Dr Ng Eng Hen: Students *Edusave Awards 2018/2019. You Decorated My Life: Kenny Rogers

SONGS I LOVE:

When you watch the children grow and see them going up on stage a few years later to receive an award, that's the most pleasurable reward any Senior could receive.

It was a double whammy when the grandchildren, accepted with some vigor, their certificates for an education achievement from Defence Minister Dr. Ng Eng Hen. Quietly,  the parents and grandparents sang their song ❤❤❤with calm delight. 

You Decorated My Life. The song is sung by Kenny Rogers.  "It takes a village to raise a child." So says the African proverb.

Thanks to all involved for guiding the kids on a hopeful educational journey that is paved with much learning. Then meeting Dr. Ng after the ceremony was a pleasant encounter. Much appreciation for accommodating two very proud Seniors for the group photo taking. 

And the kids? Yes, you both decorated our life...  

There was no harmony
Life meant nothing to me
Until you all came along...

It really takes a village to raise a child. ❤❤❤

Congratulations on getting the awards!!!

Singapore's Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen during the education award ceremony 2018 and 2019.

*Edusave Good Progress Award (GPA).

Images: Google and A Personal Collection.

Touched n Inspired By Hymns Through My Years...

My Good Friday and Easter Posting

School Days

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died.

I do not remember, as a young student in an Anglican school, learning specific Good Friday and Easter songs. It happened too long ago but I can still recollect being taught, for both my music classes and Religious Knowledge (R.K.) lessons, by Mr. V. Q. 

Chapel Time on Friday morning was when we got our energy together and sang our hearts out, accompanied by a truly unique church organ played by Mr Q.
It was the most enjoyable period on the time table and I loved every moment. This weekly class was usually conducted by a kind Reverend Dr D.D. C. 

During special events, the school would use the majestic cathedral, beside City Hall MRT, for prayers, blessings and hymns. We were thrilled when we first entered it and found the grandeur architecture awesome but the visits seemed too few.  There were not many inaugurations yearly.

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross

YouTube Video from: Northern Baptist Association.

The hymn, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, written by Isaac Watts and published in Hymns and Spiritual Songs in 1707 was one of the earlier hymns I learnt at school. The version I learnt is the one sung by Cliff Richard (You Tube One) above. 

There were many other hymns and I do remember a few like, Forty Days and Forty Nights (1856), Onward Christian Soldiers (1865/1871), All Things Bright And Beautiful (1848) and All People That On Earth Do Dwell (1650). And not forgetting the School Hymn. Woe betide the student who didn't know both, which included the School Song.

Post School Days

He touched me, oh he touched me
And oh the joy that floods my soul.

Since I left school, there was this period when I only listened to Christmas carols on the radio, vinyl records, cassettes and CD's. But because of my interest in pops, I had nearly two dozen songs recorded by an artiste who kept me in tune. 

The CD which I have till today is Take My Hand, Elvis Presley Gospel Favourites. This recording is a memorabilia among Presley fans and includes classics like I Believe (1953), Amazing Grace (1779), Put Your Hand In The Hand (1970), Joshua Fit The Battle (1865), How Great Thou Art (1885) and others. 

Then the Presley specials, Peace In The Valley (1937), Crying In The Chapel (1953), Take My Hand Precious Lord (1844) and He Touched Me (1964). There are twenty songs in all.

As the years went by, touched and inspired with this genre of music I started collecting again. One I learnt was Because He Lives (1971). Written two hundred years later after Wondrous Cross, this particular song was written by  William Gaither in the 60's. 

Gaither was an American singer and songwriter of the southern gospel and contemporary christian music.  He Touched Me (You Tube Two), the Presley favourite which became a hit, was the William Gaither breakthrough song.

Forty days and forty nights
Thou was fasting in the wild
Forty days and forty nights
Tempted and yet undefiled...

There is a second part to this piece; it will surface in another posting. 

Have a Good Friday and a Happy Easter.

NB:

The Hymn 
is addressed to God for praise, worship, adoration and prayer. It allows us to confess our sins to God, claim His mercy and promises, and pledge our loyalty and faithful service.

The Gospel song 
is addressed to the people, warn them of the consequences of sin, give the promise of liberty, peace, joy and heaven. With it we can appeal directly to the people to do likewise. 

Both Hymns and Gospels are used in Evangelistic churches.

(If errors are found in this article please write to advise; I am a novice with religious music.)

Images from: 
(1) http://www.pictures88.com/good-friday/wonderful-good-friday-graphic/
(2) http://episcopalvail.com/?event=easter-sunday

You Tube videos of Cliff Richard, Elvis Presley and Alabama from: 
(1) Sir Cliff Richard
(2) you tube addict cyber space enthusiast
(3) GaitherVEVO
Dates of song composition have been taken from WIKI.

