Monday, February 7, 2011

Israelites - Mistä sais


Reijo Karvonen is a Finnish singer and musician who was active in recording business from the mid 70's to early 80's. He recorded a solo album called "Tulossa" in 1975 and in 1978 another one with his backing group Ikaros. On this latter album "Ikaros" was this song "Mistä sais" (Where would I get (a job)). This was one of many reggae-style recordings Reijo made. The lyrics were written by band's keyboardist Anssi Tikanmäki, who later became famous as musician, arranger and songwriter in his own right. The original song "Israelites" was written and performed by a Jamaican singer and songwriter Desmond Dekker (b. Desmond Adolphus Dacres). It was released in 1968 and topped the UK Singles Chart, and it was the first reggae hit to do so. The song combined the Rastafarian religion with Jamaican rudeboy concerns on unemployment. "The Israelites" is a Rastafarian concept of black race being the Lost Children of Israel. You can see Desmond perform the song, here.

Here's the pair:

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