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{{Short description|Estonian musician and athlete (1930–2021)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Uno Loop
| image           = Uno Loop Kadrioru kõlakojas 74 (cropped).jpg
| caption         = Loop performing in 1974
| image_upright   = 1.2
| birth_name      =
| alias           =
| birth_date      = {{Birth date|1930|05|31|df=yes}}
| birth_place     = [[Tallinn]], Estonia
| death_date      = {{Death date and age|2021|09|08|1930|5|31|df=y}}
| death_place     = [[Keila]], [[Harju County]], Estonia
| origin          =
| instrument      = Vocals, guitar
| genre           = [[Music of the Soviet Union#Soviet estrada|Estrada]], [[jazz]], [[swing music|swing]], pop, [[bossa nova]]
| occupation      = Singer, guitarist, athlete, actor, educator
| years_active    = 1952–2010
| label           = [[Melodiya]]<br>Theka<br>[[Eesti Raadio]]<br>[[List of record labels from Estonia|HyperElwood]]
| associated_acts =
| website         =
}}
'''Uno Loop''' (31 May 1930 – 8 September 2021)<ref name="ESBL">{{cite web |url=http://www.esbl.ee/biograafia/Uno_Loop|title=Loop, Uno|date=2009|work=Eesti spordi biograafiline leksikon|access-date=8 November 2019|language=et}}</ref> was an [[Estonians|Estonian]] singer, musician, athlete, actor, and educator. Loop's career as a musician and singer began in the early 1950s. He performed with various ensembles and as a popular soloist beginning in the 1960s. In his youth, he trained as a boxer, and became the  1947–48 light-middleweight two-time [[Estonian Boxing Association|Estonian Junior Champion]]. Later, he trained as a [[triathlon|triathlete]]. Between the late 1950s and the early 1990s, he taught music, voice and guitar. Loop also worked as an actor, and appeared in several films beginning in the 1960s and in several roles in [[Television in Estonia|Estonian television series]].
==Early life, education, and sport==
Uno Loop was born in [[Tallinn]] to Eduard and Amilde Hildegard Loop (''née'' Vesiloik) and grew up in Tallinn and the village of [[Nabala]] in [[Harju County]].<ref name="Kool" /> Interested in music from an early age, he attended the [[Georg Ots Tallinn Music College|Music School of Tallinn]], receiving a degree in [[music theory]] in 1958 and became an accomplished guitarist.<ref name="Kitarr">{{cite web |url=https://www.kitarr.ee/loop/|title=Kitarriõpetaja Uno Loop|date=3 March 2012 |work=Ajakiri Kitarr|access-date=8 November 2019|language=et}}</ref> In his youth, Loop was also interested in athletics, particularly boxing, and began training and competing in matches in his early teens. At the age of 17, he became the 1947–48 light-middleweight two-time [[Estonian Boxing Association|Estonian Junior Champion]].<ref name="ESBL" /> After school, he initially planned on becoming a sailor, but was invited by composer, musician, and Music School of Tallinn music theory lecturer [[Uno Naissoo]] to join his [[swing music|swing]] and [[jazz]] music ensemble Swing Club as a guitarist.<ref name="Band">{{cite web |url=https://elu24.postimees.ee/71783/uno-loobi-estraadilauludest-ja-elust-valmib-muusikal|title=Uno Loobi estraadilauludest ja elust valmib muusikal|first=Karilin|last=Engelbrecht|date=21 January 2009|work=[[Postimees]]|access-date=8 November 2019|language=et}}</ref>
==Career==
===Musician and educator===
