SINGAPORE 60's: ANDY's POP MUSIC INFLUENCE IS A PERSONAL MUSIC, MEMORY TRAIL. BLOGGER DOES NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO VIDEOS, AUDIO TRACKS AND IMAGES. THEY ARE UPLOADED FOR FUN, EDUCATIONAL, ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES AND HAVE BEEN CREDITED. BLOG IS NOT SPONSORED NOR ADVERTORIAL IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. INFORM BLOGGER OF COPYRIGHT ISSUES AND POST WILL BE DELETED IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT COPY THE POSTS; GET PERMISSION N CREDIT ME IF YOU DO. ANDY LIM LA (NOVEMBER, 2008) -
(新加坡六十年代安迪的流行音乐影响力), SUDI MAMPIR !
The legendary Pop Yeh Yeh Malay singer Kassim Selamat, who was with a very well-known guitar group called The Swallows, passed away peacefully yesterday on May 26th 2019. He replaced the famous singer Ahmad Daud and Kassim Selamat went on to become a household name with The Swallows. His real name was Kassim bin Rahmat. He died peacefully at about 3.30 pm in his home in Yishun. He was 84.The songs he recorded with the group during the 60s were Nga Lompak A Go Go, Angkok Angkok Bilis and the superlative, La O Be.Some of the songs were representative of the Baweanese community and they became top-notchers in the Singapore and Malaysian Hit Parade Charts. Unknowingly, the group was called, King Creole, after the Elvis Presley movie, before they changed it. Mr. Kassim received a Bawean Jasawan award for his achievement and tribute to the community. Friends and fans, far and near, send condolences to his family. May his soul Rest In Peace.
Here are a few links about Inche Kassim Selamat and The Swallows:
If you have this connection please write to the blog or Facebook page because three great friends want to meet again. This particular note below is from Allan Thompson who writes to this blog very often. Can anyone out there help these music friends?
Dear Andy, I have just been browsing through your excellent blog and came across a post which I had obviously missed before. Sometime after my very first contact with your blog, I asked if anyone knew what had become of Stevie Loraine. I have just discovered that one of your contributors, Kim Reay of Penang, wrote in to say she was a good friend of Stevie's (whose real name is Marion) and that Stevie often visits her in Penang. This is good news. I wonder if Kim knows my old colleague, Maurice Houghton, who is in his mid-70s and also lives in Penang? Maurice was at Changi in the mid-1960s and is an excellent pianist. He used to play for his friends in the NAAFI Club at Changi, Singapore and later played in an upmarket hotel in Bath, Somerset, England.
Stevie Loraine n The Clansmen - If You Always Say Video by boylollipop1 He has lived in Penang for several years, on the north coast, although I do not know his address, and plays the organ at his local church, as well as playing for friends. It would be nice if Kim and Stevie and Maurice were to meet up one day. I am hoping to send you a couple of stories concerning the New Penangway and Hernando's Hideaway soon. Take care and very good wishes to you and I love reading the blog. Allan C. Thompson.
Songs I Love: In the 50s I used to listen to the Indonesian stations on the radio with my father. He listens to the news many times daily, picking up happenings during the Soekarno regime, especially reports from Sumatra. In between the serious news items, the songs come on the air. One of the cheekiest songs that I've learned as a child was this one called, Aksi Kucing. In English, it literally translates as the Pride of a Cat. Snooty? Or literally the arrogant or snobbish attitude of a cat. Or feline?
You know how a cat moves, always arching its back and moving around like a prima-donna as if it's on a fashion parade assignment. The models are always told to behave arrogantly. No wonder the platforms are called catwalks. Translation: Jangan suka hey, malu malu kucing Don't be shy like a cat. Or don't pretend to be shy like a cat. And the way these animals move... They possess and control the household. Sudah menerkam sa-belumnya berunding Would pounce before discussion... Finally. lama, lama, dari kawan jadi lawan. After a while, from a friend, they become foe.
