Jorma Kääriäinen

Jorma Kääriäinen, a Finnish rock singer and guitarist, first rose to prominence as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Agents, a position he held for more than ten years and that brought the band repeated Top Ten success near the millennium. He launched his own solo path in 2003, remaining close to the upper reaches of the Finnish charts thereafter. Born April 29, 1961, in Kajaani, Finland, he issued his earliest solo recordings in the late 1970s—two English-language blues-rock singles for Poko Rekords—followed by the album Blues (1979) under the name Freddie Falcon. Another quarter century elapsed before fresh solo work appeared. Between 1992 and 2006 he served as vocalist and guitarist for the Agents, a long-established Finnish blues-rock outfit whose popularity endured across decades. While he belonged to the group it issued a run of successful albums—Agents Is Back! (1996), Agents Is More (1997), Agents Is Best (1998), Laulava Sydän (1999), and Agents Is Here! (2001)—all but one of which reached the Top Ten, with the final title achieving the summit. He returned to solo recording in 2003 on EMI with the self-titled album Jorma Kääriäinen, issued in a Finnish-language edition sporting a red cover and an English-language edition in blue. His next EMI release, Onnenlantti (2005), also placed inside the Top 30, and its title track was issued as a single. The 2007 album Yhden Tähden Hotelli became his strongest seller to that point, climbing to number three on the Finnish albums chart and featuring the singles “Yksinäisten Miesten Kanjoni,” “Yhden Tähden Hotelli,” and “Memphis Tennessee.” Kädenjälki (2008), recorded in partnership with the Riku Niemi Orchestra, likewise reached number three and included the singles “Päivin Öin” and “Ohuella Langalla.”