While performing with the ensemble Swing Club, Loop also began teaching music and guitar at his alma mater, the Tallinn Higher Music School in 1959.<ref name="Swing">{{cite web |url=https://kroonika.delfi.ee/artikkel/94536019/suri-armastatud-laulja-uno-loop|title=Suri armastatud laulja Uno Loop|date=8 September 2021|work=[[Kroonika]]|access-date=9 September 2021|language=et}}</ref> In the late 1950s, he also performed with the Tallinn-based ensemble Sinilind and the jazz group Metronoom, which included Uno Naissoo and other notable singers, composers, and musicians such as Kalju Terasmaa, [[Eri Klas]], Tiit Varts, and Hillar Kareva.<ref name="EP">{{cite web |url=https://epl.delfi.ee/kultuur/uno-loop-esitleb-elulooraamatut?id=51177005|title=Uno Loop esitleb elulooraamatut |date=4 September 2009|work=[[Eesti Päevaleht]]|access-date=8 November 2019|language=et}}</ref> In 1960, he performed as a singer and guitarist with the Estonian Radio Male Quartet with Eri Klas, Kalju Terasmaa and Arved Haug, leaving to join the Estonian Radio Estrada (Variety) Orchestra. The quartet recorded several songs with noted Estonian baritone [[Georg Ots]]. From 1961 until 1965, he performed as a soloist singer for the National Philharmonic of the Estonian SSR.<ref name="Swing">{{cite web |url=https://kroonika.delfi.ee/artikkel/94536019/suri-armastatud-laulja-uno-loop|title=Suri armastatud laulja Uno Loop|date=8 September 2021|work=[[Kroonika]]|access-date=9 September 2021|language=et}}</ref>
During the 1960s, Loop became a popular soloist singer, performing [[Estonian language]] light pop, jazz, and [[Estrada (music genre)|estrada]] music, and was frequently seen on [[Eesti Televisioon]] (ETV).<ref name="ERR" /> One of his first hits of the era was the 1963 Arne Oit-composed and Heldur Karmo-penned song "Lõke preerias", which has since been covered by several Estonian artists.<ref name="ERR">{{cite web |url=https://arhiiv.err.ee/vaata/estraadisangarid-uno-loop|title=Estraadisangarid: Uno Loop|date=17 April 2017|work=[[Eesti Rahvusringhääling]]|access-date=8 November 2019|language=et}}</ref>
In 1964, Uno Loop wrote the first Estonian language guitar textbook, ''Kitarrimängu õpik'', published by Eesti Riiklik Kirjastus and illustrated by [[Olev Subbi]]. It remained the only Estonian language guitar textbook until 1991.<ref name="Kitarr" />
Popular hit songs from the 1970s include "Mis värvi on armastus" from 1971, and several duets with singer [[Heidy Tamme]] (a singer he frequently performed with since the 1960s) including "Uued Laulud" in 1971 and "Na-na-na" in 1973. In 1970, the [[Melodiya]] label released the [[bossa nova]] album ''Uno Loop, Marju Kuut'' which featured Loop performing with singer [[:et:Marju Kuut|Marju Kuut]]. In 1972, another pairing with Kuut, ''Marju Kuut & Uno Loop'', was released. Other popular songs from his repertoire include: "Korraks vaid", "Isad ja pojad", "Kamina ees", "Väike neiu", "Ära koo mu käpikuisse päikest", "Vana klaver", "Oled teinud mind õnnelikuks", "Suudlused soolaste huultega", "Sinilind", and "Päiksepoolsel tänaval".<ref name="Kool" /> Throughout his career, he has performed with and recorded music with a number of prominent musicians and singers, including [[Voldemar Kuslap]], [[Ivo Linna]], [[Jaak Joala]], [[Kalmer Tennosaar]], [[:et:Els Himma|Els Himma]], [[:et:Vally Ojavere|Vally Ojavere]], [[Heli Lääts]], and [[Ülle Toming]]. In addition to his native Estonian, Loop has also performed and recorded music in the Russian language. During his solo career and work with various ensembles, Loop has released dozens of albums, with numerous [[greatest hits album]]s being released throughout the 1990s and into the 2010s.<ref name="ERR" />
From 1975 until 1992, Loop taught guitar, song, and music at the [[Georg Ots Tallinn Music College|Georg Ots Tallinn Music School]]. In 1980, he returned to studies at [[Tallinn University|Tallinn Pedagogical University]] (now, Tallinn University), and received a degree in orchestral conducting.<ref name="Kool">{{cite web |url=https://kultuur.postimees.ee/2698670/uno-loop-paeva-kiida-ohtul|title=Uno Loop: päeva kiida õhtul|first=Verni|last=Leivak|date=16 February 2014|work=[[Postimees]]|access-date=8 November 2019|language=et}}</ref>
