Russ Hamilton was a superstar in Singapore 60s. His songs were so dear to the hearts of many Singaporeans that his records sold out within days.
In the UK, it was "We Will Make Love" that caught record buyers attention, whereas, in the USA, it was the flip, "Rainbow". Imagine a single reaching the top 10 in the UK while its other side made waves across the waters. "Rainbow" reached Number 4 in the US**.
He received his Golden Disc for a million copies sold, very soon after its release on Friday, October 4th, 1957. In Singapore, many of the songs he released reached the Hit Parade Charts and "WWML" stayed on for some time.
Russ Hamilton composed his own songs, and one was written for his girl. "Wedding Ring" managed the top 20 but was "insufficient to consolidate his position as a major pop star."
An album of Russ Hamilton's songs that most fans would own. He was very popular.
His fortunes with his hit songs faded after a while and were not on the airwaves in recent years. Apparently not only were the songs "unfashionable in style, but the meaning of the lyrics had suffered from the changes in word usage."
Singapore youths today may find his songs 'mushy'. Seniors though are still playing the beautiful ballads with the lilt, soft and quiet that only Russ Hamilton could deliver. All his songs are classics now, all. Some of them are, "*My Mother's Eyes," "I Had A Dream", "*Little One" and "I Still Belong To You". Russ Hamilton was backed by Johnny Gregory and His Orchestra. Golden oldies for that relaxing evening.
(When my grandson Joshua was only 2 years old, he recognized many nursery rhymes that I used to sing before his afternoon naps. But he knows his pop songs better and learned "Little One" before others. Meaningful lyrics and soothing music make this one of the best songs for little children. Try it out because Joshua is asleep within 10 minutes.)
Dr. Lee Yan San was a close friend of Russ Hamilton, having visited his home in Penang and meeting Dr. Lee's family.
Dr. Lee Yan San, (image above) who hails from Penang and who used to write to me about his love for pop music, was a close friend of Russ Hamilton. There are other articles of them on this blog.
* Children songs.
**Cliff Richard never achieved this kind of hit status in the United States. In 1960, he toured with The Shadows in the U.S. and were well-received; however, lackluster support and distribution from the record company proved costly, and the chance was lost.
(Extracts from 45rpm.org.uk, Wikipedia and Oriole Record cover EP - 7005 literature/image.)
20 comments:
Hi Andy, 2 days ago I renewed my Banquet discount card at VivoCity. I saw a poster there that said if I topped up $50 into my card, I will get a free concert ticket to the Banquet concert on 23rd or 24th July 2009. When I saw that you are performing at the concert, I topped up both my wife's and my own card without hesitation.
I am coming to hear you sing! :-)
Thank you Victor. 45 years is a long time. And in Nov last year (2008) I tried it because of Audie Ng, bass guitarist and music entrepreneur, a professional in his own stead.
I am just an amateur and doing it for fun. I hope you will enjoy yourself.
Again thanks for the support.
Andy
hi andy, thanks for featuring the late russ hamilton. i grew up listening to his songs. he was my favourite before engelbert humperdinck, tom jones, cliff richard and the beatles. i blogged a bit about him here
Hi yg,
Thank you for the pleasant response. I use the same song to sing my grandson to sleep.
When MPH had a closing down sale at Stamford Road, I bought 5 of his CDs for $2.00 each and distributed them to my 60s music friends. And all his songs are featured.
I have visited your blog and find it amazingly informative.
Again thanks for the visit.
Cheers,
Andy
Cheers.
Just a note about Russ Hamilton aka Ronald Hulme,he was a good friend to myself and my band,he helped us get into the business,we were supposed to see Russ last year in November but his nephew called us in October and told us about his passing,he was a great friend,a mentor,and an all around nice guyhe is truly missed but never forgotten,whenever we perform we always do "Rainbow"and dedicate it to Russ. Sincerely,The Original Chevelles,The Echoes.
Thanks for your nice tribute to Russ Hamilton. Russ is an exceptionally great and friendly gentleman. I am so glad I have met him and did a long interview with him for our Malaysian radio station few years back. We became close friends. I was so sad when his twin sister contacted me to let me know that Russ has passed away.He once told me that "We will Make Love" was his most successful song and of the songs he wrote, he loved "Little One" most...a lullaby he wrote for his nice in Canada. He said he wrote and sang "Reprieve of Tom Dooley" after meeting his friend Lonni Donegan at the studio when he was recording the hit "Tom Dooley". He has also given me a number of his unreleased songs which is now a real treasure to me. I have collected all his released songs and made into a CD to keep. I contributed his biography to Wikipedia some time ago.
Thank you very much Original Chevelles and The Echoes for writing.
I am sorry for not replying as I missed reading this note. I have since made sure to have all comments reflected when I open my blog.
Thanks Dr. Lee, I have posted your profile on my blog, together with your note.
It would be great to have a copy of your CD if it's for sale.
Regards.
Thanks. The CDs are not for sale but I do not mind sending you a copy if you can give me an address to send to.
About 2 weeks ago RUSS HAMILTON would have celebrated his 87th birthday.
His songs were all over the Singapore airwaves day and night.
WE WILL MAKE LOVE, I STILL BELONG TO YOU and MY MOTHER'S EYES were top hits and whatever song he recorded, it became a hit.
Any memory of his song and what you were doing then?
I was schooling what Russ Hamilton’s were played on the radio and Rediffusion.
I bought his hits on CD and it contains songs like “Rainbow” And Tiptoe Through The Tulips”
I love Russ Hamilton songs. One of them "I'm In Love With Two Sweethearts"
Yes my favourite oldies way back in the 60S
Hi Andy
The only thing that rings a bell is a song - We will make love.
As an 8-year-old just liked the songs - didn't really cared about the singers.
Cheerio
One of the first few songs that my elder brought home when we live in Hindhede Road probably around 1958.
This is indeed a classic collection purchased from iTunes and is now one of my collectibles.
Whenever I listen again it never fails to bring fond memories of my brother, George.
Wow!❤️
Oh, my granddaughter can sing 'Little One' long before she could speak in sentences.
She is 3 now and has moved on to other 60s pop now that she can speak in sentences!!
And 'We will make love!' was my mum's favourite!
Thanks, Andy for remembering Russ Hamilton!
Hello friends, thanks for the stories.
Russ Hamilton was an enigma, truly a delightful Englishman who entertained us with his simple lyrics and thoughtful melodies.
I know you all write from your heart
Love songs...Rainbow...We will make love...still remember the lyrics.
A long time ago that...
Wikipedia: Russ Hamilton’s 1957 "We Will Make Love" peaked at No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart, and its B-side "Rainbow" reached No. 4 on Billboard's Hot 100. This produced the possibly unique event of a single reaching the Top 10 in the UK, while its flipside achieved the same result across the Atlantic. The record sold over one million copies, and reached gold disc status.
RUSS HAMILTON'S LONELY DEATH
The right to his music were once owned by Sir Paul McCartney and he sold more than a million records all over the world, but he died a lonely figure in a village council flat.
From:
www.walesonline.co.uk
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