Singer and Composer: Sung by one of the pop legends from Indonesia, pretty singer Ms. Titiek Sandhora has been in the music scene since the 70s. With a crisp and typically well-sounding Indonesian style, she oozes sensuality in her interpretation. The composer himself was keroncong music exponent Oei Yok Siang, an Indonesian Chinese, who had scripted a number of famous songs like *Impian Semalam, Gambang Semarang, Menanti Melati, Gulung Lengan Bajumu, Bunga Leili, Setangkai Bunga Mawar, and other songs, mostly written in the mid-thirties and forties. * Impian Semalam: https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/search?q=impian+semalam
Titiek Sandhora: 'Malu Malu Kucing'. Typical keroncong style with the keromong, gambang and other Indonesian gamelan musical instruments. YouTube Video from Alamanda Jokja. A Poem About Cats: During my later years in the 80s, when I was in Aberdeen, Scotland, I was introduced to UK poet, Thom Gunn, one of seven modern poets that included Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes. Gunn wrote one about his apartment cats (below the picture.)
Thom Gunn Modern British poet with his snooty apartment cat which refuses to look at the camera. Typical Aksi Kucing attitude.Taken from Penguin Books (details below). 'Apartment Cats' extracts (full-text image below) The Girls wake, stretch and pad up to the door, They rub my leg and purr: The other rolls back on the floor - Now, more awake they re-enact Ben Hur Along the corridor. Their eyes get wild their bodies tense. Tail-thumped and smothered mew. She abruptly rises, knowing well How to stalk off in wise indifference. Thom Gunn knows his cats as well as the Indonesian composer. Cheers.
A Singing Contest and Trophy: Turning back to the early 60s, I took part in a National Language Month SingingCompetition - there were many of these contests those years. It was organised by our radio station, then Radio Malaysia Singapura and got a consolation prize for my effort. Sure. I sang Aksi Kuching. It was a contest for non-Malays to sing in Bahasa Melayu. My little trophy which I recently found hiding in a cupboard was all dark and dirty. I soaked it in Coke and polished it and got it sparkling again (image). I forgot the trophy but still remember the song. By the way, I love cats.
The Thom Gunn poem: 'Apartment Cats' from Worlds Seven Modern Poets: Edited by Geoffrey Summerfield, 1979. Penguin Books. Images from Google, Penguin Books, and A Personal Collection.
Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff 1922-2019 aged 97 Condolences to Ms. Doris Day's family.
I was still very young when I watched Doris Day's On Moonlight Bay and By The Light Of The Silvery Moon, about 11 or 12 years old? But most of us remember the lyrics:
We were sailing along On moonlight bay We could hear the voices singing They seem to say...
Easy, down the lazy river lyrics; it was some years after World War Two and human beings were relaxed. Entertainment was an entity everyone wanted to devour. And she came on the silver screen.
Doris Day was the simple, pretty lady whose long list of songs and movies was very popular even in little Singapore. She went on to become one of Hollywood's great icons from the 1950s. She had short-clipped blonde hair and dressed simply, the typical school marm every student would want to have in the classroom. And yes, she was a Teacher's Pet, when both movie and song became just as popular.
She was no Susan Hayward, Za Za Gabor or Gina Lollobrigida but attracted the world just as much with her Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes charm and a cheerful, sparkling voice. I learned one of my first few songs from her and to this day sing, Sentimental Journey without forgetting the lyrics. And Secret Love (from Calamity Jane), was another big hit.
But then she could act and starred in a thriller, The Man Who Knew Too Much, an Alfred Hitchcock movie, where she sang her most famous Que Sera Sera. Even Mrs. Lee Kuan Yew, the wife of our first Prime Minister knew this song, rare indeed.
Lots to write about her but then, most who followed her career know about her so well. So Ms. Doris Day, rest in peace.
You are truly one of the greatest stars when you were on earth and definitely the brightest in the sky at night now.
Doris Day tells us to Enjoy Yourself before it's too late. We should take her advice seriously. Life is too short to worry, worry... The years go by as quickly as a wink.
(1) I have known Merlin Lim for about 50 years now, a pleasant, honest and sincere young man who joined the Silver Strings and played rhythm guitar with us since the mid-60s. Merlin was involved in all the 12 Philips vinyl recordings done. This guy has no agenda with you. He's a good friend, period. Merlin has always been supportive of this blog and wrote a note two years ago with so much feel about his mum I thought I'd repeat it on an individual posting; it deserves the honour. (2) FL is my unknown supporter and even to this day, I don't know who he or she is. FL remains anonymous, a person who has written so many comments for this blog, recommends a song which I think is a sincere dedication to a lady that we all love so much. Thanks again to both Merlin and FL.
