Vexi Salmi

Vexi Salmi
Vexi Salmi in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Veikko Olavi Salmi
Also known as	Bertil Berg, Bill Black, Lars Luode, Leo Länsi, Antero Ollikainen, PA, Pasi Penttilä, Rudolf Van Pornoff, Emil Retee, Emil von Retee, Irja Tähde
Born	(1942-09-21) 21 September 1942 (age 74)
Origin	Finland
Occupation(s)	Lyricist
Years active	1965–present

Veikko Olavi "Vexi" Salmi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈʋeksi ˈsɑlmi]; born 21 September 1942) is a Finnish lyricist. He has written the lyrics to numerous popular songs for several prominent artists, including Irwin Goodman, Jari Sillanpää, and Katri Helena. His career as a lyricist began in the 1960s, and continues to the present day. During his prolific career, he has written the lyrics for over 4,000 songs, more than 2,400 of which have been recorded. In addition to song lyrics, he has authored several novels and one collection of poetry. Salmi's recent work also includes collaborating with Ilkka Lipsanen on a 60th anniversary album, and he also acts as a judge in a television programme on music lyrics.

Salmi was awarded the Juha Vainio Writer's Award in 1993 for his long and successful career as a lyricist. Another music writer's award, the Vexi Salmi Award, was named after him in 2003.

Salmi was born in Hämeenlinna, Finland, on 21 September 1942. His father was a carpenter and his mother a factory worker. He was their second child, and his sister was five years older than he was. Salmi's father died in 1951 after having begun construction on a house, leaving his wife to finish the project.

At an early age, Salmi became friends with Antti Hammarberg. They grew up together on the same street, Rinkelinkatu, and while children, their first song together was "Humalamäki", a joking song they wrote about their neighbour. Hammarberg later changed his name to Irwin Goodman and became a popular Finnish folk and rock singer. Salmi wrote the lyrics for most of Goodman's compositions and acted as his manager, and their friendship lasted until Goodman's death in 1991.

Salmi worked for the Musiikki-Fazer record company in the mid-1960s and became a professional lyrics writer as well as a translator of international hits into Finnish. The company's production manager, Toivo Kärki, reluctantly took the beginning lyricist under his wing and taught him for five years, making him at first read Aristotle's Poetics and learn musical notation. During his time at Fazer, Salmi wrote numerous hit songs, including two consecutive winners of the Syksyn sävel song contest for Goodman. In 1974 he also wrote the lyrics for three Eurovision Song Contest candidates. The most successful of these songs was "Anna kaikkien kukkien kukkia", composed by Kärki and performed by Markku Aro.