Jorma Kääriäinen / Jorma Kaariainen

Jorma Kääriäinen is a Finnish rock singer and guitarist who garnered fame as the frontman of the Agents for over a decade, including a series of Top Ten hit albums around the turn of the century. In 2003 he embarked on a successful solo career that kept him near the top of the charts. Born on April 29, 1961, in Kajaani, Finland, he made his solo recording debut in the late '70s with a couple English-language blues-rock singles on Poko Rekords, along with the full-length album Blues (1979) under the billing of Freddie Falcon. A quarter century would pass before his next solo material. In the meantime, between 1992 and 2006, he was the vocalist and a guitarist in the Agents, a long-running and perennially popular Finnish blues-rock band. During his tenure with the band, the Agents released a series of hit albums, Agents Is Back! (1996), Agents Is More (1997), Agents Is Best (1998), Laulava Sydän (1999), Agents Is Here! (2001), the latter of which was a chart-topper and all but one of which was at least a Top Ten hit. He reemerged as a solo recording artist in 2003 with the eponymous album Jorma Kääriäinen on EMI. The album was released in two versions, one in Finnish with red cover art, the other in English with blue cover art. His second album on EMI, Onnenlantti (2005), was like its predecessor a Top 30 hit. Its title track was released as a single. Third album Yhden Tähden Hotelli (2007) was far and away his most popular to date. It peaked at number three on the Finnish albums chart and includes the singles "Yksinäisten Miesten Kanjoni," "Yhden Tähden Hotelli," and "Memphis Tennessee." The follow-up album, Kädenjälki (2008), a collaboration with the Riku Niemi Orchestra, was also a number three hit. It includes the singles "Päivin Öin" and "Ohuella Langalla."