Kari Tapani Jalkanen, born on 22 November 1945 in Suonenjoki, Finland, was a Finnish pop singer-songwriter known as Kari Tapio. In the 1960s, he played with local bands ER‑Quartet and Jami & the Noisemakers and studied under Ture Ara in 1966. His first single, "Tuuli kääntyköön"/"Niskavuoren nuorimmainen" (1972), was followed by the breakthrough "Laula kanssain" (1976). Throughout the 1970s and 1980s he released albums like Aikapommi (1974), Olen suomalainen (1983), and Myrskyn jälkeen (1995). He earned the Iskelmä‑Finlandia award in 2003 and was a 2008 Eurovision candidate with "Valaise yö". Kari Tapio died of a heart attack on 7 December 2010 in Espoo.
