Saturday, May 14, 2011

'Kopi Susu' With 'La Colegiala' Sandra Reemer


UP TO 2,600 VIEWS, 35 CHATS, COMMENTS

She is of Dutch, Chinese and Javanese extraction and born in Bandung, Indonesia on Oct 17, 1950. Barbara Alexandra (Xandra) Reemer loved to sing as a child but it was only after the family moved to the Netherlands (Holland) in 1958 that she started to participate in singing competitions.

Her chance came when young Sandra (X became S) appeared on the famous Katholieke RadioOmroep (KRO) show in April 1962. Her performance was quickly noticed by well-known bandleader and talent scout Frans Kerkhof who took her to Philips Records for an audition.

By the middle of 1962, the twelve-year-old Sandra shot to stardom with her Dutch version of Al Di La. She also became popular with her extensive repertoire which included Indonesian Malay songs. When she recorded some of these folksy favorites, listeners took an immediate liking as they became very popular.

Sandra has made herself known more as a songstress from the Netherlands than one from Indonesia, having represented the country three times at the internationally famous Eurovision Song Contest. The years were 1974, 1976 and 1979 and she sang, When It Comes To Love (in Dutch), The Party's Over and Colorado respectively during the shows.

Her hit songs that had spread far and wide in Singapore, Malaya and the Far East included songs in Dutch and Indonesian. Some of the Indonesian Malay titles are: Kopi Susu (Coffee And Milk), Nona Nona Djaman Sekarang (Today's Modern Ladies), Kapal Ladju (Speed, Boat!), Indonesia and Singapura.
As the years rolled along, successful Sandra stood tall and was soon in the same league with countrymen and stalwarts Anneke Gronloh, The Blue Diamonds, Johnny Lion and The Jumping Jewels. The Indonesian and Dutch invasion of Singapore had begun. 

The maturity, style, and sophistication are evident in Reemer's voice. The La Colegiala has gone a long way since Kopi Susu. This 'nona' is truly 'zaman sekarang.'

Comments are welcome.
Sandra Reemer died of breast cancer
on 6 June 2017 at age 66.

1962年 桑德拉 (Sandra Reemer)
「Kopi Susu 」(马来語)
YouTube Video by: ZUUL AZIIZ

Images: Universal Music, Singapore/Google images.
Information: Wikipedia and Questing Bandstand.
(Check Wikipedia in Dutch: Reemer's biography after the 70's.)

Edited by: Andy Lim.

22 comments:

nomore said...

Indeed the charming Sandra and the Great song!

Anonymous said...

Sandra and Kopi Susu. Travelling back in time. Better than annekke

Anonymous said...

From nomore's blog:

I'v found out the reason why...
My internet's Server has been changed cause by the Japannese earthquake...damaged bottom the sea cable lines guess.... inshort...

it's not the hacker the bad hackings...My careless makes my all postings to removed so angry so after all.....Duta...will do my best again from now...

and my Andy to promise it so again...oh, i'v checked your Youtube postings the other day so bored so lately..."Diana"...it was so Great...!!

Great the Silver String's the Great singer...!

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Blog buddy, nomore had his blog disrupted. Please write to him and provide some moral support.

I have asked him to write about his experiences during the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

Thank you all.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Thank you 'nomore' and 'Anonymous' for comments about Sandra Reemer.

I must agree that she sings so much better than Anneke. She's versatile and able to adapt easily to each changing mood in a song, e.g. from sentimental to jazz and then to Latin.

Hers is a rich and beautiful voice now, so different from the little 12 year old who sang Kopi Susu.

Reemer is still singing today.

Anonymous said...

La colegiala was the background song to the Nescafe advertisment on tv.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Yes, my dear reader. It was a commercial that was used in the 80s. So I didn't discuss it as it was beyond the scope of my blog.

Thank you for pointing out this interesting piece of information.

Benjamin said...

Hi Andy! Am I at the right blog?? Are u the Andy I spoke to this afternoon??

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Hi Benjamin,

It's me. Thanks for visiting. Browse around and provide some feedback.

Tell your young friends about 60s music and spread the news.

