Run" was a hit in Finland and used by Yleisradio as their theme melody. The first real Finnish rautalanka hit was "Emma" by The Sounds, which became the image of Finnish rautalanka music. Many bands employed folk music and other styles of popular music as inspiration for their musical pieces. While rock music eventually superseded both Merseybeat and rautalanka in Finnish youth culture, the style survived as background music for many Finnish popular music performers, and Hank Marvin has been the example for many modern Finnish rock musicians. Style The essential hallmark of rautalanka sound is a strong lead guitar, usually a Fender Stratocaster (or its clone) with single coil pickups and tape echo guitar effect (in contrast to the spring reverb style echo used in surf music). Genuine tape echo devices are used often, and many bands do not use digital effects out of respect to the traditions. The traditions of rautalanka music in Finland are strong, and some of the most persistent traditions are: Rautalanka is a highly do-it-yourself music. Many rautalanka artists build their own custom guitars and amplifiers The music is very melodic, and the rhythm section only supports the lead guitar. Melodies tend to be melancholic and in minor keys. The names of rautalanka bands usually are English language plurals ending in letter 's', although there are exceptions. This is inherited from foreign groups such as The Shadows and The Ventures. Many rautalanka bands use uniform stage costumes in 1960s style. The lead guitar is prominent, melodies are crisp and stark, and the guitar playing style can be almost virtuosic. Overdrive and distortion are avoided, but tape echo is employed extensively. Any singer almost always plays the bass or rhythm guitar. While traditional rautalanka is today a marginal musical genre, followed by relatively small but enthusiastic circles, it didn't cease to exist in 1964. It has formed the basis for the whole of Finnish youth music, and the strong melodic heavy metal tradition in Finland has its roots in rautalanka guitar work. It is performed today not only as instrumental, but it has also been combined with popular and dance music, not the least because of the work of Topi Sorsakoski & Agents in the 1980s. The strong, echoing electric guitar in Finnish dance orchestras may today be more a rule than an exception. Bands Finland Viikate The Beatfox The Charades The Ironwire The Saints