Kari Tapani Jalkanen, better known by his stage name Kari Tapio, was a Finnish schlager and country & western singer. During his career, he was one of the most popular singers in Finland for decades; having sold over 830,000 certified records, he is the best-selling soloist in the country. Kari Tapio was born in Suonenjoki, Finland. In the 1960s he performed in his home town Pieksämäki with the local bands ER-Quartet and Jami & The Noisemakers. In 1966 he took singing lessons from Ture Ara.
After Kari Tapio's first single "Tuuli kääntyköön"/"Niskavuoren nuorimmainen" in 1972, he performed in Ilkka "Danny" Lipsanen's show. In the beginning his role was to take care of the snake that was used in the show. Before music became a job for him, he worked as a typesetter in a printing house.
In 1976 Kari Tapio finally broke through with his single Laula kanssain, which was followed by Viisitoista kesää and Kaipuu. In later years Olen suomalainen, Myrskyn jälkeen, En pyydä paljon and Paalupaikka, among others, were among his most popular songs. In 2003 the Iskelmä-Finlandia award was given to him.
Many of Kari Tapio's songs have influences from country music.