Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Yesterday Once More = Hand-Written Song Books


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Song books were a big deal during the golden years of popular music. These books were actually lyrics of popular songs written personally in script. Above is a few shared by Freda Hanum keyboardist from The TEEPEES, who uses them professionally.

Because of the intensity and feel of the articles these friends have written about the subject, I  have decided to post them verbatim. 

Song books with pop lyrics, written personally in one's own handwriting, was a big deal during the 50's, 60's and 70's, so I have highlighted three of such song books, written by three ladies, Daisy, Irene and Freda. But they did it for different reasons.

Thank you all so much.

When I was young I'd listen to the radio, Waiting for my favourite song...

Daisy Koh
The Hobbyist

Songbooks were treasured items. Those were the days when we had Rediffusion on all day. I would be listening to the request programme and practising 10-year series Mathematics - today it’s called multitasking.  I also had my jotter book ready... I would scribble down the lyrics once a new song was aired. We would compare notes in school and confirm the lyrics the next time the song was aired.

 I had a thick hard cover notebook of all the popular songs. The cover was wrapped in white mahjong paper and decorated with beautiful postcards of Elvis in front and Cliff on the back. We made our own plastic covers. The lyrics were written in our best handwriting. We were very proud of our song books then. 😁Writing down the lyrics also increased your speed in writing and comprehension skills... We would also try to figure out the missing blanks.

A personal book of lyrics for reference, just in case requests were made during her stints in hotel lobby lounges in Singapore where Irene Yap appeared sometimes. Her mainstay strongholds were in nightclubs. No books.
Irene Yap
The Singer

This book was handwritten way back in my secondary school years and on to my singing days! Back than we sang songs by heart but sometimes we had to oblige special requests on the spot so I always had this with me! 

One night after work I left my bag on the floor and went to bed to find next morning the air-conditioner directly above leaking into my open bag. They were written with ink dipped pen so the smudges on most pages. Till today it remains my most treasured book!

Freda Hanum
The Keyboardist/Singer

Writing song books days really bring back great memories, I am very organised with my song books (really have so many). I have every category of song, evergreen standards in one, pop hits and rock in another, some in other languages like Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Malay in another. My reason; whenever I get a request it's easy for me to look it up even if I had not played the song for some time, and most of them have chords written at top of the wordings. I have no problem playing them. I make it very convenient; it's really my hobby, never tired of writing down lyrics in my collection, and I keep and treasure all my old books, bought and self written. Just sharing a few of my books here, Andy.

It was songs of love, that I would sing to then, And I'd memorise each word... Some can even make me cry...

'Yesterday Once More' by the Carpenters. Video by amyanne16 on YouTube.

This article is a combination of 3 comments by

Daisy Koh; Irene Yap and Freda Hanum.

Images 1 and 2 from Freda and Irene.

Comments were inspired by the post below. Click to connect.

https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2011/11/copying-pop-lyrics-with-pen-and-paper.html

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34 comments:

  1. ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. ©10.11.20

    It was tedious, copying line by line songs we love into script so we could sing them with the recording. Were you one of those guys like me...

    ReplyDelete
  2. FACEBOOK CHATS10.11.20

    JULIANAN LIM
    Sure did. In blue fountain pen ink on a red record book which I’ve sadly lost. Your blog makes us baby- boomers so happy. Nostalgia of our teenage years. Thanks 🙏

    ANDY
    hey, thanks for the memory. it keeps us going through the wrinkled years. haha.

    DICK YIP
    My first songbook is the old days account book-journal which I bought and started writing down song lyrics. Began in 1961.Still with me today with guitar and uke chords I added later. Tattered and torn but is a treasured item. It has been filmed many times.🤟✌️😍

    ANDY
    thanks for your songbook anecdote. yes, true. the more tattered it is, the more we love it. cheers. take a picture for me.

