With the lyrics or music to over 2,400 songs to his name, Vainio is one of Finland's most prolific lyricists along with Sauvo Puhtila, Reino Helismaa and Vexi Salmi.

After becoming engaged to Kaarina in 1937, Tauno Vainio worked in Vuoksenniska as a regional head of the White Guard, and was known as a man of principle.

After his father went to war as a captain of the military reserve force, Juha moved with his mother to Metsola, Kotka.

His song Eräänlainen sotaveteraani ("Some Kind of War Veteran"), on the album Sellaista elämä on ("That's How Life Is"), echoes these sentiments.

It was there that he met Nestori Miikkulainen, four years his senior and who later featured [11] in Vainio's song Vanhojapoikia viiksekkäitä ("Moustached Bachelors").

As a child Juha Vainio was diagnosed with congenital heart disease, causing his lips to turn blue, and the onset of rapid breathlessness.

[19] Vaino's music teacher at the gymnasium, Arvo Vainio, was nicknamed "Junnu" on account of his big nose resembling that of a comic book character of the same name.

The centre of jazz music in Kotka was the restaurant Fennia where performers including Keijo Laitinen and the cousin of Vainio's mother, Olli Miettinen played.

[28] Although Vainio was under-21 and classed as a minor, he managed to slip into the restaurant where he presented his lyrics to the musicians and was occasionally allowed to play the piano.

[40] Juha Vainio taught higher classes at Yläpää Primary School where the pupils informally called him "Junnu".

[43] Already having some reputation as a lyricist, whilst in the army Vainio was assigned to write the lyrics for the new cadence of the Karelia Brigade.

[47] At the beginning of his career, comedian Spede Pasanen asked Vainio and his friends to play in a radio show called Ruljanssiriihi ("Thrashing House of Rigmarole"[48]).

The band accepted, and after Pasanen gave up the radio show to start his television career, the musicians followed him.

They played in Pasanen's shows including Speden saluuna ("Spede's Saloon") and 50 pientä minuuttia ("50 Small Minutes").

[39] 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.

[54] 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.

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".

At first he worked with Pertti Metsärinne's orchestra, recording the song "Hum-Boogie" (wordplay on the word humpuuki, meaning "humbug").

[62] He started writing lyrics for composer Toivo Kärki, who had lost his primary lyricist Reino Helismaa in January 1965.

[65] The album Viisari värähtää ("The Pointer Twitches") included the song Kaunissaari (a reference to a place in Finland),[66] which Vainio recorded several times during his career.

[66] Although Matkarakastaja and Viisari värähtää were Vainio's earliest published compositions, it was not until the late 1970s that he began to compose music more actively.

[71] Often late and in the habit of leaving a lot of paperwork unfinished, shortly before he quit teaching Vainio organized an excursion for the pupils to express his gratitude for the time he had spent with them.

[87] Other well-known songs were Panaman konsuli ("The Consul of Panama") and Kun mä rupesin ryyppäämään ("When I Started Drinking").

[90] A compilation album called Sellaista elämä on ("That's How Life Is") followed in 1983, consisting of the most popular songs Vainio had himself recorded.

In 1988 Katri Helena, Eino Grön, Pave Maijanen and other popular artists performed at a concert organized to celebrate Vainio's 50th birthday.

[99] A burial ceremony was held in the town of Vevey, and Vainio's body brought back to Finland and buried in the family grave in Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki.

[94] The record Vainio had worked on during the final years of his life was released posthumously by Scandia in 1991 as Viiskymppisen viisut ("Tunes of a Fifty-year-old").

Peter von Bagh regards Vainio as the pioneer of Finnish 1960s humorous songs since he began their composition before Irwin Goodman.

This is evident in the song Vanhojapoikia viiksekkäitä, written as a waltz and whose lyrics feature an aged bachelor who never got to dance at his own wedding.