The Sounds is back!
• The Number One guitar band in Finland, during the
early 60s!
• The first export success for Finnish popular music!
• The guitar band which made ”Mandschurian Beat”
famous in Japan’s hit charts!
• They made an instrumental ”Emma” – a song, which is
”the must” for every guitar player in Finland!
• And now... The Sounds is back!
The Sounds
Original Guitar Music From Finland
Their first record, “Emma”, was made in 1963 and it is now 51 years
since the Finnish folk song was launched as a twist version for a guitar
band. Finnish guitar music has been going strong ever since.
“Emma” quickly spread over the whole of Finland and that and other
guitar instrumentals instantly won over the hearts of teenagers and
revolutionized the music business.The record topped the charts and
remained in the charts for over six months. The B-side of the single,
“Mandschurian Beat”, became popular in Japan and entered the bestselling charts there. The record was the first export success for Finnish
popular music.
A lot of effort was put into promoting The Sounds during the year 1963
and as a result their record company invited them to tour Japan.
The group members were school children at the time and their parents
concluded they are too young to travel to Japan. The Sounds often
performed on television and their records were played regularly on the
radio. This strengthened the group’s position as the number one band
in Finland.
The Sounds' current lineup is:
Erkki Sutela, lead guitar
Bobi Söderblom, rhythm guitar
Peter Ekman, bass
Esa Helasvuo, keyboards
Wille Granö, drums
The Sounds has now joined forces with the first ”Rock 'n' Roll King of
Finland” (1959) Rock-Jerry (Kaj Järnström) and with this instrumental
and genuine 50s and 60s rock 'n' roll mix, you can go back in time and
dance to your heart's content!
More info: www.thesounds.fi
Youtube links:
The next recordings in1963 were “Wanderer" and “Lonely Guitar”.
Both entered the charts. The group appeared in a TV commercial for
the “The Ricky Nelson Show”, which was very popular in those days,
playing “Kulkuri”.
During 1963 The Sounds performed in most Finnish cities and “Emma”
became the favorite hit of the young in Finland. Even today it is still
heard on the radio and is played at all major guitar music festivals
around the country. The Sounds stopped touring in 1965 because
some of the guys went to do their mandatory national service and
some continued studying, but after a long hiatus, The Sounds made
a comeback in 2011.
Emma - 1963
Mandschurian Beat - 1963
Wanderer (Kulkuri) - 1963
Lonely Guitar (Yksinäinen kitara) - 1963
Golden Earring (Kultaiset Korvarenkaat) - 1965
Santa Claus likes
the hit records of
The Sounds!