    MICHAEL LEE
    Yes I did, writing songs with chords into what we called "record books" that had hard covers that look something like picture attached. I also bought song books with one similar to your poster picture and many others which I think I still stored in boxes under my bed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. STEPHEN HAN10.11.20

    During my schooldays I used to listen to the Reddifusion and the Radio.Whenever a song became popular ,I would copy it on my school exercise book and sang it.Some song books could be bought from the stores around the Shaw Theatres.I still have the minature Elvis’s song book which was purchased from a book store near the Paramount Theatre in Serangoon Garden.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. ©10.11.20

    THANKS Stephen for your thoughts. I missed answering it earlier. I used to do the same but it was not easy. I gave up easily and decided to copy from records after that.

    ReplyDelete
  5. FACEBOOK CHATS10.11.20

    andy
    oh my. thanks so much. what a detailed explanation and so well described. that's from the heart. thanks again daisy.

    andy
    irene thanks for the picture too. i love the stained pages and overall condition of the book. i shall repost them with michael lee's book on the blog. i'm trying hard to get all these memories into a book if i can.

    irene
    Your blog brings back memories I wouldn't have remembered till u triggered them! Thanks to you my dear friend!!

    irene
    oh, BTW, the pic was glued to the book, haha!! I didn't had my name on the book!!!

    andy
    hi, you are very organised too. no wonder you are an exceptional musician, a true professional indeed. and you have so many books. thanks for sharing.

    freda
    Thanks for your post that jot us back our old memories, glad to be able share it, most welcome Andy

    ReplyDelete
  6. ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. ©10.11.20

    Hiroshi Deguchi
    Jennie Law
    Koh Sui Pang
    Freda Hanum
    Francis Anthony Rozells
    Irene Yap
    Kali Dass S
    Angela Leow
    Ser Kiong Tan
    Charlie Yap Locomotion
    Yip Dick
    Ho Victor
    Juliana Lim
    Davy Chan
    Gracie Teo
    THANKS TO THE LIST OF FOLKS WHO LIKE THIS POST

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cedric Collars10.11.20

    Hi Andy yes I remember the song books of yesteryears and also those we hand wrote. I however did not write my songs but instead had them on tape. I then used to memorise them. I have a good ear for music so didn't need the music on paper. I now use the computer and save the songs. Ah memories!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. IRENE YAP RECORDING ARTISTE10.11.20

    Nice article Andy because many of us can identify with it.
    btw, the pix was glued to the book, haha cost I didn't have my name written on it.
    can't use in nightclub performances because for singers we were supposed to sing by heart back then without any stand in front of us but used in hotel lobby lounges where the atmosphere is more informal.

    For lobby performances i usually carry a few books, but in this particular instance, it is special because I started it during my school days.

    ReplyDelete
  9. WAYNE CHOW - SINGER10.11.20

    Yes, that was how we did it before the digital era, before instant replays, before online music. but i think more importantly as these ladies have pointed out - we can't really learn anything meaningful from songs anymore. Lyrics these days are so impersonal, so detached from the humanness of life that even if someone were to take the time to hand-write them down, i doubt one can derive much educational value from them.

    ReplyDelete
  10. ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. ©10.11.20

    how true Wen Hing.
    was listening to my grand daughter's favourite k pop group black pink.
    the lyrics didn't mean much .
    repeated lines of words that i couldn't understand.
    i guess i am out of their time.
    could be meaningful for them.
    again it's more stage performance too with dance and sexy costumes.
    a different focus.

    I'D LIKE TO TAKE THIS OCCASION TO THANK ALL ABOVE WHO WROTE IN TO MAKE COMMENTS.
    POSTINGS ON BLOGS CAN BE BORING IF NOBODY ANSWERS THEM.
    IT BECOMES A ONE SIDED LOVE AFFAIR.

    ReplyDelete
  11. STEPHEN HAN10.11.20

    re - your blog on writing songs on exercise books, i bought a few thick songbooks of oldies with music note in hatyai and bangkok.
    i still have some books dated in the sixties.

    ReplyDelete
  12. FACEBOOK CHATS11.11.20

    KENNETH VAITHILINGAM
    My repertoire is more than 200 songs because of this book. Broken and torn but I still have it. At my age ,I now have to use a magnifying glass to see the lyrics.
    That's how they got so many songs in one book

    Andy Young
    Author
    Kenneth Vaithilingam , hi kenneth. thanks for your constant replies and pieces of information. magnifying glass. wow. that's something. would be great if you could show the book. haha.

