Juha Vainio
| Juha Vainio | |
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Juha "Watt" Vainio in 1965
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Juha Harri Vainio |
| Also known as | Junnu, Junnu Kaihomieli, Jorma Koski, Ilkka Lähde, Mirja Lähde, Kirsi Sunila, Heikki Ilmari |
| Born | May 10, 1938 |
| Origin | Kotka, Finland |
| Died | October 29, 1990 (aged 52) |
| Occupation(s) | lyricist, composer, singer |
| Years active | 1963–1990 |
Juha Harri "Junnu" Vainio, also known as Juha "Watt" Vainio (10 May 1938 in Kotka, Finland – 29 October 1990, Gryon, Switzerland) was a Finnish lyricist, singer, composer and teacher. With the lyrics or music to over 2,400 songs to his name, Vainio is as 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 a song on his first solo record, the 1964 Paras rautalankayhtye ("The Best Rautalanka Band"). Never used by itself, the nickname was always part of "Juha Watt Vainio".
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.
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