Tapio Rautavaara

Tapio Rautavaara is a Finnish singing legend with over 300 songs to his name whose recording career went all the way from 1946 until 1979. Born March 8, 1915, in Nokia, Finland, he initially rose to fame as a gold medalist javelin thrower at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. The following year he sang a couple hit singles, "Reissumies ja Kissa" and "Päivänsäde ja Menninkäinen." He had begun his singing career a few years earlier in 1946 but hadn't scored a hit single until 1949, thanks in part to his newfound celebrity as an Olympic gold medalist. He was most successful duri...