    ReplyDelete
  13. ALFRED WONG - THE YARDLEYS11.11.20

    Old style.
    Those days song books are a must and a big thing containing all the lyrics.
    But you're good; you could remember some of the lyrics by heart.

    ReplyDelete
  14. FACEBOOK CHATS11.11.20

    Irene Yap
    Andy Young sure Andy! Of course! Thanks for bringing back sweet memories for so many of us here!🥰.

    Freda Hanum
    Irene Yap So agreed with you Irene dear.

    ReplyDelete
  15. ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. ©11.11.20

    Thank you all for participating in this very popular posting.
    So we can see now that keeping song books can be a hobby but part of the job for a professional too.

    Today, everything's done on a Pad or Phone where the lyrics and chords are downloaded from the internet since the gadget can be carried around so conveniently.

    CHEERS.

    ReplyDelete
  16. FL13.11.20

    Hi, Andy, in fact, I do have a a few copies of my own-handwritten song books in my secondary school days (1960s), and I even added contents and pictures cuttings (mainly from Radio Weekly tabloids) of the singers and bands. The song lyrics were shared amongst my classmates. During the 1960s till I think 1970s, bookshops or even stationery shops here used to sell 'OK HITS SONG BOOK' from HK. There is another song book version I couldn't recall its name now. I used to purchase the 2 versions at about 60 or 70 cents a copy then. Hence, I have quite large collections with me ! No wonder I didn't do well in school ! Hahaha !

    ReplyDelete
  17. John13.11.20

    Every music lover I know in the 70s, including me, would own a Thai published 'Let It Be Me' songbook but the lyrics & chords were full of errors. I too preferred the smaller sized Hongkong song books like OK Hits. The other is Hit Parade & I bought both. They came with very accurate guitar chords, lyrics & music notes. I hand copied the lyrics with their chords onto 2 note books which I glued photos of artistes cut out from pop papers like Radio Weekly , Fanfare magazines etc. I had them until recently when silverfish, time & elements took a toll on its condition. However I managed to scan it before it totally disintegrated.

    ReplyDelete
  18. ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. ©14.11.20

    Hi FL,

    Thanks for being part of this incredible 60's music with me all these years with other contributing commentators and writers like you.

    I think it's your second comment on this topic, having written another on the same topic but a few years ago.

    Very glad you still have such a large collection. I hope you will keep them with you as they are such treasures really.

    I remember the OK HITS and their covers. Could they be the ones with music notes and a different colour each year from around the 60s onwards? At 70 cents then, they would probably cost more than $7.00 today.

    THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES FL.


    THANKS SO MUCH FOR SHARING.

    ReplyDelete
  19. ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. ©14.11.20

    Hi John,
    thanks for another memory piece.
    yes i remember the 'let it be me' songbook
    but didn't know it carries mistakes.
    interesting that you scanned whatever
    was left of the photos and news pieces.

    appreciate your interest in this song-book
    collection post.

    ReplyDelete
  20. mattjsltan ex fried ice co founder now world gangsta guitar hero, LOL14.11.20

    wow, if i had lovely writing like you ladies i 'd probably do the same. but my handwriting was as mom used to say, .."like a doctor's squggly chicken scratches! ..
    thus, i relied on those hongkong songbooks which had the music staffs and the words in between them. and i was quite happy for that as the chords provided me with my first and only training to knowing what made a chord.
    later on, with the advent of jimi hendrix , moby grape, buffalo springfield,..and all those hippies from greenwich village, i stopped buying those song books as they do not have those songs. by that time, i had already figured out what made a chord , major, minor, m7 M7, dim, half dim, dom 7.. and realise it was all quite simple and even simpler if you played triads in every inversion possible across the 22 frets until my fretboard became an extension of my arm..
    i learnt that pretty quick as i had already a couple of lessons from my first and only teacher vivian nonis. and then the rest as they say was up to the student..
    as the chinese saying goes.. master leads you to the door, the rest of the way is up to student.

