Peggy Tann sings 'Rindu Oh Rindu', Malay version of 'Send Me A Pillow'. Video by Sonny Sendu from Henri Gann. Peggy Tann Story: Click Labels.

Sam Gan Pianist Tributes Peggy Tann Pianist

After the two Peggy Tann articles were written by Henri Gann (Trekkers), my blog received a lot of mail pertaining to this pretty lady pianist. They were mostly short comments.

The comment below from Sam Gan, another prominent Singaporean pianist whom I have much respect for, is a longer piece which I thought could stand alone as a concise post-column about Ms Tann. 

Play it again Sam. And thank you very much for this insight.

Hi Andy,

Nice story on the late Peggy Tan. I remember she played in her father's (HH Tan's) band when I was still in school in the early fifties, in 1953 or 1954 at the Ambassador Hotel (later known as The Dukes Hotel) in Tanjong Rhu. 

The late tenor saxophonist and guitarist John Lee was an integral member of HH Tan's band. I think they also performed at the old Majestic Hotel (Nam Tian - yellow image) in Chinatown. Peggy's trio at the Princes Garni's Tea-time dances consisted of Peggy on piano, Billy Martinez on double bass and the late Sanip Ismail on drums.

They were already playing great bebop songs like Confirmation, Jordu, Nardis from their vast repertoire of jazz standards. Peggy was the first female professional Singaporean musician and a very accomplished one too. She, like Teresa Khoo, who came on the scene in the 60's were beautiful and shy and very soft spoken.

When she played at the French Restaurant at the Cockpit Hotel (image above) in 1971 and 1972, my band had moved from the French Restaurant to the new Chinese Restaurant that the Indonesian owner Mr Hoo Liong Ting had at the new wing of the old Cockpit Hotel. We had been at the French Restaurant since 1961.

Sam Gan on the piano: 'I Love You For Sentimental Reasons' YouTube.

Peggy was indeed a great and multi-talented professional whom all Singaporeans can be proud of especially me, who had the privilege of knowing her.

Regards,

Sam Gan
Australia.

The Peggy Tann Story Part 2 By Henri Gann

Part 2

The Peggy Tann Story by Henri Gann appears below. It is the last part and I wish to thank my good friend again for taking much trouble to research, write and produce it. If you have photographs and recordings of Peggy Tan to spare please write to me on the Comment page. Andy.

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Picture 5

The ads in the local Straits Times would often read " Dance to the HH Tan's Orchestra and hear Peggy sing ". They would be performing at the El Amigo Nightclub, the Ocean Park Hotel, the Mandarin Hotel or the Cockpit Hotel. 

Many times they would find themselves playing at fashion shows alongside with Joan Booty Modeling Agency. In one instance, they went all the way to the Federal Hotel in Kuala Lumpur just to play at the Press Queen Beauty Pageant.

Occasionally, Peggy and her father would travel to perform in the clubs of Hong Kong. In 1959, they were invited by John Calvert to play with his troupe on his Around The World Tour. That was a major event as reported in the Straits Times by reporter Emma Baptista. 

However, during the interview for the show, Peggy surprised her fans when she said that she would prefer a "quiet life " away from the limelight of show business. (Straits Times Feb 6, 1959). By that time, Peggy had decided that playing for dances at the clubs and hotels were to be her forte rather than touring and playing at fashion shows.

Picture 6 

In later years, Peggy named her band the Prince's Trio or Quartet. In a very short period, she was the resident group at the Prince's Tea Room and the Jennifer's French Restaurant; both at the Cockpit Hotel. 

Years later, Peggy would eventually accomplish resident group status at the Shangri-La Hotel; thus fulfilling her dream of being a professional musician in a luxury 5-star hotel.

The Recording Artist

Peggy released a total of 5 albums/records in her career. Her first attempt at recording was on local music with a good folklore story. She recorded the famous Bengawan Solo, an Indonesian/ Malaysian song made popular after the 2nd World War; and the ever popular Soochow Serenade, a romantic poetic melody from a popular 1942 post-war movie "Suzhou Night" sung by the late Chinese-born Japanese Singer and Actress Yoshiko Yamaguchi (Wikipedia). On subsequent recordings, she selected classical jazz pieces, movie themes, and popular hits. (see list below)

Her favorite musicians were the legendary pianist Oscar Peterson and the great organist Jimmy Smith. The jazz and pop singers she liked were Nancy Wilson, Vic Damone, Peggy Lee and Johnny Mathis. Peggy played many of the themes from the movies and that was a good reminder of the great era days of movie classics.

Picture 7

Filipino producer Gene O'Campo and recording engineer KK Wong both worked with Peggy on her "Love" with Life album. They were very impressed by her flexibility, versatility, and tenacity in her pursuit of perfection during the recording sessions.

Peggy had left us a legacy of beautiful dance tunes and lyrics for her memory. A talented musician, she was just too shy for fame. 

As she stated on the cover of one of her LPs "I live to communicate with my audience, and if this succeeds, I feel so much better." 

For her, that communication with her audience was dancing to her music. That was her passion and her satisfaction was the enthusiastic fans.

Read Part 1: Connect below:

https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.sg/2017/08/the-peggy-tann-story-part-one-by-henri.html

This posting is an original article by Henry Gan and is Copyrights Reserved. 

Images: from Henri Tann, Google.