(1) Merlin Lim Musician:
My Dearest Mum, Has since departed about 10 years ago and up to this minute, I still miss her very much. She is a gentle lady, strangely though, I don't ever remember her saying harsh words or swearing at anyone.
Her life may be tough but her living is simple. Cooking for the family, watching soap operas, cowboy and Native American Indian movies on TV.
When you talk about religion, her reply will always be, "As long as I don't harm others... I'm fine." It's simple but effective.
I knew we will part one day and I work on preparing towards that goal. So when the time came, I was prepared, physically and mentally. Mum also did her preparations. She had a list of what to do, by whom, up to where her ashes should be kept.
Well, a mother is not one day in a year. Mother is ever present, in life, death and beyond. Mother is and will always be part of our existence. Without my mother, I would be...
Love you, mum, always. Rest In Peace.
Mother of Mine (1971) by Neil Reid: A song with meaningful lyrics by a young man who's 12. Above YouTube version by Florence Aguilar. (2) F.L. Blog Supporter:
Hi Andy,
Although my mom is longer around, I still think of her and memories of her keep coming back. I remember one beautiful song "Mother of Mine" with meaningful lyrics first made popular by a young boy of 12 years called Neil Reid in 1971.
May I dedicate this song to all mothers on this Mother's Day. If you have songs to recommend on Mother's Day, please do so and I shall list them below, a space for your song and your name. Images from Google and Merlin Lim's Facebook.
She heard the hits again and her natural outflow describing songs she loves resulted in a free-spirited writing style that can only come from a talented and gifted pop music artiste like Freda Hanum. She is from the very popular girl group The Teepees. Thank you, Freda, for your contribution. Soon the Teepees will appear on these pages, but that might take a while. Meantime, here's Freda with her comments about the nostalgia she experienced when she listened to the songs once more after so many years. It's inspirational.
The song below has been replaced because another posting of the same nature with the song, Summertime Blues has already been featured. This is another May song by Julie Andrews. Enjoy.
The Lusty Month of May: Julie Andrews
from the musical: Camelot.
YouTube Video: Julie Andrews - Topic
Wow, Andy,
I cannot believe my ears hearing that song Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochran), I thought nobody even notices that song. My band had been playing and I sang that song almost every other night when we were in Hiroshima for the 6 months contract in Japan. Our Japanese friends like it. I did not hear of it again any more or anywhere or of any band playing the song in Singapore or Malaysia since 1985 when I came back (cannot remember exactly which year). It had been totally out of my mind since then until I heard it from your blog today. All songs bring a specific memory of when, where andthe happenings surrounding it, who you were with, or a special occasion.
A Hard Day's Night obviously an international Beatles hit, was so very popular among all age group, and that brought my memories back to my secondary school days at Katong; I used to write down all their songs lyrics in my songbook. The song Car Wash (Rose Royce) brings back my memories with the Falcons years back in the 80s I think, a very popular Malaysian band. I was supposed to replace their singer who had to go back to the States, me practising the Car Wash refrainsalmost every day just to get that essence; it was not easy but their vocalist sang that number superbly. As I am more of a lounge singer I did not join the band.
What memories you brought back... Oh my, this song is still an all-time favorite. I never forgot that movie Melody Fair. S.W.A.L.K.(seal with a loving kiss) with Mark Lester, Jack Wild, and Tracy Hyde. So cute were these kids; I fell in love with the movie. Lately just a few months ago - I upload movies but only good old classic ones and with a really good storyline - I managed to find the movie, which I had been searching for quite some time. I was so happy when I finally got it. The songs In The Morning and 1st of May really blended with the movie so well... beautiful songs. The BeeGees have definitive songs that I never tire listening to. Thanks for the oldies and they do click with me. I want to thank you, Andy, for bringing back the good old times in your blog. Cheers to you. Wouldn't know much about songs to protest about, as long as they're good to hear or sing... just go along happily.
Written by Freda Hanum. Copyrights Reserved. Keyboardist for 'Teepees' Pop Girl Group 1970s.
