Olavi Virta - Topic

Olavi Virta was a Finnish singer, acclaimed during his time as the "King" of Finnish tango. Between 1939 and 1966 he recorded almost 600 songs, many of which are classics of Finnish popular music, and appeared in many films and theatrical productions. Of his most acclaimed tangos are Punatukkaiselle tytölleni, Ennen kuolemaa and Täysikuu, while standouts from his other popular songs are Poika varjoisalta kujalta, Hopeinen kuu, Eva and Kultainen nuoruus. He was also the second tenor of the quartet Kipparikvartetti in the early 1950s.
At the beginning of his career he received three gold records for the songs Ennen kuolemaa, Tulisuudelma and La Cumparsita. Virta also acted in sixteen different Finnish films, including ones of the then-popular Pekka Puupää series. When he began his career in 1939, he was marketed as the "Bing Crosby of Finland." He has also been compared to the American singer-actor Frank Sinatra.
Virta was very much popular in the 1950s
in Finland, however, around 1959 is when his life began to go into a bit of a sour direction.