Carola(1941-1997)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
The Finnish singer Carola Standerskjöld was an exceptionally gifted and
versatile artist. She was born in 1941 to a family which spent much of
her childhood out of the - at the time - stifling post-war conditions
in Finland. Her versatility and talents in learning foreign languages
emerged at an early age, especially during her studies in Switzerland,
when she also had her first experience in appearing for a public - in
Spain! Carola was especially interested of French chansons, which she
would present at school parties and other smaller occasions,
accompanying herself with her guitar. Anssi Pethman and his brother
Esa, two of the Finnish jazz wizards of the time and who formed a band
of their own in 1962, spotted the obvious talent of the young girl, and
managed to persuade her to become their vocalist. Esa Pethman
(saxophone) and Anssi (drums) with two other musicians formed a quartet
which was very popular in both Finland and Sweden, they also made some
fame in Poland and Tchechoslovakia. In 1963 Carola was ready to make a
record: the Jewish folk-song "Hava Nagila" was her first tribute, and
was published on the B-side of Laila Halmes - another shooting star of
the period - version of "Telstar" (RCA). After leaving the Pethmans she
was for a while engaged to the Swiss Hazy Osterwalds orchestra, and
gathered fine experience and good name touring the European scene and
performing in several popular television programs of the time. This
period of her life would later pay off as she became a household name
in her native Finland, where international connections and music from
abroad were the marks of a true artist. Her covers of some great hits
like Dusty Sprinfields "You are my world" and Herb Alperts " Taste of
Honey" were hits, and other records sold very well too. Her career
peaked during the sixties, but she was beginning to feel the strain of
constantly being in the public eye: she wanted a life of her own. She
realized this dream in the early 70s by practically ending her career
as a public performer. Her love for jazz did however not leave her, so
she made some public appearances on club level after that too,
especially with UMO (Uuden musiikin orkesteri). Carola made a brief
comeback in 1980 by publishing the Latino-style album "Maria, Maria"
(Gold Disc), but after that she gave up her public appearances for
good. At about 1985 the tragic news came out: Carola had been diagnosed
with Alzheimer's disease. Regardless of her mind-crippling condition
she appeared with UMO in 1987 and the pianist Iiro Rantala in 1989. In
the early 90s she performed alone at some charity concerts. November
12th, 1997 the talented artist passed away at the age of 56
years.
