career, the musicians followed him. They played in Pasanen's shows including Speden saluuna ("Spede's Saloon") and 50 pientä minuuttia ("50 Small Minutes"). With the help of his friend Erkki Liikanen, Vainio got a record deal with recording company Finndisc. His debut single, Paras rautalankayhtye was recorded in 1964. At the same time Vainio received the nickname "Watt", which was printed on the front cover of the single. Vainio wrote lyrics for several performers, including Katri Helena. In 1965 his parents and siblings moved to Helsinki, and at about the same time Vainio and his family moved to Espoo, where they lived for over 25 years. In 1966 he lost a good friend when Olli Miettinen died at the age of 34. Vainio's songs Mistä löydän ystävän ("Where Do I Find a Friend") and Maanantaitango ("Monday Tango") had already been recorded by Katri Helena in 1963 before Vainio's military service. After leaving the army, Vainio befriended composer and music journalist Sauvo Puhtila (known to the Finnish public by the pseudonym Saukki), who told him that Yleisradio was in need of lyricists. Eager to leave his job as a teacher, Vainio quit and started collaborating with musician Reino Markkula. Their song Sä kuulut päivään jokaiseen ("You Belong in Every Day"), composed by Markkula with lyrics by Vainio, was given to Eino Grön who made it into a hit. Vainio worked at Fazer Music as a lyricist with monthly salary and at the same time wrote his own songs. He translated several international hits into Finnish, including Piilopaikka ("Hideout", originally "You've Got Your Troubles") by Danny and Nyt meni hermot ("Now I'm Furious"), which became the breakthrough recording of pop group "The First". Vainio was often late for arranged studio sessions, which irritated the bands and the company's management. At 30, Vainio wrote one of his best-known translations, Fredi's Kolmatta linjaa takaisin ("Back along Kolmas Linja"). Another success was his translation of The Beatles' "Penny Lane", recorded by Pepe Willberg as Rööperiin ("To Rööperi"). Although Vainio's version is set in Helsinki, he has said he was thinking about Kotka when he wrote the lyrics. In addition to writing songs for others, Vainio became a popular solo artist. He also wrote the music to several of his songs, despite never considering himself a singer or a composer but above all a lyricist. At first he worked with Pertti Metsärinne's orchestra, recording the song "Hum-Boogie"