Hardly Any 60s Song About Leap Year. Anyone?

It comes only once in four years. I was googling for 1960's Leap Year songs on the internet and found one but it is for a 2011 movie of the same name featuring 16 songs from its soundtrack.

There are so many songs themed towards special days and holidays such as New Year, Christmas, Halloween and Valentine’s Day (featured in the previous postings on this blog) but there are actually not many 60s songs about the 29th of February, not the day, the month nor the year. 

A movie called, Leap Year (2010) featured a pop 60's hit, Dream A Little Dream of Me. It was an Anand Tucker film. This particular song is a 1931 number that has been recorded by so many singers.

Here's a list below, the closest I could get to, but whatever it is I could not leave 29th February without a posting:

Jumping Jack Flash - Rolling Stones (1968)

One O'clock Jump - Count Basie (1937)

Jump For Joy - Duke Ellington (1959)

Another Day - Paul McCartney (1970)

Today - John Denver (1964)

Today - Elvis Presley (1970 album)

Today - Beach Boys (1965 album)

Today - Herbie Man (1966 album)

Today - Perry Como (Oldies 1987 album)

Quite a controversial list. Anything to add or comment? Any 60's local music song with a similar theme? Thanks.

I guess lawyers may have a hard time with legal documents today? Wouldn't they? How does one refer to any record that reads 29th February?

Or a birthday? If one is born on this day? Do you have your celebration once in four years or on the 28th and the 1st of March?

Cute ways to think of using today, a truly special day. It's like I'm one year old four years (another leap day) later if I'm born today?

A Happy Leap Day Birthday today? Anyone?

Image: Google
Video: You Tube Song featured in movie, Leap Year: 'Dream a Little Dream of Me': Mama Cass (Mamas and Papas fame).

Ioleen Chia: Ovation In Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia

I first met Ioleen by chance late last year (2011) when she was chatting with a friend at the Lido Cinema in Orchard Road. She was carrying an expensive Ovation (image) and when I asked about her guitar and introduced myself she remarked, "I thought you look familiar." With my grandson beside me, I requested Beautiful Sunday, his favourite. Ioleen whipped out her guitar and burst into the Daniel Boone classic. She still busks today, at the Orchard Road area.

During our conversation I was surprised when she revealed that she is the daughter of the late Mr. Chia, who used to run the Garrick Cinema at Geylang Serai in the 1950s and when young Bollywood was trying to woo the world with its music and dance fantasies.

I remember long lines of Indian, Malay and Chinese Singaporeans queueing for movie tickets at this cinema which was situated at the entrance of Onan Road. It ran for four decades, from the 1920s until 1965, when it became the more sophisticated Galaxy Cinema. When I told her I have a blog and my keen interest in documenting 60s bands she agreed to tell her story.

Here's Ioleen's experience from mid 60s to early 80s:

"I started playing the drums, which is my first love, at the age of 13. My brother who was also playing in a band inspired me. He taught me my first tempo which was the twist. After he left the group I took over the drums and with 4 other members called our new line-up D'Aces. We did a lot of singalongs, current pop songs and even played jazz numbers.

Eventually we did gigs at the Royal Air Force Singapore during the weekends and this contract lasted for a couple of years. We also appeared on local television, at tea dances at the Golden Venus and played with the Trailers during their stint at the club. Other nightspots that we performed at included the Barbarella Disco at Ming Court, Talk of the Town at High Street and even at the Garrick Cinema.

            Ioleen Chia with her band Oldies But Goodies before performance.

I played with the Valiants too (a Singapore group and not the one from Malaysia). Because of my studies I left the group. We disbanded and could not take up an offer to play in Europe.

After completing my studies, I went solo doing the circuit and accompanied myself on the guitar. I was contracted to play at the Imperial, Cockpit and Equatorial hotels. There was a period when I was singing duet with Simon Koh who played the keyboard. l learnt a lot from Simon.

I performed in Japanese cities like Nagoya, Fukuoka, Kumomoto and on Kyushu Island. After Japan I entertained the folks in Taiwan for a couple of years and also had stints in Malaysian nightclubs and engagements in Kuching.

In later years I performed at the Marco Polo Theatre and the Golden Million Lounge at Peninsula Hotel. Those were memorable years. By the end of the 70s, bands playing western music weren't much of a draw at the pop clubs, hotels and entertainment establishments were hiring Filipino groups rather than local musicians. They were inexpensive to engage. By then Chinese music was getting more popular too.

I had stopped playing music for many years but since I was missing all the fun I decided to come back on the scene and started busking about 2 years ago. It is less wearisome and stressful and I have more time for myself. As a music maker I am an all rounder and it isn't difficult to please the passing crowd with my repertoire of songs. I try to play all types of music."

