Record #0881: He’s So Fine / Oh My Lover – THE CHIFFONS

Laurie 3152 (original), USA, January 1963
Words & Music by:  Side A – Ronnie Mack; Side B – Ronnie Mack
Musicians: Judy Craig (lead vocals), Patricia Bennett (backing vocals), Barbara Lee (backing vocals), Gary Chester (drums), the Tokens (all other instruments)
Recording sessions: Produced by the Tokens and engineered by Johnny Cue at Capitol Recording Studios, New York, NY, in December 1962
Highest chart positions:  Side A – US #1, US R&B #1, Canada #1, New Zealand #1, UK #16; Side B – none

This was the Chiffons' debut single - and a huge success. 

The vocal group The Tokens (famous for "The Lion Sleeps Tonight") produced the session. Because they were operating on a shoestring budget and couldn't afford a full unionized New York session band, the four members of The Tokens picked up the instruments and played the backing track themselves. They only hired one professional outsider: legendary session drummer Gary Chester. For a group known purely for their vocal harmonies, they accidentally laid down a Billboard #1 rhythm track.

The song's iconic background vocal line "Doo-lang doo-lang doo-lang" was audio engineer Johnny Cue's idea during the session.

“He’s So Fine” is central to a landmark legal battle involving former Beatle George Harrison. In 1971, Bright Tunes Music Corp. sued Harrison, claiming his 1970 solo hit "My Sweet Lord" plagiarized the musical hook of "He's So Fine." The judge ultimately ruled that Harrison had committed "unconscious plagiarism," as the two songs shared virtually identical melodic sequences. Harrison was ordered to pay a substantial portion of his song's royalties.

List price: VG+ is $10, NM $20. 45cat.com price guide shows €13. I found three copies sold in eBay for €24-€26.

 

Record #0880: The Enchanted Sea (Lumottu meri) / Kaunis Nainen (Oh, Pretty Woman) – EERO JA JUSSI & THE BOYS

RCA Victor FAS 926 (original), Finland, October 1964
Words & Music by:  Side A – Frank Metis, Randy Starr; Side B – Roy Orbison, William Dees, Solja Tuuli
Musicians: Eero Raittinen (lead vocals, drums), Jussi Raittinen (harmony vocals, rhythm guitar), Kaj Westerlund (lead guitar), Harry Sjöberg (bass on side A), Lasse Kvist (bass on side B), Rauno Lehtinen (organ on side A, piano on side B), Ilkka Luukkonen (tambourine on side B), Bo Nyman and others (handclaps on side B)
Recording sessions: Produced by Johan “Mosse” Vikstedt and engineered by Ronnie Kranck at Electrovox Studio in Helsinki, Finland; Side A – in July 1964; Side B – in October 1964
Highest chart positions:  Side A – none; Side B – Finland #10 (in January 1965, when Orbison’s original was #9)

Eero, Jussi & the Boys was formed in April 1964 and just three months later they were offered to tour East Germany (DDR) for a month. The tour was originally booked for a popular Swedish rock 'n' roll band, Jan Rohde & The Adventures. However, they backed out because they did not find the trip financially rewarding. Just before leaving for Germany, the band laid down the A-side of the record.

The tour was a massive success and the group returned to tour DDR in 1965.

In early 1965, the Finnish national broadcaster, Yle, captured a music video for “Kaunis Nainen” to be broadcast on the youth music show “Yeah yeah” on 14. February 1965. Because portable video technology was primitive, the entire clip was filmed playback-style outdoors at the Helsinki harbour. Eero, Jussi, and the band dressed up as rugged dockworkers, giving the performance a gritty, working-class visual identity. The pretty woman in the video was a rising local pop star, Marion Rung.

List price: A price guide for Finnish records and CDs lists this for 10 euros. Discogs.com median price is 5 €. I didn’t find any sold copies in eBay.

 

Record #0879: Räätälin ralli (Skräddarevisan) / Jannu tanssii valssia (Kväsarvalsen) – EERO JA JUSSI SEKÄ THE ESQUIRES

Decca 45-SD 5589 (original), Finland, May/June 1963
Words & Music by:  Side A – Stig Rossner, Britta, Reino “Repe” Helismaa; Side B – Arthur Högstedt, Reino “Repe” Helismaa
Musicians: Eero Raittinen (lead vocals, drums), Jussi Raittinen (harmony vocals, rhythm guitar), Reijo Bergström (lead guitar), Jorma Kalenius (bass)
Recording sessions: Produced by Reino Helismaa at Elektrovox Studio in Helsinki, Finland, on 22. May 1963
Highest chart positions:  none

Eero and Jussi were devoted rock ’n’ roll fans who wanted to play contemporary American-style rock. However, their label and producer, Reino Helismaa, steered them towards traditional Swedish folk and couplet songs updated with electric guitars. The brothers saw these as corny novelty numbers rather than authentic rock.

In October 1963, they left The Esquires to join the instrumental group The Sounds. Early the following year, they departed and formed their own backing band, The Boys, which remained active until 2023. Known as the “University of Finnish Rock & Pop”, The Boys produced an impressive roster of musicians who became prominent in Finland’s music scene.

Frankly, Helismaa didn’t do a good job here. To me, the arrangement and production is a bit of a mess. The only thing that works is the vocal harmonies of the Raittinen brothers. No wonder this didn’t enter the Finnish charts.

An interesting detail behind the writing credits of side A: both Stig Rossner and Britta were pseudonyms of Stig Andersson, who later became the manager of ABBA.

List price: A price guide for Finnish records and CDs lists this for 50 euros. Discogs.com median price is 12 €. I didn’t find any sold copies in eBay.