Juha Harri "Junnu" Vainio, also known as Juha "Watt" Vainio (10 May 1938 in Kotka, Finland – 29 October 1990, Gryon, SwitzerlandSuuri musiikkitietosanakirja, part 6, p. 199) was a Finnish lyricist, singer, composer and teacher. With the lyrics or music to over 2,400 songs to his name, Vainio is one of Finland's most prolific lyricists along with Sauvo Puhtila, Reino Helismaa and Vexi Salmi. Vainio enjoyed a short professional career as a teacher at Kymenranta Primary School.
Vainio began writing songs in the early 1960s and continued until his death. Apart from his home town Kotka, he lived for several years in Helsinki and Espoo. In his last years Vainio lived in Gryon, Switzerland, where he died of a heart attack in October 1990. He is buried in the family grave in Helsinki.
He was given the nickname "Watt" on account of his first solo single, the 1964 Paras rautalankayhtye ("The Best Rautalanka Band"). Never used by itself, the nickname was always part of "Juha Watt Vainio".
Biography
Family and childhood
Juha Harri Vainio was born on May 10, 1938, in Kotka, the first child of Tauno and Kaarina Vainio. He spent much of his early childhood in Vuoksenniska, Imatra. his two siblings were Marja (born 1944) and Markku (born 1946).
Vainio's grandfather, Emil Alajääski (born 1881), changed his name to Vainio soon after the turn of the century. Vainio's family on his father's side boasted many athletes whilst Kaarina Vainio had some athletic background. After becoming engaged to Kaarina in 1937, Tauno Vainio worked in Vuoksenniska as a regional head of the White Guard, and was known as a man of principle. Kaarina Vainio had a middle school education, and Tauno Vainio had graduated as a trade technician.
As a child, Juha Vainio loved singing and the family's neighbours often asked him to come over and perform. When the Winter War started in 1939, Juha was too young to understand events. After his father went to war as a captain of the military reserve force, Juha moved with his mother to Metsola, Kotka. As an adult, the only thing Juha Vainio remembered from the war were the air-raid sirens and people's anxiety. He once said that he was more afraid of the women next door than the war, but on the other hand admitted that the war left him with emotional scars. His song Eräänlainen sotaveteraani ("Some Kind of War Veteran"), on the album Sellaista elämä on ("That's How Life Is"), echoes these sentiments. Because Kotka was a harbour town and often bombed, Juha and his mother had to often evacuate. Sometimes they went to stay at her mother's cousins during the evacuations where Juha became friends with Olli Miettinen, a cousin of his mother. The two had an age difference of six years. The only brother of Kaarina Vainio, Mauno, was killed in the war.
In 1945, the Vainios moved into a detached house in Metsola where they lived until 1950 before moving again to Kotkansaari, in the centre of Kotka. Juha Vainio recalled that the most beautiful years of his childhood were spent in Metsola. It was there that he met Nestori Miikkulainen, four years his senior and who later featured in Vainio's song Vanhojapoikia viiksekkäitä ("Moustached Bachelors"). Vainio often spent time in the harbour of Kotka with his friends. He was fond of the sea throughout his life.
As a child Juha Vainio was diagnosed with congenital heart disease, causing his lips to turn blue, and the onset of rapid breathlessness. He underwent a heart operation in early 1949 at the same time as his mother suffered an attack of tuberculosis from which she later recovered. Juha was at first kept in the adults' ward due to the serious nature of the operation, but later transferred to the children's ward to recover. He soon went home and began to get better.
School Juha Vainio's education did not start well. Frustrated with school he was once absent for three weeks without permission. After primary school he attended a gymnasium in Kotka. At the same time his family moved from Metsola to Kotkansaari. During his school years, Vainio's best friend was Risto "Tiso" Warjus, two years his senior. They both sang in the Kotka Gymnasium choir. Vaino's music teacher at the gymnasium, Arvo Vainio, was nicknamed "Junnu" on account of his big nose resembling that of a comic book character of the same name. Later on the name was given to Juha Vainio because he had the same surname as the teacher.
When he was fifteen, Vainio felt sure he would become a writer. As a young man he read a book about poetics, and later said that the rules were easy to break once he had learned them. It became apparent in essays written whilst at the gymnasium that Juha had talent as a writer. However, teachers sometimes had mixed feelings about his writing; at one time he received no grade for a lighthearted column-like text he had written, because the teacher felt that it could not be graded as an essay. Although essays were his strong point, school was uninteresting for Juha. He considered quitting school, but the principal persuaded him to change his mind. He was transferred to another school and was later joined there by his friend Risto Warjus. In the end, the only school subjects in which Vainio excelled were singing and sports.
Around 1957 Vainio's family moved from the centre of Kotka to near the harbour. After a few years they moved again, this time to a neighbourhood near Sibeliuspuisto. From childhood, Juha Vainio practiced sport even though before surgery he had suffered from heart problems. He liked football and basketball, which were very popular in Kotka and also practiced high jump together with Tiso Warjus. After his heart operation, Juha's physical condition deteriorated, but doing sport helped him improve it.