    and fast fwd to 2020.. all that became second nature. as they say, the rest is history..
    or should it be ..my-story.

    beautiful souvenirs, btw, .. it does make some pretty gifts to people who cherish
    beautiful pop tunes and even more so, beautiful handwriting.

    i think in this age of computers the art of writing is even more precious..
    as most ppl do not even know how to write a paragraph of exciting tale..
    all you get is a poke, an emo and that's it.
    anything more than 5 sentences like the way i usually write ..
    i get a virtual slap in the face.. GOSH, SO LONG ???

    imagine most of you hand writers must also are accustomed to being told off
    if you too are like myself still a big fan in writing letters.

    it is indeed a treasure, as the best thing i ever got from my mother
    was her hand written letters she used to write me from wherever she was..
    as my whole family scattered around the world after we left singapore..
    is that what they call a diaspora.. ??? hmm, andy?

    ya, the chen disapora LOL..
    interest article. cheers for sharing it with us DAISY IRENE FREDA !
    best regards from montreal. stay safe !

    mattjsltan
    mattjsltan The 4 H's original tribute to Holst,Holdsworth, Hendrix n Halen

    ReplyDelete
  21. suituapui18.11.20

    Hey!!! I had a handwritten song book too!!! Late 60's, early 70's. We would buy a thick note book and pass it to our friends - instead of signing autographs (which we also did), we would get everyone to copy the lyrics of a song in their best handwriting and stick a photograph (or more). Gosh!!! Those were the best days of our lives!!!

    Other than the "Let it be me songbook", I also had this red songbook - a lot of people had it at the time:
    https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/a-song-id-like-to-sing/?fbclid=IwAR0q15W6uTnv5mNPoFXV4ITDfWYC6w88u92kLfgOp4xQ3f3dw_tkOwERpzA

    Gee!!! This is a great post! Brings back all those wonderful memories!!! Thanks, Andy!

    ReplyDelete
  22. ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. ©18.11.20

    Hi STP,
    It's been a long while since you wrote in.
    THANKS so much for visiting again.
    I had a look at your blog too.
    It's fantastic - yes and so much food to eat.

    Thanks also for putting up my blog address to connect.
    Appreciate.

    Song books, sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  23. suituapui19.11.20

    Most welcome. Thanks for hopping over and commenting!
    Great to be back, always love reading your posts. Those were the days, the good ol' days.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Yen19.11.20

    Wonderful topic, Andy. I have a handwritten song file from my poly days in 90s, consisted all my favourite song lyrics. My classmates also wrote the song lyrics for me with their beautiful handwriting. A wonderful gift to sing a long with. <3

    ReplyDelete
  25. ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. ©20.11.20

    Thanks for the interesting comment Yen and for visiting the blog.
    Yes it's true.
    Such treasures we keep are locked in our hearts.
    Do visit again Yen.

    ReplyDelete
  26. ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. ©21.11.20


    Andy Young
    Wow, if i had lovely writing like you ladies I'd probably do the same. but my handwriting was as mom used to say, ..'like a doctor's squiggly chicken scratches...' MATT TAN from FRIED ICE - 60's who lives in CANADA.

    Andy Young
    thanks Tin Leong, always supportive.

    Peter Lim
    Irene Yap sang at a Pub at plaza Sing... Some 40 odd years ago... She had a huge dog named Kelly...

    Peter Lim
    To date Irene those days... U had to date the dog too... So the dog was drooling in my brand new car then.. Hahaha so funny...

    Stephen Han
    I still have song books dating in the 50s

    Freda Hanum
    Wow Andy what a pleasant surprise, really admire your so active and creative mind, It is indeed so nice to see Daisy and Irene picture together, didn't know Daisy look such a pleasant lady, together with beautiful Irene Yap too, thank you for your song writing post, God bless always 🙏😊

    Koh Daisy
    Thanks Freda you look stunning yourself. I believe we have common friends ...Joyce Lim and Sandra Vernie... they are my good friends too. In addition to the Evergreen Andy of course.