When I left Ioleen that day with my grandson beside me she was singing and strumming a jazzy version of Charles Chaplin's evergreen, Smile as we said our goodbyes. Thanks Ioleen, for the memories.

Please support Ioleen and all our local buskers always.

Images 1: Along Orchard Road. 2: Oldies But Goodies outside a hotel. 
Andy Lim Collection (Copyrights Reserved).

Travelin Man Roger Hears Pop 60 In Middle Kingdom

Travelling man Roger Poh (he encouraged me to blog) has recently returned from the Middle Kingdom. So during the Chinese New Year period in January last month, while we in Singapore were snugly enjoying the quiet rain and forgiving sun, Roger was experiencing the harsh and piercing cold as he viewed the famous ice-sculptures at the Harbin Ice and Snow World (image 3). The visitors were mainlanders and he met one crazy guy "all wrapped up against the freezing cold." It was -20C and a once in a lifetime experience for him.

Mine is not a travel blog but what enticed me to post his wanderings are his pictures of Shanghai where he met a senior busker with his precious trumpet (image 2) and a music group in action (screen grab 1). According to Roger, China's public parks are exciting places and often packed with locals. They love to demonstrate their musical talents and attract a lot of attention. He also tells me that buskers in China play 60s music from the west. That's something.

Roger, who is a backpacker travels light, very light and enjoys the sight, the sound and sensuality of the places he visits. Which reminds me of the song Travelling Light by Cliff Richard and these lines:

Got no bags and baggage to slow me down, I'm travelling so fast/My feet ain't the ground/Travelling light, travelling light/Well I just can't wait to be with my baby tonight... No comb and no toothbrush/I got nothing to haul...

And of course Rick Nelson's: I'm a travelin' man/I've made a lot of stops all over the world/And in every port I own the heart/Of at least one lovely girl/Oh my sweet Fraulien down in Berlin town/Makes my heart start to yearn/And my China doll down in old Hong Kong/Waits for my return...

She's probably waiting for your return to Shanghai Roger, whoever she is. Thanks for sharing.

Images: Roger Poh Collection.

Of Strange Games and Famous Names: 60s Again

Young people ask how life can be interesting in the 60s when there were, "no Internet sites, computer games, mobile phones" and television sets. A Singaporean writer who has been blogging about the Singapore of his childhood has an answer. "Well," he assures, "life was not boring at all, and we had lots of fun and games..." In the 60s? Let's see.

To the uninitiated and the young, these are strange games with strange names (image 2) in a land where boys collect fighting spiders in small Elastoplast boxes and keep them for duels, where fighting fish are caught from a longkang using a punki, where broken cement is used to play a game called Kledek and where discarded food containers are collected to play Longlong. Similarly, girls have their games too. Heard of Masak Masak and Five Stones?

If you are fascinated by these games and names then it's time to take a peek at how they are played as described by the writer in Chapter 5 of his fascinating book. But what really made me choose this particular chapter is his take on pop music where some of the Chinese singers he recalls and admires include famous names like Carrie Ku Mei (image 3), Ke Lan, Chui Ping, Yao Su Rong, and Qing San.

On the English pop list he admires Cliff Richard, The Shadows, Elvis and the Beatles and an interesting anecdote when his brother engaged their cousins "in silly debate about which was better, Elvis - their favourite, or ours, the Beatles." How true.

The writer remembers British groups, and according to him had "unforgettable names" like The Animals, Freddie and the Dreamers and Herman's Hermits. He mentions our own local singers too. So there's Keith Locke, Susan Lim, Crescendos (image 4), Naomi and bands like The Quests and The Boys. With so many games to play and so much great music to listen to how can life be boring?

I have been quoting from a book written by management consultant Lam Chun See who documents his experience about his kampong (village) days in *Good Morning Yesterday (image 1). The book is a smorgasbord of life "in Singapore in the 1950s and 1960s." These appetising chapters, written within 187 pages, come in delicious morsels as he writes about his childhood, family, neighbours, schools, and other goodies that only Chun See could cook into palatable dishes.

Images: Lam Chun See and Google.

Original article: Andy Lim.

*Good Morning Yesterday. Publisher: Hoshin Consulting, 23 Lily Avenue, Singapore 277770. 2012 Copyright Lam Chun See.

http://goodmorningyesterday.blogspot.com/

Valentine's Day 2017: Singapore 60's Love Songs

Above types of vinyl were selected because of sleeve covers. Videos vary.

