Rauli Somerjoki (born Rauli Aarre Tapani Somerjoki; August 30, 1947 – January 14, 1987), known professionally as "Badding", was a

Finnish rock Finnish rock ( Finnish: ''suomirock'' or ''suomirokki''—also known as Finnsrock, Finnrock or Finrock) is rock music made in Finland. The initial rock and roll boom of the 1950s was preceded by a long tradition of popular culture. ''Suomirock'' ...

singer born in the town of

Somero Somero () is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is part of the Southwest Finland regions of Finland, region in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland, located nort ...

into a family of five children. His records were published on such labels as

Love Records Love Records was a record label from Finland established in 1966 by . It specialized in Finnish rock and also released jazz, leftist political songs, and ethnic music. Love released 384 LPs, 253 C- cassettes, 347 singles and 24 EPs. It wa ...

Career

Badding Somerjoki founded his first band, The Five Yes, in 1963 and also played in the group Suomen Talvisota 1939-1940. He and

M. A. Numminen Mies Mauri Antero Numminen (born 12 March 1940) is a Finnish artist who has worked in several different fields of music and culture. Biography Early life Mies Mauri Antero Numminen was born in Somero in Southwest Finland on 12 March 1940, ...

caused a major scandal in 1966 with provocative songs like "Mitä nuoren aviomiehen tulee muistaa" ('What Young Husbands Should Remember') and "Jenkka ulkosynnyttimistä" ('Vulva

Jenkka Jenkka () is a fast Culture of Finland, Finnish partner dance found in Finnish folk dance, the Finnish version of the schottische. It is danced to music in Time signature, or 4/4 time, time signature, with about 140 beats per minute. The dance a ...

'), whose performance resulted in the interruption of the concert by the police although the lyrics were simply texts from factual books on marriage and sexuality available in public libraries.
(in Finnish) Badding's most famous songs include "Fiilaten ja höyläten" (originally

Reelin' and Rockin' "Reelin' and Rockin'" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry. It was originally recorded in 1957 and released as the B-side of " Sweet Little Sixteen". Recording The song was recorded on December 29-30, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois. * Chuck B ...

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

); "Paratiisi" ('Paradise', a song composed by Badding himself and the lyrics written together with Arja Tiainen); "Bensaa suonissa" ('Gasoline in the veins', composed by Badding himself, with lyrics written by

Jarkko Laine Jarkko Aarre Juhani Laine (17 March 1947 – 19 August 2006) was a Finland, Finnish poet and a writer of prose and plays. He also translated American literature to Finnish.''International Who's who in Poetry''. United Kingdom, International Biog ...

); "Ikkunaprinsessa" ('Window Princess', originally Glendora); "Tähdet, tähdet" ('Stars, Stars', a song made by Somerjoki himself); and "Laivat" ('Ships', 'Parakhody', originally a Russian popular song). Badding started his solo career in 1970. He competed in the Syksyn sävel song contest with "Ja rokki soi" written by Matti ja Teppo. During his later career, Badding worked with the Agents. His last gig took place in

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; , formerly ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Ostrobothnia. Seinäjoki is located in the western interior of the country and along the Seinäjoki (river), River Seinäjoki. The population of Sein ...

on 28 December 1986. During the autumn, he had suffered many bouts of

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

. In January 1987, he died in Helsinki of alcohol-related ailments. He was only 39 years of age.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Synnyin rokkaamaan'' (1971) * ''Näin käy rock & roll'' (1974) * ''Sydän lämpöä täys'' (1975) * ''Rakkaudella – Raulilta'' (1982) / ''Sävel rakkauden'' (1986) / ''Bussi Somerolle'' (2001) * ''Ikkunaprinsessa'' (1982) * ''Tähdet, tähdet'' (1983) * ''Laivat'' (1985) Several compilation albums and a tribute album have been also released.

Works about

Book

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 ...

has used Somerjoki's music in his films and published a biography of Somerjoki titled ''Badding: Rauli Somerjoen elämä ja laulut'' (1996) written by Heikki Metsämäki and Juha Miettinen. Somerjoki also appeared in the film ''The Worthless'' () by

Mika Kaurismäki Mika Juhani Kaurismäki (; born 21 September 1955) is a Finnish film director. Early life and education Mika Kaurismäki was born in Orimattila. He is the elder brother of Aki Kaurismäki. After high school, Kaurismäki worked as a painter of ...

in 1982.

Docudrama film

In 2000

Markku Pölönen Markku Tapani Pölönen (born 16 September 1957 in Eno) is a Finnish film director, screenwriter, and editor; and the owner of film production company Suomen Filmiteollisuus. Pölönen's best known work is the 2004 film '' Dog Nail Clipper'' &md ...

directed the film '' Badding'', starring Janne Reinikainen about Somerjoki's life. (It is available on DVD, bundled with Pölönen's '' Onnen maa'', a

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

about a Finnish farm family, featuring

Finnish tango Finnish tango (), or FINtango, music is an established variation of the Argentine tango but whose rhythm follows the Ballroom tango. It was one of the most popular music forms for decades in Finland. History Early History Brought to Europe i ...

Notes

References

* Tony Latva and Petri Tuunainen, Iskelmän tähtitaivas, WSOY 2004,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Somerjoki, Rauli 1947 births 1987 deaths People from Somero 20th-century Finnish male singers