    Andy Young
    Koh Daisy THANKS, i wish... but it's positivity in life that we need.

    Andy Young
    Thanks Freda, for the kind words. You and the others help to make the posting a successful. God Bless.

    THANKS ALL FOR THE WONDERFUL COMMENTS REGARDING THIS POST ABOUT SONG BOOKS,
    SOMETHING SO INSIGNIFICANT TODAY, YET SO HIGHLY TREASURED BY MOST.

    ReplyDelete
  27. FACEBOOK11.12.20

    Andy Young
    Foo Jong Fook
    Ann Rowena Lim
    Stephen Han
    Freda Hanum
    Patrick Teng
    Jeff Lawrence
    Marilyn Leverink
    Susan Sit
    Phoenix Crystal
    Sam Sammino
    Pierre Arnold
    Sandra Vernie
    Joyce Lim
    Moody Cash
    Linda Tan
    THANKS TO ALL WHO LIKE THIS POST

    ReplyDelete
  28. FACEBOOK CHATS20.1.23

    SONG BOOKS - SPECIAL THANKS TO DAISY, IRENE AND FREDA FOR A COMMENT EACH WHICH DREW MANY RESPONSES, LIKES AND VIEWS. ONE IS FROM MONTREAL, ONE FROM JAPAN, ANOTHER SARAWAK, KL, THEN AUSTRALIA. TO ALL, THANK YOU.

    ReplyDelete
  29. ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. ©29.1.23

    Thanks Dick.

    ReplyDelete
  30. CHIT CHAT10.5.23


    Andy Young
    Author
    Hi, anyone had a personal song book to copy your favourite lyrics into? Then paste your singer's picture on a page? Pray tell...

    Kuan Suan Wong
    I remember I used to have that book too...

    Andy Young
    Author
    Kuan Suan Wong hi, thanks for the visit. Yes, it was common then, without a smart phone or computer, we wrote everything. 🙂

    Andy Young
    Author
    Thanks to SilverHairsClub for posting this article and the 9 fantastic members who are the first to LIKE it.

    ReplyDelete
  31. CHIT CHAT10.5.23


    Yeo Khirn Hup
    How times have changed!
    Now lyrics of any song are readily available via a Google search, and many songs in YouTube have onscreen lyrics.

    Andy Young
    Author
    Yeo Khirn Hup yes, it certainly has.
    No more dictation.
    Now we dictate print and pictures.
    Thanks for the comment Mr Yeo.

    ReplyDelete
  32. CHIT CHAT10.5.23

    Susannah Low
    Oh, i have this song book too!

    Andy Young
    Author
    Susannah Low, hello!
    Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  33. CHIT CHAT15.5.23

    Stephen Han
    Kali Dass S
    Jennie Law
    Jimmy Appudurai-chua
    Ivor Lesslar
    Maggie Loh
    Rosalind Ng
    ভোরের আলো
    Patricia Lim
    Agnes Tan
    Allan Lim
    Seah Yong Kok
    Grace Tan
    Roland Kam
    Jacquelina Ho
    David Funk
    AngelaMing Tran
    Susannah Low
    Chen Mincong Lester
    Andrew Lee
    Choon Kiat Tan
    Yeo Khirn Hup
    Johnny Yeow
    David Mak
    Thomas Choi
    Phyllis Thoe
    Kho Chuan Bee
    Lee FK
    Jasmine CJ
    Muna Lim
    Kuan Suan Wong
    Steven Lum
    Vivien Chan
    姚麗君

    THANKS TO THIS NEW LIST OF VIEWERS WHO LOVE THIS POST

    ReplyDelete
  34. CHIT CHAT15.5.23



    Norman Chew
    I remember my uncle used to have records of his favourite singers for the turntable. I was really young and never truly appreciated the songs then.

    Norman Chew hi!!! I hope you do now. Thanks for writing in. Those were the day.

    Norman Chew
    Andy Young Yes, I know find the lyrics of most yesteryear’s songs has appropriate meanings. Btw, I will always choose the evergreen songs to sing at Karol’s.

    Thanks again for feedback.

    ReplyDelete