Whether it's in English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil or any other language the love message is clear. With or without Valentine's Day, writing songs with romantic themes has been the mainstay for many a lyricist or composer in our pop music world. Similarly on our little island.

Robert Suriya, the Fitzgerald brothers, Shirley Nair, Fu Su Yin, Yusnor Ef, Kassim Masdor and many others have written love songs that have become hits here in Singapore. Adrian C. Tills, an expatriate who was in Singapore in the 60s, composed quite a number for local consumption.

                      kt jong video: Love Is Blue: Heather w Thunderbirds

Sleeve Cover 1

Two of them were released on a single by Philips and sung by Roy Stevens with The Thunderbirds' accompaniment. The first song, Won't You Be My Girl pleads, "I know you're the idol of other boys too, But none of them loves you as much as I do, So please, please baby won't you be my girl?"

The flip side encourages the lover to Give It A Try because, "There's so much pleasure in Lovin, Lovin is a sheer delight, So love me, and you'll see, Everything I say is right..." Mushy? Not so for listeners in the 60s.

Sleeve Cover 2 

Cecilia Lim, popular with Chinese fans, covers four romantic hits in English from the 50s and 60s under VOC Records with, Please Help Me I'm Falling, Harbour Lights You Belong To Me and the irresistible, To Sir With Love echoing every schoolgirl crush with the lament, "If you wanted the moon I will try to make a start but I would rather you let me give my heart..." I am sure you are familiar with the other 3 love songs that have become international hits.

                   biskutkerin video: Jeffridin n The Siglap Five - Kasihku Pergi

Sleeve Cover 3 

This one is a Malay Extended Play, with dashing good-looker Jeffridin and his Siglap Five, recording 4 songs. One of them is about a lad who was abandoned by his girl and Kekaseh Ku Pergi (My Love Has Gone: by local composer Mohd. Ali) describes his bitterness, "Kini aku hidup sepi, hingga aku menanti..." (I live in loneliness and am still waiting...).

Another track composed by Jeffridin himself, relates his Termenong (Day Dreaming) woes while the third song, composed by A. Karim, tells of a particularly spoilt girl-friend or Gadis Manja who has stolen the singer's heart.

A point to note here. These Malay melodies are love songs and unlikely produced for the specific purpose of celebrating Valentine. It is just a coincidence that they are about love; in fact, many songs from the 60's have similar themes.

Sleeve Cover 4:

The romanticism in Chinese songs has the proclivity to be too sentimental and sugary for the western crowd but one of pop 60's Chinese singer, Zhang Xiao Ying's EP has managed to deal with the subject wisely.

The vinyl has songs that repeats a theme. The title track, He Who Knows My Heart (Zhi Xin De Ren) tells of a lover who reminisces her soul-mate. The EP has three other tracks. Hen Bu Xiang Feng Wei Jia Shi (Bitter Sweet Memories As I Wed) is about a girl who still yearns for her previous boyfriend although she is married. Ghastly!

                           eosyeo video: Chang Xiao Ying 張小英 - 我爱你一万倍

She Mo Hua Wei Ni Kai (What Flower Blooms/Opens For You) could have sensual connotation. Surprise, surprise. And the final track Wo Ai Jun Lai Jun Ai Wo ( Loving You, Loving Me ) accentuates the flavour of the day again.

You won't be googling for most of these songs would you? Might spoil your day. Valentine ones are just supposed to say, I love you and I want you. No heartaches, ever! Or so you think.

Happy Valentine everyone.

Chinese vinyl translation by: LKM and SM. Thank you both.

Images/original article: Andy Lim Collection.

Whitney Houston: Gone At 48 Years

This is a 60s music blog but here was one lady from the mid-80s whose passing cannot be left unannounced. Whitney Houston (1963-2012) singer, actress and one time model is gone at 48 years, one day away from the 2012 Grammy Awards. This very beautiful diva with power vocals sold 170 million records during her music career.

She was the daughter of a gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin. Houston was the top RnB artiste in the 20th Century.

Information: 1) Yahoo. 2) Wikipedia. Click Comment below to read them.

Decibels: 1965-1970 A Band In The Making Part 2

Part II:

Decibels drummer Jimmy Chng shares his experience as a band boy in this final episode:

Our very first gig was at someone's birthday party held in an HDB flat in Jalan Bahagia and we were paid $30. Through friends' recommendation and word of mouth, we did get quite a lot of gigs, especially on weekends. These were usually birthday parties, Dinner & Dance parties, festive occasions, Tea-Dances, etc.

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We even had an opportunity to play at the Lido cinema, providing background music to models strutting on stage in Maidenform lingerie. This was in conjunction with the screening of the movie, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (image 2).

