Juha Vainio - Legacy

Legacy

Since Vainio's death many tribute concerts have been staged, with an event to celebrate his 70th birthday taking place in May 2008. Vainio's friend, songwriter Jukka Virtanen, wrote a play called Albatrossi ja Heiskanen ("The Albatross and Heiskanen") based on Vainio's songs. It was first performed in his hometown Kotka in 1992 and has been performed many times since. The Finnish film Keisarikunta ("The Empire") describes the youth of Vainio and his friends in Kotka during the 1950s.

The "Juha Vainio Award" (Juha Vainio-palkinto) for writers was introduced in 1991 and is given annually to notable Finnish lyricists with yearly prize money of 5,000 euros (previously 30,000 Finnish markkas). In December 1994, a club named Junnun Lauluseura (Junnu's singing club) was established. Its members include Vainio's friends Keijo Laitinen, Pertti Metsärinne and Reijo Tani. The club has published two books entitles Junnun laululipas 1 and Junnun laululipas 2.

Vainio's work continues to have major relevance in Finnish popular music, an example of which being two Vainio cover albums by Vesa-Matti Loiri in 2003 and 2004.

All of the songs that Vainio recorded were published in 2008 in a CD boxed set Legendan laulut – Kaikki levytykset 1963–1990 ("Songs of the Legend – All Recordings 1963–1990"). It included his advertising jingles, bawdy songs and a book. A compilation album released with the boxed set called Legendan laulut – 48 mestariteosta ("Songs of the Legend – 40 Masterpieces") reached second place in Finnish album charts. Juha Vainio's son Ilkka Vainio is in the music business and works as a music producer and songwriter.