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 !
While checking letters from readers I came across this Anonymous comment below. Thank you so much dear reader and friend for writing from across the Causeway about these four very talented musical producers and the vinyl records that resulted, which were later sold during the cassette years.
"I am a Malaysian 61 now in 2024 and remember as far back as in the late 1970’s when my gifted and talented school mate who came from a musically inclined family bought the Anita Sarawak and Tracy Huang cassettes [images] and shared and played them for us.
I was only about 15 or 16 at that time and the first thing I noticed was how remarkably the production sounded… it sounded very similar to the originals but sung by local divas Anita and Tracy... naturally, we read the credits. It started, 'Produced by Reggie Verghese...'
Thank you Singapore…thank you Reggie, Martin, Vincent and Iskandar … all great musicians & great humble human beings."
NB:
Beside the original ones many of these cassettes sold were pirated copies. A lot of them were sold in the open market, legally or otherwise. Business was brisk as production was cheap and sold for merely $2.00 a piece or thereabouts.
I am just wondering how the rightful companies and music producers dealt with this issue... Comments are welcome from readers.
Images: Google.
Thank you both, Barbara and Herb. It's a late posting and I have explained why, but it's better late than none at all.
A December 2023 Christmas Letter:
Dear Andy,
My apologies for not getting back sooner, in Cairns and Townsville are just now recovering from Cyclone Jasper and it caused a lot of havoc. We lost power and flooding in the suburbs still and it hasn't stopped raining. Plenty of debris everywhere.
Now this is from Herb to you. It's been sometime since I last wrote to you.
I remember that I mentioned that I was going to tell you how Mike and his brother Herb got started in the music scene. Well it all started when we heard the Beatles song on the radio and we loved what we heard. So we went and bought their LP record "I Saw her standing there" and learnt their song and harmony.
Now where we lived in Butterworth, mainland - Malaysia , there was a group of guys that had formed a band and we would have jam sessions with them and also there was Rocky Teoh (Malaysia's Elvis Presley). We became very good friends.
Now there was a live variety show that came to Butterworth with bands and performing artists. The band was the Ipoh Falcons and they backed all the singers, just to name a few Rocky Teoh (Elvis), Rubiah Lubis (Connie Francis), Rudy Locke (Cliff Richard), and a lot more other artists and of course, dancers. The show was called "Sakura Presents", and it had all the performing artists and all backed by the Falcons.
The show's first port of call was in Butterworth and they had 2 nightly shows, 6.15pm and 9.15pm and the tour was in Butterworth for 2 days. We both heard about the show and went to the 9.15pm show on the first night , mainly to see Rocky Teoh.
The show started with the Falcons playing 2 instrumental songs and they were fantastic. Their showmanship playing got the audience in a frenzy and the Falcons were rocking and rolling . Then came the artists one by one doing their stuff and finally when Rocky Teoh came out, we both shouted out to Rocky saying, "Knock 'em out Rocky!"
He did a very good show and the audience kept shouting for more. He saw us and waved to us to come backstage. So during the interval, we went to see him and he asked us if we were still singing all the Beatles songs and we said, "Yes." He asked us to come to the theatre during mid-morning (2nd day and last day) and we had a practice session with the Ipoh Falcons. So we did and when we went to the theatre for a practice, Rocky had told the managers of the tour to listen to us perform..
We practiced 5 songs with the band and I can remember 3, they were, "I Saw Her Standing There, Can't Buy Me Love, and She Loves You." We did both the 6.15pm and 9.15pm and the audience kept shouting for more and more and we did the 5 songs. (Beatlemania was everywhere. I guess Mike and Herb's performance just enhanced the Beatles popularity). As soon as we finished both the shows, the manager of the variety show asked us to sign a contract to join the troupe.
I told him that I was still at school and Mike said that he was learning to be a diesel mechanic. The manager informed us that the show was only going for 6 days. Well, we signed the contract and told the manager that we would be there at the theatre to be picked up.
We went home and asked our parents if we could go on this tour; it was only for 6 days. We asked our mum to tell Mikes' employer and my school that we were both sick and we will be away for one week. Our parents agreed and so off we went.