First contact with music
Juha Vainio became interested in music and started socializing with musicians in the mid-1950s. The centre of jazz music in Kotka was the restaurant Fennia where performers including Keijo Laitinen and the cousin of Vainio's mother, Olli Miettinen played. Although Vainio was under-21 and classed as a minor, he managed to slip into the restaurant where he presented his lyrics to the musicians and was occasionally allowed to play the piano. Vainio recalled that his friends remembered him as being always penniless. He started drinking more and more, often asking his friends for a drink.
In late 1956 Vainio lived next door to one of his musician friends, Heikki Kauppinen, who was three years his senior. Vainio also became acquainted with drummer Erkki Liikanen. The friends had different tastes in music with Olli Miettinen and Reijo "Rempo" Tani listening to jazz, while Vainio liked schlager music. Vainio later named and described many of his friends in his song lyrics.
Vainio was called up in 1957 for service in the Finnish army. He was 19 years old and in the penultimate grade of gymnasium. However, he did not want to start his military service right after the matriculation exams, because he wanted to find a profession first. The next spring, the last year of gymnasium, he decided to go to Paris for the holidays with his friend Pekka. Vainio was supposed to pass his matriculation exams in the spring of 1959, but he failed the Swedish exam and had to wait until the autumn to pass it.
Fatherhood, teaching and military service In Fennia, Juha Vainio met his future wife Taina Kaukonen. When Taina became pregnant in early 1960, Juha's parents scolded the young father. As a result, the couple married in the summer of 1960 and a son Ilkka followed in October of the same year. Juha and Taina had three more children: Sami in 1961, Kalle in 1963 and Kati in 1967. At first the young couple lived at Juha's parents', but moved to Helsinki when Juha started his studies there. He studied at the Yhteiskunnallinen korkeakoulu (School of Social Sciences, which later became the University of Tampere) and later the Opettajakorkeakoulu (School of Vocational Teacher Education) where he graduated as a school teacher.
Juha Vainio taught higher classes at Yläpää Primary School where the pupils informally called him "Junnu". His teaching methods were relaxed, such as making the pupils sing a children's song instead of a hymn in the morning. The pupils could also eat and watch television with Vainio. In 1964 he had a temporary absence from teaching due to military service. Already having some reputation as a lyricist, whilst in the army Vainio was assigned to write the lyrics for the new cadence of the Karelia Brigade. Vainio finished his military service in the autumn of 1964, at the age of 26.
Breakthrough
Vainio's musical influences included Tapio Rautavaara, Georg Malmstén and Henry Theel. As a young man he trained to play music because he wanted to become a professional musician. He started writing lyrics for friends' bands,Juha Vainio: Legendan laulut – 48 mestariteosta (album sleeve) and his texts brought him some fame. Vainio was above all a lyricist; he wrote lyrics or music for over 2,400 published songs, the majority of which were recorded by others. Many of Vainio's lyrics were written for Toivo Kärki's compositions. He translated popular foreign songs into Finnish, work that he later abandoned since translators only received a fixed payment for their work rather than royalties.
At the beginning of his career, comedian Spede Pasanen asked Vainio and his friends to play in a radio show called Ruljanssiriihi ("Thrashing House of Rigmarole"Literal translation; the title also makes little sense in Finnish.). The band accepted, and after Pasanen gave up the radio show to start his television career, the musicians followed him. They played in Pasanen's shows including Speden saluuna ("Spede's Saloon") and 50 pientä minuuttia ("50 Small Minutes").
With the help of his friend Erkki Liikanen, Vainio got a record deal with recording company Finndisc. His debut single, Paras rautalankayhtye was recorded in 1964. At the same time Vainio received the nickname "Watt", which was printed on the front cover of the single. Vainio wrote lyrics for several performers, including Katri Helena. In 1965 his parents and siblings moved to Helsinki, and at about the same time Vainio and his family moved to Espoo, where they lived for over 25 years. In 1966 he lost a good friend when Olli Miettinen died at the age of 34.
Vainio's songs Mistä löydän ystävän ("Where Do I Find a Friend") and Maanantaitango ("Monday Tango") had already been recorded by Katri Helena in 1963 before Vainio's military service. After leaving the army, Vainio befriended composer and music journalist Sauvo Puhtila (known to the Finnish public by the pseudonym Saukki), who told him that Yleisradio was in need of lyricists. Eager to leave his job as a teacher, Vainio quit and started collaborating with musician Reino Markkula. Their song Sä kuulut päivään jokaiseen ("You Belong in Every Day"), composed by Markkula with lyrics by Vainio, was given to Eino Grön who made it into a hit.
Vainio worked at Fazer Music as a lyricist with monthly salary and at the same time wrote his own songs. He translated several international hits into Finnish, including Piilopaikka ("Hideout", originally "You've Got Your Troubles") by Danny and Nyt meni hermot ("Now I'm Furious"), which became the breakthrough recording of pop group "The First". Vainio was often late for arranged studio sessions, which irritated the bands and the company's management. At 30, Vainio wrote one of his best-known translations, Fredi's Kolmatta linjaa takaisin ("Back along Kolmas Linja""Kolmas linja" refers to a street in Helsinki.). Another success was his translation of The Beatles' "Penny Lane", recorded by Pepe Willberg as Rööperiin ("To Rööperi"). Although Vainio's version is set in Helsinki, he has said he was thinking about Kotka when he wrote the lyrics.