Picture 8

       

    " Au Revoir Peggy! "

My little boat is like a note

Bouncing merrily along

Hear it splashing up a song

     https://youtu.be/JFmhpUdYB38

Here's my Spotify Playlist on the Music of Peggy:

https://open.spotify.com/user/henrig1234/playlist/12S7iIb7n9jEHweXdw5Kmp

( copy and paste )

And some YouTube link to her music selection:

   1.  If Ever I Would Leave You -  B.Adair

          https://youtu.be/92I1yiBBuX

   2.  I Will Wait For You - Lisa Lovbrand

        https://youtu.be/QJZZXDqbC5s

    

   3.  Something Stupid ( Frank and  

           Nancy Sinatra )

           https://youtu.be/PoSbnAFvqfA

Picture 9

    4.  Unchained Melody ( Nora Jones )

          https://youtu.be/stzo-8N1dhQ

    

     5.  Hati Yang Luka ( Betharia Sonata )

            https://youtu.be/vFaO21qwCaM

• this article was inspired by a sad note from Melvyn Tan in Andy's blog regarding his aunt Peggy Tann ... " my dearest aunt passed away at 7:55 am Wednesday, May 11, 2016, and had left us with a treasure trove of her music and sweet memories of her soul. "
• Peggy was a good friend of my uncle when I was a kid and I had heard stories about her from my brother to whom my uncle had confided in.

The Peggy Tann Story Part One: By Henri Gann

Henri Gann trusted me when he decided to let me in on these stories about our pop music stars from the 50's onwards. I respect his wishes and remind readers that his publishings have been copyrighted. 

I must thank him again for the time and effort he took to research Ms Peggy Tann.

This posting is a National Day 2017 gift from Henri Gann to the people of Singapore.

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Remembering Peggy (Part 1)

"Peggy Tann could very well be Singapore's next great singing star. She had several necessary qualities to reach stardom. A style and identity, talent and showmanship and a desire to be a big name artist."

... popular Hong Kong Radio DJ Tony Orchez (1962).

Pictures 1

She was a singer, jazz pianist and organist and a fashion icon in Singapore 60s. She had excellent taste in clothes, food and music ( Tony Orchez '62 ). She was elegant, classy and beautiful; the type of girl you would see in the fashion magazine like Her World or today's Vogue. 

Music, Dance Halls, Hotel Lounges and Jazz Music in Singapore 60's

Jazz music was popular in Singapore 60's. At that time, it would not be uncommon to hear the music from a 3 or 4 piece jazz band echoing from the hotel lobby. I can recollect the deep distinctive notes from the double-double bass, the sweeping brush strokes of the snare drums, the sexy expressive sound of a saxophone and a smooth voice of a singer-pianist whenever I walked past the Adelphi Hotel or the Raffles Hotel. This was the jazz music of Peggy and the HH Tann Orchestra.

Peggy and HH Tann Orchestra

Peggy Tann was an all round musician. She was not only a singer but could also play the piano and the organ which is an instrument few can master because of its difficult bass pedals. She had her music training in classical piano and her vocal coaching at the school.

Peggy was inspired by her father HH Tan who was himself a talented musician. He was a saxophonist and a band leader with his own orchestra. It was an unusual career for him considering that most of the professional musicians of his time in Singapore were either Eurasians or from the Philippines. 

He was also a very modest man who shunned publicity (Straits Times Jan 28, 1972). He gave Peggy a head start by focusing her early appearances only in exclusive places. 

Pictures 2

In Singapore 60's, it was very difficult for a young musician to gain entry into the business. In the report " Musical Practice of Jazz in Singapore " of the National Archives, it was mentioned that within the musicians' group, there were those who played for the 5-star hotels and others that played for the amusement parks cabarets: New World, Great World and Happy or Gay World. 

Classical Training:

The main difference between these two types of musicians was the ability to read notes. The Trekkers members had the opportunity to meet professional musicians such as Charles Lazaroo, Winston Filmer, Sam Gan and Louis Soliano when we had our short stint playing at Radio and Television Singapura and at Rediffusion. 

We were also fortunate to have met the up and coming musicians like Philip Chin and his Blue Combo and the Key Notes when we were at the Great World Cabaret Battle of the Bands contest. 

Peggy's ability to read music from her classical piano training together with the guidance from her musician father put her at an advantage over many of the amateurs and she gained professional musician status in a very short time. She was still in her teens when she achieved professional status.

Tough Tenure:

In the same article, ballroom dancing was also reported as a popular form of entertainment. It was said that while the VIPs and expatriates would go to the 5-star Raffles, Adelphi and Cockpit Hotels, the locals and off duty military personnel would often patronise the Dance Halls or Cabarets of the Amusement Parks. 

It was at the El Amigo Nightclub of the New World Amusement Park where Peggy had her early start in show business like many that came after her. The club was at Kitchener Road located in a historical part of old Singapore and named after the British Earl Kitchener from World War 1. 

It was also in the Jalan Besar area, formerly a very rough area part of town. Still, it was here that Peggy first learned about jazz while playing as a duet with her dad.  The tough tenure at the club gave her the equivalence of the experience that legendary jazz artistes from the New Orleans Preservation Hall of America would have gone through.

Read Part 2: Connect below:

https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.sg/2017/08/the-peggy-tan-story-part-2-by-henri-gann.html

Please make comments if you wish, especially if you are familiar with Peggy Tann and HH Tann.

Part Two would follow soon.

Happy National Day 2017 to all Singaporeans near and far.

Images and Collage: Henri Gann (right).
Copyrights Reserved (California, USA).