ST. ANDREW'S SCHOOL SINGAPORE MEMORY TRAIL.

1957 Singapore: Rock n Roll Might Encourage Riots

                    Topic: That Singapore Youth Is Not Given Enough Independence.

UP TO 2,000 VIEWS

Even in the late 50s, Singapore students argued about "not getting enough independence" from their parents. A friendly debate amongst a family of three mission schools, St Andrew's, St Margaret's and St Hilda's resulted in a battle of words with rock and roll music as target.

Saints' school badge.

One speaker suggested that rock and roll was the result of parents trying to control their children excessively. Another member of the team agreed that the music was "healthy fun" but pessimistic parents thought it was an "inclination to riot."

Saint Margaret's School badge.

An opposing member of the debating team argued that if independence meant rioting on the streets after viewing a rock and roll movie, then she would have, "none of it." And as the dance became a hot issue another debater suggested that rock and roll meant the independence of youth. To show his support, a classmate from St. Andrew's, Wong Peng Koon shouted, "Long live rock and roll!" He was a school debater and is now a prominent lawyer.

St. Hilda's School badge.

But the debate was brought back into focus when a speaker quietly suggested that independence carried responsibilities such as "obeying the law." So who says youths in the 50s are quiet and reserved? Not true. We've had our say. And rock n roll is here to stay. And who won the debate? Ah, you must read it from The Straits Times Press Singapore.

Were you in this debate? Tell us.

Information from: The Straits Times Singapore (page: 3, 27/07/1957) and original article has been edited by Andy Lim.

Image: from Google Images

This posting was taken from the back pages because of the interesting topic it discusses, a Singapore favourite Google word search currently - riots.

Tracing 'Sidaislers' Or 'Friday Girls' from 1967 Vinyl

In March 2011 I posted a quiz and asked if readers could name the choir I featured.  After more than a year I received mail (below) from a research writer regarding the choir. Here is the posting again with the answers intact and images to help you along the way:

Some Sleeves Speak:

"The first thing that strikes most people about The Sidaislers (above vinyl record image) is our name. It merely means that instead of walking up the middle aisle of the aisle, we stick to the side aisle!

We have often been confronted with an embarrassing, 'Well, what are The Sidaislers? I mean, well... what are you?' The answer comes in two words: We sing. We sing of what the world means to us, we sing of Singapore, we sing of love, hope, faith and of running and catching the wind.

We have grown tired of sitting down and arguing with people about faith and charity. So instead of yelling pointlessly for hours on end, getting bad tempers, sore throats and headaches, we sing. We have found that music is a language everyone understands, and so we use music as our medium of communication.

Started in 1965 by the St Andrew's Cathedral, the group originally consisted of girls from St. Margaret's Secondary School. We later expanded to include men and girls from the various denominational groups and are now based at St Andrew's Cathedral.

The Sidaislers have appeared over TV Singapura and Malaysia and made broadcasts over Radio Singapura and Rediffusion, besides singing in churches and concerts halls.

This album is a live recording of one of our performances. Two of the numbers, Dem Bones and Go Tell It On The Mountain, are spirituals which have been rearranged by the group, and the Christmas Calypso On A Day is an original tune based on words by Dr D. T. Niles.  Morning Town Ride is one of the many folksongs sung by us, while The Great Spirit, composed by the Colwell Brothers, is one of several MRA songs often sung by the group."


Here's the letter that was written in June 2012:

Hi Mr Lim,

I came across your post on Can You Name This Singapore 60s Mystery Group and was wondering if the group you were referring to was the Sidaislers?

I'm a freelance researcher/writer working on an upcoming documentary on Singapore's national music, and am actually trying to track down existing members of the Sidaislers or Friday Girls (images), whom I believe was involved in the creation of songs such as Singapore Town and To Build A Rugged Society.

Was wondering if you might by any chance have any clues to the whereabouts of any of the members, or could provide any further information, as I've not been able to find much about them. If possible would greatly appreciate it if you could drop me a mail.

Thank you!

Regards,
DC

When I replied DC came with another note:

Hi Andy,
With regards to the Friday Girls, I believe that they were also a part of the Sidaislers group from St Andrew's Cathedral so my leads pretty much stem from there.

I actually met a Mr C. recently, who used to be part of the Sidaislers, but unfortunately he doesn't remember who any of the girls are, only that they were students at St Margaret's and that they were mostly Eurasians.

Also came across a book entitled Songs of the Sidaislers in the reference section of the National Library, which contains lyrics to some of the songs they performed. The words and music for the song, There is an Island have been credited to a Susan Cheng but I'm afraid I don't know anything else about her. The other names mentioned in the book were Vernon Perreau and Albany To if that rings any bells.