Loop's last public performance was a concert held at the Nokia ([[Alexela Concert Hall|Alexela]]) Concert Hall in Tallinn on 30 December 2010, and he retired shortly afterwards.<ref name="Kool" />
===Actor===
In 1961, Loop garnered his first acting role as Paul in the Viktor Nevežin-directed Tallinna Kinostuudio (now, [[Tallinnfilm]]) musical comedy ''Juhuslik kohtumine'', starring Georg Ots and [[Lia Laats]].<ref name="Film">{{cite web |url=https://etv2.err.ee/949847/juhuslik-kohtumine|title=Juhuslik kohtumine|date=2019|work=[[ETV2]]|access-date=8 November 2019|language=et}}</ref> This was followed by a few smaller roles in the early 1970s, mostly performing musical numbers.<ref name="EFA">{{cite web |url=http://www.efis.ee/en/filmmakers/filmmaker/id/1625/|title=Uno Loop|date=2009|work=Eesti filmi andmebaas|access-date=8 November 2019|language=et}}</ref> In 1969, he appeared in the [[Tõnis Kask]]-directed Russian language drama film ''Chyornyy, kak ya'', based on the 1961 book ''[[Black Like Me]]'' by American journalist [[John Howard Griffin]]. In the intervening years, he could often be seen on television as a musical performer. In 2010, he made two guest appearances as the character Erlend Rüütli on the [[TV3 (Estonia)|TV3]] comedy-crime series ''[[Kättemaksukontor]]''.<ref name="Family" />
===Athlete===
[[File:Uno Loop 88.jpg|thumb|Loop participating in a [[triathlon]] in Tallinn in 1988]]
Interested in sports since his youth as a boxer, in 1993, Loop founded the XXI Sajandi Klubi (21st Century Triathlon Club) and was the club's CEO until 2007, and later was the club's Honorary President. From 1992 until 1997, Loop was a board member of the [[Estonian Triathlon Union]], and an Honorary Member since 1997.<ref name="ESBL" />
===Other ventures===
In 2000, Loop was a founding member of the Estonian Performers' Union (''Eesti Esitajate Liit'', or ''EEL''), a non-profit organization established to administer and promote the rights of performers by collecting remunerations under the Estonian Copyright Act and distributing them among artists and performers who are entitled to them.<ref name="ESBL" /><ref name="EEL">{{cite web |url=http://www.eel.ee/en/|title=Estonian Performers' Union (EEL)|date=2019|work=Eesti Esitajate Liit|access-date=8 November 2019}}</ref>
==Personal life and death==
Uno Loop married Aino Pere in 1949. The couple had two children.<ref name="Family">{{cite web |url=https://elu.ohtuleht.ee/564723/uno-loop-aastakumnete-pikkused-kontserdid-on-jatnud-oma-jalje-istun-ohtul-lauas-kui-korraga-tunnen-et-peaks-justkui-kuskile-tormama-|title=Uno Loop: "Aastakümnete pikkused kontserdid on jätnud oma jälje. Istun õhtul lauas, kui korraga tunnen, et peaks justkui kuskile tormama."|first=Jaanus|last=Kulli|date=15 February 2014|work=[[Õhtuleht]]|access-date=8 November 2019|language=et}}</ref> He also had a daughter from a previous relationship.<ref name="Kroonika">{{cite web |url=https://elu.ohtuleht.ee/1014966/uno-loobi-abieluvaliselt-sundinud-tutar-tahab-isa-aidata-aga-ametlik-pere-ei-luba|title=Uno Loobi abieluväliselt sündinud tütar tahab isa aidata, aga ametlik pere ei luba|date=16 October 2020|work=[[Kroonika]]|access-date=9 November 2020|language=et}}</ref> The couple lived at their summer home in [[Laulasmaa]] in [[Harju County]] following Loop's retirement. In June 2019, they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.<ref name="Aino">{{cite web |url=https://naisteleht.ohtuleht.ee/967362/abikaasaga-raudpulmi-tahistav-aino-loop-sellega-harjub-ara-kui-teised-naised-su-meest-vaatavad|title=Abikaasaga raudpulmi tähistav Aino Loop: sellega harjub ära, kui teised naised su meest vaatavad|first=Verni|last=Leivak|date=15 February 2014|work=[[Õhtuleht]]|access-date=19 June 2019|language=et}}</ref> In his later years, he had given up most sports, including cycling, swimming, and jogging, but continued to exercise.<ref name="Family" />
