Jaak Joala (26 June 1950 – 25 September 2014) was an Estonian singer, musician and a member of two bands: Kristallid and Virmalised. He began as a

flautist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, later adding singing and

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

Biography

Early life

Jaak Joala was born in

Viljandi Viljandi (, , , , ) is a Populated places in Estonia, town and Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,255 in 2024. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

and grew up in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. His mother, Helgi Ridamäe, was a music teacher at various schools in Tallinn. His father was Arno Joala, who was a musician and who was later also known as a healer. When Jaak turned seven years old, he started to take piano lessons and in adolescence also began taking flute lessons.Яак Йоала: Больше не пою Лаванду
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Career

Joala is considered a music legend by some. He began his musical career with the beat group Kristallid (English: ''The Crystals'') in 1966 as a flautist, then as a singer and bassist. In 1968, he was the bassist and lead singer in the popular group Virmalised (English: ''Northern Lights''). With Virmalised, he sang several of Toivo Kurmet's songs: ''Ainult sul'' (''Only You Have''), ''Ma ei tea, miks (I Don't Know Why)'', ''Naer (Laughter)'', ''Taas on päev (Once Again The Day)'' and ''Üksinda (Alone)''. Joala introduced western rock music to Estonian and Soviet audiences by singing in his native language. In the 1980s, he earned the nickname Kremlin's Nightingale because he often performed and recorded in Russia, and a large part of his repertoire, comprising songs written by such great composers as Raimonds Pauls, David Tukhmanov and Alexander Zatsepin, at that time was sung in Russian. Joala's bandmate Paap Kõlar recounted that eventually Joala grew tired of performing, saying that Goskontsert, the Soviet entertainment agency, demanded that he perform. Kõlar suggested that Joala did not have much choice as to whether to perform or not.

Later career

In the 1990s, Joala's most well-known projects as a singer were with Kollane Allveelaev G (English: ''Yellow Submarine G''). They performed 1960s music along with

Ivo Linna Ivo Linna (born 12 June 1949 in Kuressaare) is an Estonian singer. Eurovision Song Contest and Eesti Laul He represented Estonia alongside Maarja Liis Ilus in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 in Oslo with the song " Kaelakee Hääl" (The Sound ...

, Karl Madis, Meelis Punder and others. In the middle of the 1990s he performed in joint concerts with

and Tõnis Mägi. The concert tour was informally nicknamed ''The Three Tenors Tour''. After the 1990s Joala devoted his time to teaching, producing and hosting on TV/radio. In the last ten years of his life he was largely reclusive.

Death

He died on 25 September 2014. He was buried in the Forest Cemetery of Tallinn.

Popular songs

* ''I'm Drawing You'' * ''Pick Мusic'' * '' Lavanda'' (duet with Sofia Rotaru) * ''Photos of the Loved Оnes'' * ''Wedding Horses''

Acknowledgements

* Merited Artist of the

Estonian SSR The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit ( union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the occupied and annexed territory of Estonia ...

(1980)

References

External links

Estonian comedian Hendrik Normann parodies Jaak Joala in his comedy show
(Video) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joala, Jaak 1950 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Estonian male singers Estonian flautists Estonian rock singers Estonian rock musicians People from Viljandi Burials at Metsakalmistu Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class 20th-century flautists