You can write to me at: sing60smusic@yahoo.com.sg

Anonymous said...

bazwalker1 to me
show details 5:25 PM (23 minutes ago)

bazwalker1 has left a new comment on your post "'Kopi Susu' With 'La Colegiala' Sandra Reemer":

Good morning Andy,
Would you kindly send me your e-mail address. I have just visited Singapore and met up with some of the guys from The Figures and In-Sect. I also met Derek Fitzgerald of The Thunderbirds and would like to share some Pictures and News with you.
Thank you so much.

Barry Walker

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Hi Barry,
You could've written to me while you were here. A whole lot of people would love to meet you.

OK, waiting for your snaps and stories. Don't kid me now!

email: sing60smusic@yahoo.com.sg

Anonymous said...

And Barry,
here's some news from Ray Johnson w The Diamond 4:

On Sun, Dec 5, 2010 at 11:12 AM, Nick wrote:

Nick has left a new comment on your post "Ray Johnson, Diamond Four, Frank Thompson":

Hello Andy!
Just Googled this, my dad is Ray Johnson & he was shocked, not to mention surprised to see this.

He & his shipmates formed the Diamond Five, or Ray Johnson & The Diamond Four when they were on HMS Euryalus, on first commission in 1964-66.

Do you know of any other copies of the EP that are in existence?

For your information, should you not already know,the other members of the band were Ellis Parkinson (Parky) (deceased) with the shades( bass guitar), Freddy Mills (drummer) & Alex (Dolly) Gray (rhythm guitar) & obviously Frank Thompson, lead guitarist.

Anonymous said...

25th May 2011:
'The Indo-Dutch Invasion of Singapore'

Posted by noelbynature under Lifestyle, people (0) Comment: 488 Reads • Permalink

Before you start looking through your secondary school textbooks for some revisionist history, I should qualify that the Indo-Dutch invasion of Singapore was not a military invasion, but a pop music one.

Sandra Reemer, an Indonesian-Dutch pop singer who shot to fame in the Netherlands with her repertoire of Indonesian Malay songs, whose fame also spread to Singapore and Malaya in the 1970s.

Anonymous said...

i am looking for this old song
hello hello kopi susu (not the kopi susu gula pasir by sandra)
can you help...tks
my email: paulnaidu@ymail.com

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

If anyone can help please write to the above email address. Let me know too because I don't remember such a song.


Thank you for visiting.

ZZ TOP said...

Thank you for this awesome blog.Cheers.

CHIT CHAT said...

Jimmy Appudurai-chua
One of my fav ddx

Andy Young
Jimmy Appudurai-chua YES, thanks bro. I love her too. Her singing of English songs is superlative with her diction and articulation.

Andy Young
Not only did the British invade Singapore musically, the Dutch did it too! And the late Sandra sang: KOPI SUSU [COFFEE n MILK] to win the hearts of many here...

Andy Young
Hi Jimmy, thanks for the early bird LIKE.

Jimmy Appudurai-chua
.she was so special

Andy Young
Jimmy Appudurai-chua, thanks again. Would have been great to have met such a sweet lady.

CHIT CHAT said...

Andy Young
Thanks Chee Chien for the early LIKE.

Andy Young
And Somkid too, thank you!

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Hi Rose,
thanks for LIKING this post so early.
I notice you truly love SG60s music and its connections.

Thanks to everyone who love this post on the late Sandra Reemer.

CHIT CHAT said...

Andy Young
Hi Colin, thanks for the visit during your busy schedule.

Andy Young
UKHTI and BEN, thanks for liking this post. I am sure you are both lovers of the Indon/Dutch connection, knowing the languages too?

CHIT CHAT said...

Jimmy Appudurai-chua
Remember a Robert Song of the flamingos. Played at ocean park hotel

Andy Young
Jimmy Appudurai-chua yes, a good friend of mine. Why?

Veronica Young
Jimmy Appudurai-chua yes i worked with him and lost contact with since he migrated to Philippines

CHIT CHAT said...

Stephen Han
I didn’t know Sandra Reemer is in the same league as Anneke Gronloh and Johnny Lion

Andy Young
Stephen Han She's just as good, if not better than the others but not as popular perhaps. Reemer is quality, both with her songs and personality.