In November 2019, after several health issues, Loop began residing at a nursing home in [[Keila]] at age 89.<ref name="Kroonika" /> His wife, Aino, died 22 February 2020, aged 89. Loop died following a lengthy illness on 8 September 2021, aged 91.<ref name="Death">{{cite web |url=https://kultuur.err.ee/1608332189/suri-laulja-uno-loop|title=Suri laulja Uno Loop|date=9 September 2021|work=[[Eesti Rahvusringhääling]] (ERR)|access-date=8 September 2021|language=et}}</ref> His funeral took place on 17 September at [[Keila church]]. Notable attendees included [[Prime Minister of Estonia]] [[Kaja Kallas]], as well as singers and musicians Ivo Linna, [[Katrin Karisma]], [[Urmas Lattikas]], Erich Krieger, Jaan Elgula, and [[Tanel Padar]]. He was interred at [[Rahumäe Cemetery]] in Tallinn.<ref name="Keila1">{{cite web |url=https://kroonika.delfi.ee/artikkel/94609941/fotod-kolleegid-lahedased-ja-vanad-sobrad-saatsid-legendaarse-uno-loobi-viimsele-teekonnale|title=Kolleegid, lähedased ja vanad sõbrad saatsid legendaarse Uno Loobi viimsele teekonnale |date=17 September 2021|work=[[Kroonika]]|access-date=14 September 2024|language=et}}</ref>
==Legacy==
In 2009, journalist and author [[:et:Enno Tammer|Enno Tammer]] wrote a biography of Loop titled ''Uno Loop: läbi elu'' ("Uno Loop: Through Life"), published by Tammerraamat in Tallinn.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Uno Loop. Läbi elu |last=Tammer|first=Enno|date=2009|publisher=Tammerraamat |location=Tallinn|isbn=9789949449354|language=et}}</ref>
On 14 February 2014, the Peep Pedmanson-penned and [[Hardi Volmer]]-directed musical play ''Uno Bossa ehk Uno Loobi seitse elu'' ("Uno Bossa, or The Seven Lives of Uno Loop") premiered at the [[Rakvere Theatre]], which chronicled Loop's long musical career, with actor [[:et:Margus Grosnõi|Margus Grosnõi]] playing the part of Loop.<ref name="Uno">{{cite web |url=https://www.rakvereteater.ee/uno-bossa-ehk-uno-loobi-seitse-elu|title=Uno Bossa ehk Uno Loobi seitse elu|date=14 February 2014|work=[[Rakvere Theatre]]|access-date=8 November 2019|language=et}}</ref><ref name="Bossa">{{cite web |url=http://www.kultuur.info/event/uno-bossa-or-the-seven-lives-of-uno-loop/|title=Uno Bossa, or The Seven Lives of Uno Loop|date=January 2014|work=culture.ee|access-date=8 November 2019|language=en}}</ref>
==Awards and honors==
*Meritorious Artist of the Estonian SSR (1981)<ref name="Kool" />
*[[Order of the White Star]], Medal Class (2001)<ref name="Kool" />
*Tallinn University Alumni of the Century (shared with others; 2019)<ref name="TLÜ">{{cite web |url=https://www.tlu.ee/sajandi-vilistlased|title=Sajandi vilistlased|date=2019|work=[[Tallinn University]]|access-date=8 November 2019|language=et}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{IMDb name|id=1845518|name=Uno Loop}}
* {{Discogs artist|Uno Loop}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loop, Uno}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Estonian male singers]]
[[Category:Estonian pop singers]]
[[Category:Estonian guitarists]]
[[Category:Estonian music educators]]
[[Category:Estonian male boxers]]
[[Category:Estonian male triathletes]]
[[Category:Estonian male film actors]]
[[Category:Singers from Tallinn]]
[[Category:Soviet male film actors]]
[[Category:Soviet pop singers]]
[[Category:Boxers from Tallinn]]
[[Category:Tallinn Music High School alumni]]
[[Category:Tallinn University alumni]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the White Star, Medal Class]]
[[Category:20th-century guitarists]]
[[Category:21st-century Estonian male singers]]
[[Category:21st-century guitarists]]
[[Category:Burials at Rahumäe Cemetery]]