Poster

.As the local music scene matured, the demand for bands with singers ensued. We first had a friend who would sing mostly Johnny Lion's hits. He sang with our band for less than a year. Then Evelyn Tan (image 1) sang with Decibels for a brief period too. She later joined The Siglap Five and made some records under Evey Lyn with The Siglap Five.

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Our very first taste of competition was at the Battle Of Guitars (organised by ACE Enterprises) which was held at the National Theatre. We performed well enough to get into the finals but did not win. Our second and last competition which was organised by Rediffusion, was held at the Odeon Cinema. Again, we entered the final but did not win.

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We got a 2 month contract to play at Toby's Paradise Bar in Anson Road. We were recommended by The Vigilantes as their contract there had ended and they got a better paying contract at West Point Niteclub in Pasir Panjang. Incidentally, most of the original Vigilantes band members were my classmates in Queenstown Secondary Technical School.

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The original Decibels lasted till around 1969 or 1970. We disbanded partly due to waning interest and partly due to fewer engagements coming our way. Charles, our bassist subsequently joined The Tones whilst Steven and Patrick concentrated on their job careers.

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My memories of the later stages are not too clear. After some months, I continued the Decibels band with some members from D'Quivers. We had a one month contract at Toby's Paradise Bar this time.

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After the contract, the lead guitarist left. We looked for a replacement and managed to find a lead guitarist by the name of Bernard Chua. He had a friend named Samad, who had a very good and powerful voice and we invited him to join us too. He could belt out Tom Jones numbers with ease. I can't remember how long this chapter of Decibels lasted but when we finally disbanded, Bernard went on the join The Hi-jacks.

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Image 1/Original Article: Jimmy Chng Collection. All Rights Reserved.

Image 2: Google Images.

Jimmy Boyle: Anak Pulau Pinang Music Composer

               Melody Of Love: Jimmy Boyle: Video from manicamsara

UP TO 2,600 VIEWS

(I used to listen to Jimmy Boyle and his music on our local radio station during the earlier years of my life because Radio Malaya was one with Singapore's radio station. Two edited articles taken from the internet form the basis of this posting. Connections to the original sites are provided below.)

He was a big name in the Malaysian entertainment industry. A jazz musician and composer of many well-known tunes, his most recognisable effort called Putera Puteri is still performed by local artistes today.

The composer was the late James W. Boyle, a Penangite of Eurasian descent. Jimmy Boyle, as he was more popularly known, was born in Penang in 1922 and educated at the St Xaviers Institution. Later, after graduating from Raffles College in Singapore, he returned to his alma mater as a teacher where he taught English among other subjects.

"As a composer, his music was not unknown outside Malaya or Malaysia. He was accepted as a Malaysian Composer and Arranger for the Classical Saxaphone Quartet of N.W. University USA and Kansas City University Brass Ensemble.

The BBC and the Voice Of American had both broadcast his music. Jazz critics (like Jerry Michigan) knew of him. International jazz musicians like Charles Lloyd and influential jazz trombonist Jack Teagarden rated him highly."

Boyle composed, arranged, played and recorded his music for radio and television. The English Service of Radio Malaysia used to have short, regular programmes featuring the Jimmy Boyle Trio. He had a composition, Kemegahan Negara Ku, which was played at midnight on the birth of Malaysia in 1963. The first Malayan flag was raised to one of Boyle’s tunes.

Among his other notable compositions were: Putera Puteri, Ingat Ingat, Jauh Jauh, Rayuan Mesra, or Melody Of Love, Api Dan Air, Bunga Negara, Ke-Hulu Ke-Hilir, Pantun Melayu, Gemaran Bulan, Bertugas, and Sungai Pahang.

"Jimmy Boyle had hoped to perpetuate the soul and spirit of his country and its people. He has made a huge contribution to the music scene of Malaysia. Nothing seems more fitting than to give a tribute to one of Penang's musical gems." He passed away in May 1971.

Colloquiums: 

http://www.penangstory.net.my/mino-content-paperrozells.html

Information: 

Anything Goes, 

Sunday, 5 April 2009. 

The (almost) forgotten Jimmy Boyle. 

By:Quah,Seng-Sun 

BukitMertajam, Penang, Malaysia.

http://ssquah.blogspot.com.au/2009/04/almost-forgotten-jimmy-boyle.html

http://www.facebook.com/ssquah

Information: Little Penang Street Market. 

Every Sunday Of The Month. 

Press & Reviews Press Conference

Monday, 3 July 2006. 

A tribute to Jimmy Boyle. 

http://www.rozells.com.my/