Elvis In Latin

Happy Childhood

I was born in Tampere and spent my youth in Kauttua, south-west Finland. My childhood was happy. I didn't really have to take care of the school.My parents and two older sisters allowed me to play and sing as much as I wanted and listen to Rock'n Roll all day long.

Elvis -My idol

Elvis was my big idol when I was young. I got a guitar and during the 60's I was singing in the band.

Academic career

I was also interested in sports. When I started to study literature in the Turku University, I almost forgot the music. At the same time I had some success in Judo.

After I had spent a scholarship year in Germany, we started a family. We moved near Jyväskylä. We got three children. I finished my doctoral thesis and started to teach at the University of Jyväskylä.

Music came back

The divorce changed my life in 1988. I was a lonely man in a big house on the shore of the lake. The music, nearly forgotten, came back to my life. My first album in Latin was Tango Triste Finnicum" (1993). It contains the most beautiful Finnish tangos in Latin. Finnish foreign ministry delivered the album to the Vatican. Myself and Dr. Teivas Oksala, who translated the songs, were honored by the Pope's medal in 1994.

Elvis in Latin

In 1994 I was planning a new album in Latin."The Legend Lives Forever in Latin" was published in 1995 (Elvis' 60th birthday). It contains melodic Elvis songs like "Love me tender" and "Can't help falling in love". CD single "Rock Latine" was published in December 1995. Album "Rocking in Latin" was published in 1997.

During the 90's I travelled all around the world in the USA, South-America and many European countries. I performed in the radio and TV both abroad and in Finland.

New Milleniun, New Project

For the New Millenium, Doctor Ammondt with professor Simo Parmola, has prepared a major surprise for the world. On 5th July 2001, the first-ever album sung in Sumerian was released at the 47th Recontre International Assyrologique, a conference held at the University of Helsinki. One of the best-known classic rock songs of all time, Carl Pekins' "Blue Suede Shoes" will stir listeners' hearts when sung in the world's oldest known language. On the CD you'll find also Unto Mononen's "Satumaa" (Land of Dreams) known as the national tango of Finland. Also included is a new song, "Gilgamesh", inspired by the world's first known heroic epic.

The lyrics have been translated into Sumerian by Simo Parmola, professor of Assyrology at he University of Helsinki and Director of the State Archives of Assyria Project.

"There is a primitive strength in Sumerian and singing this language is like a holy ritual for me", says Doctor Ammondt.

"This project has been very interesting, I'm sure it provides modern people an exciting journey to the very roots of our civilization. I wish that this recording in Sumerian could remind us, people of the New Millenium, of the importance of those ancient cultures that are the basis of our modern lives."