, Helsinki. He was buried in Malmi Cemetery.

[edit] Memorial

A memorial by Veikko Myller entitled (Kulkurin uni A Vagabond’s Dream) to him is located in the market square in downtown Oulunkylä, the district of Helsinki that Rautavaara spent most of his life in.

[edit] TV documentary and movie

Peter von Bagh created a TV documentary on Rautavaara entitled Tapsa the same fall that Rautavaara died, i.e., in 1979. Timo Koivusalo used Rautavaara and Helismaa's tours as the basis for his movie Kulkuri ja joutsen in 1999.

[edit] Play

In spring 2007, the Nokia Workers’ Theater presented a play for summer theater entitled Sininen uni (The Blue Dream), which is based on the life of Tapio Rautavaara. [1]

[edit] Rautavaara's influence on later groups

Ville Valo, frontman of the Finnish rock band HIM, regards Rautavaara as his greatest Finnish music idol.

[edit] Rautavaara's most renowned recordings

• Päivänsäde ja menninkäinen (the Sunlight 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 (the Grandfathers strawhat), 1951/1964
• Ontuva Eriksson (Limping Eriksson), 1951
• Sininen uni (the Blue dream), 1952
• Juokse sinä humma (Run my horse), 1953
• Kulkuriveljeni Jan (My drifter brother Jan), 1956
• Yölinjalla (I Walk the Line), 1962
• Tuopin jäljet (the marks of my tankard), 1963
• En päivääkään vaihtaisi pois (I wouldn't change a day), 1979

[edit] 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)

[edit] Notes

• This article is based on a translation of Tapio Rautavaara from the Finnish Wikipedia (7-15-2007).

[edit] External links

• Tapio Rautavaara at the Internet Movie Database
• A Vagabond’s Dream / Memorial to Tapio Rautavaara.
• Tapio Rautavaara at Last.fm
• Youtube