Iskelmätaivaan conker Eino Grön, 87, tours hard with gigs and doesn’t think too much about the future. He says that he witnessed the shortcomings of caring for the elderly almost every day, when his memory-diseased wife Marjatta was still living her daily life in a nursing home.
Iskelmä singer Eino Grön87, belongs to the few and chosen who have been able to entertain Finns in eight different decades. His career began in the 1950s in Pori’s Reposaari, and the man’s ways have taken him to sing all over Finland in various venues.
– Herrantähten, how can that be possible, laughs Grö on the observation deck of the apartment building in Espoo, from which a beautiful view opens out to the Gulf of Finland.
At this point, Grön is still enjoying his long career, in which, to be honest, there have been enough stages. It is not yet known that after the interview, the Iskelmä singer will take Iltalehti’s cameraman in a wrestling match.
– When I started young, it was just singing since kindergarten. I got good channels and people who guided me in the field of singing, like Toivo Kärki. Of course, I’ve also been lucky, Grön smiles.
The athletic Grön participated in wrestling competitions in the early days and even won TUL’s bronze medal in the 67 kg category in 1959. Sometimes he could go straight to a gig from a wrestling match in his hometown.
Nowadays, Grön is a popular performer in old people’s homes, but on May 29, he will be on a different stage and perform on the Tavastia club’s rock sanctuary stage with the Gepardi party band.
The singer enjoys concerts because the itinerant lifestyle gives the eighty-year-old energy. Anniina Nikander
Wonders about Frederik’s speeches
In the fall, the singer tours Finland’s concert halls with the Herrasmiehet lavalla line-up, i.e Danny’s, Erkki Liikanen, Kari Vepsän and Pasi Kauniston with. In some localities, they are also involved Kai Hyttinen and Sakari Kuosmanenas well as representing the younger generation Eikka Eronen.
– It’s nice, especially since we usually meet so rarely. The soloists rarely meet each other, he laments.
Legend says that he is waiting to socialize with his colleagues. He thinks it’s great that everyone gets to perform their own hits.
Eino Grön is a conscious singer Frederik’s of a public outcry because he felt he had been left out of the tour. The singer reminds that the event organizer has decision-making power regarding the artists.
– Surely he should know that we have nothing to do with it. You don’t start crying about it in the papers, Grön shakes his head.
Grön wonders about Frederik’s statements in the press about the Gentlemen’s tour. Anniina Nikander
Hardest place
The breezy octogenarian isn’t going to slow down. Part of Grön’s generation has moved to live in a nursing home, but he hasn’t even thought about such scenarios.
– I’ve just pressed the dune, he says.
– I have been able to be so healthy that it is considered a natural thing. I wouldn’t be here if I had gotten sick. I always thank upstairs for my health.
He admits that his health can partly be a result of his sporty lifestyle and quitting booze in 1977.
Grön wants to maintain his independence, because he saw with his own eyes Berry– his wife’s everyday life in a nursing home for memory sufferers. He says that he witnessed labor shortages and language problems of caregivers with immigrant backgrounds almost every day.
The corona pandemic completely ruined the condition of the beloved spouse.
– It happened to Marjata at such a bad time. We couldn’t visit him and we couldn’t talk to him. That’s when you noticed that the communication dropped right after that. Then the walks and exercise stopped. The staff took away the food, he was not moved, and there was no communication with him, Grön describes.
The singer states that even the nurses’ hands were tied during the exceptional situation of the pandemic, and they followed the given healthcare instructions. According to Grön, it was really tough when the relatives couldn’t get inside to see Marjatta at the worst time.
– Time passed, and I said that I want to see him now. I asked the nurses to bring him to the balcony. That’s when I noticed, when he had nurses on both sides supporting him, that his walking had gone bad, Grön’s times.
– Then he stayed in that bed. Food was brought, but communication and transportation remained. That was it then.
The fate of Marjatta’s wife makes Grön serious. Anniina Nikander
Grön says that after the corona pandemic, Marjatta’s wife took her last breath in Midsummer 2024.
– It was a pretty tight situation, he sighs.
One thought has been left to gnaw at the iskelmä legend.
– Marjatta was a popular occupational health nurse in her time, and she rarely came home from work that day with flowers. He was liked. That’s what he really thought inside when he was alone there in the booth, Grön says.
Skills in store
After his wife’s death, Grön has settled in Espoo and relies on his adult son in everyday life.
– Of course, I’ve learned to live alone now, he says.
– Yes, of course you feel it sometimes. We were together for so long that I guess that’s why I miss it a little bit.
The singer still knows the old wrestling moves. Anniina Nikander
Grön says that he is currently getting strength from his friends and from the fact that new music is also in the works. He himself is surprised that he is in excellent condition, only blood pressure medication is being used.
– I am happy in that sense.
At the end of the interview, a video will be made in which Iltalehti’s cameraman, who is fond of wrestling, suggests that Grön show off his skills. Grön modestly states that he could use a little of it.
The surprised squeal reveals that the gray panther has not yet forgotten the wrestling tricks used to defeat the opponent.