As I said before Beatlemania was everywhere and that made Mike and Herb stars of the show . The show was so successful that the Cathay Organisation gave the tour to all their theatres to perform all over Malaysia, Sarawak, Brunei, Jesselton, Sandakan, Semporna and also Singapore.
The Beatles of Malaysia show was so successful that it lasted for almost 7 months . We were performing 16 shows a week and in the last 2 months it was 17 shows a week.
2 shows 6.15 and 9.16 Monday to Friday = 10 shows.
3 shows on Saturday, 3 shows on Sunday 1.15pm, 6.15pm and 9.30pm -6 shows = 16 shows.
In the last 2 months it was as above except Sunday , we had a 9 am show as the rest.
I have to say that it was a fantastic variety show and we had the best times of our lives having fans chasing us and screaming and signing autographs. It was our very good friend the late Rocky Teoh who gave Mike and Herb our start in the Entertainment Industry.
My late brother and best friend Mike and myself Herb, once again have to thank Rocky Teoh for giving us our start. The rest is history!
Please find below the photo of Herb as Santa Claus🧑🎄 ready for a function. He is again booked in for the 21st Thursday 6.30pm in Palm Cove Life Savings Club, Cairns Queensland.
In the meantime Andy, I wish you and your family a Very MERRY and BLESSED CHRISTMAS and a safe NEW YEAR. Here's hoping that 2024 is a very good year for everyone.
Kindest Regard,
Herb and Barbara.
[Copyrights Reserved]
UP TO 300 VIEWS,
12 COMMENTS, CHATS
Letter 1
李逸和婷婷的朋友， 苏先生 [28.06.2022] wrote:
Thank you for your very detailed write up on Lee Yee, the No: 1 Male Singer in the 70s. To be honest, not much had written about 李逸 in English; yours is probably the most detailed write up about him that I have read so far.
I had known Lee Yee since about 1975, he and Ting Ting moved into their new house only meters from our house when they got married in mid 1975. Still remember clearly that it was soon after the release of the famous concert play, (唐伯虎点秋香) and his probably most famous and popular No: 3 album (唱首情歌给谁听)。
There are still thousands of fans following and listening to his music on YouTube, Facebook, etc. There are up to a dozen of his fan clubs on social media, some boasting more than 10,000 members。
Letter 2:
👍T.J. Magsakay [1.10.2022] wrote:
Lee Yee was a famous Malaysian Mandarin Singer during the 60s-70s decade. Ke Ai De Ma (Lovely Horse) was adapted from a Japanese Enka Ballad Tassha Dena (See You Soon) originally sung by Michiya Mihashi (1920-1996) a famous Enka singer from the 1940s-1950s era.
Lee Yee was born Lee Kim Peow on January 10, 1942 in Pengerang, Johor, Malaysia. He started his career in the RTM Green Network Singing Contest in 1961. And Chang Shou Qing Ge Gei Shui Ting (Whom Can I Sing This Love Song) was released in 1964. He had lots of albums and concerts.
Lee Yee died of a road rage accident in 1980 while the World Tour of Eric Clapton started in the Hall. He is a Henghwa with ancestral roots from Putian, Fujian, China. He is the son of a farmer and fisherfolk Lee was buried in Nirvana Memorial Park on April 30, 1980 after a wake was held on 27-29 of the same month which is before May of that year.
He was a graduate of Tunku Abdul Rahman University, Chung Leng High School, St John's Insititute in Johor, Malaysia and worked in a ceramic company as a manager of the boss which happened to be Yee Hock Tong Trading Sendirian Berhad （余学堂留易股份有限公司）in Johor Bahru, Johor, near Pengerang his hometown; which was founded in the 1950s by Goh Tuk Heow （吴铁球 1903-1981) born in Sarawak and died in Las Vegas, Nevada of a heart attack and where he had migrated to because of overpopulation.
Readers can read the original 2017 post by clicking the link below:
https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2017/10/lee-yee-malaysian-hearthrob-not.html
It has up to 12,000 views.
[Please credit this blog if information is abstracted from this post.]
Thanks Freda. Your stories are definitely entertaining! Do read on...
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 and the happenings surrounding it, who you were with, or a special occasion.
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' refrain almost 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...
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.
Author: Ms. Freda Hanum, who contributed many articles for this blog.