There was also a Michael Cheng mentioned, but I understand that he passed away many years ago.
I believe they performed as part of the Sidaislers in a National Day Special on RTS in 1967 or 1968 if that's of any help.

Regards,
DC

Information from record sleeve (image 2) Philips 338706 PF: From left to right are  Peggy Daroesman, who is the lead singer, Sandra Bruford, Yvette Chin, Susan Cheng and Rolana Barker.

"The group is accompanied by *The Boys singing Rigi-Rigi and  (1967), an Indonesian song. This was the A-side of the group's very first record. They were teenagers at that time The Friday Girls had gone into the recording studios of Philips, Singapore as the backup vocals for Heather Batchen from The Thunderbirds, but ended up with their own record contract (from You Tube comment by Joe Wu, Seattle USA)."

*The BOYS, the top selling band at Philips (Singapore): ROBERT SURIYA was the lead guitarist; PETER THOMAS, rhythm guitarist; MOSES TAY, bass guitarist and keyboardist; while ALPHONSO SOOSAY was the drummer.

If you can help DC with her research please write to me in confidence on the Comment page and I shall convey your message. And to the Friday Girls, if you are reading this, write in. Keep our heritage alive.

Images/article: 1 ami Records/back sleeve cover. 2 Philips Records. Andy Lim Collection.

Sundowners: Twisting 'Bengawan Solo' In English

                                Sundowners - Bengawan Solo - Video: Vernon Cheong

 Reflections from 1963:

It was a lucky break for two brothers and a cousin when a popular Indonesian folk song Bengawan Solo (a 1940 Gesang Martohartono composition), was released with original English lyrics on world label Warner Brothers by the three lads. Covered by so many artistes that it's hard to list, this evergreen Asian favourite was given a new twist.

The flip side of the single was Cotton Fields, a 1940 composition by Huddie Ledbetter. It had been covered earlier by Harry Belafonte and singers like The Seekers, The Highwaymen, New Christie Minstrels, The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, CCR, Elton John, Johnny Cash and even in French by Petula Clark.

Tony Seow (image 1, left) and brother Lawrence (right) at 18 and 16 with cousin and group guitarist George Lim at 17 (centre), singing schoolboys from St. Andrew's, pressed the 7 inch single with their parents' blessing.

The single (image 3) was released officially for sale in July 1963 for both Singapore and the international market. When the trio, who called themselves The Sundowners, first heard their own recording at their home in Serangoon Road, they beamed with joy and excitement and felt they owed their success to a supportive family and encouraging friends.

Don't forget that it was the early sixties and, according to the news report, was the second singing group in Singapore to cut a record for world-wide distribution. You must surely know who the first local group was?

The English lyrics for Bengawan Solo was composed by the brothers' father Thomas Seow and the arrangements for both the songs were their own. They had an All Stars Quintet to accompany them. They explained that the public would not pay for a carbon copy of a popular song when they could buy the original, so after working with the songs for about three months the father decided on the keroncong backing with a twist tempo to keep the music current.

During a newspaper interview after the release, The Sundowners had ideas of including a girl since they were hoping of expanding into Malaya and making it big. But, according to the group, if the plan did not work out they had to think of other ideas.

The Sundowners had also released a second single in 1964, Malaysia Wonderful and That's The One For Me accompanied by The Tornados (image 2) comprising, Derek McCully, Freddie Koh, Stanley Lee, Lennie Lee.

You may think it strange today that three Singapore boys would want to praise Malaysia in song? But the situation was different because our island was still with the federated Malay states in 1963 when the vinyls were recorded. Singapore's short-lived merger with Malaysia ended when it left the federation in 1965.

Just wondering how these recordings would go down in history? Any comment?

Images: Andy Lim Collection.

Naomi And Robert Suriya Originals - Long Play

When Naomi and The Boys did an LP collection of their favourites, they called it: The Best of Naomi. Done at Decca MacDonald House, Singapore. Good selection, with clarity and an interpretive sensitivity that only Naomi could carry.

The back sleeve extols the group with a short write-up (edited). "Talent is a very desirable quality and no artiste can hope to get anywhere without possessing a bare minimum. But to get right up to the top, you need individuality - a distinctive sound and style which enables the listener to identify you at once.

On this Decca LP album Naomi and The Boys present 14 great examples of talent, individuality and unique artistry. Each one is an outstanding performance. Naomi sings with her usual sincerity backed by her inimitable Boys. Splendid entertainment."

The line up includes Robert Suriya on lead guitar/glockenspiel, Peter Thomas on bass/rhythm, Moses Tay on organ/piano, with Alphonso Soosay on drums/percussion. According to Henry Suriya, brother to Naomi and Robert, only Tay reads music, so he documents the arrangements for the group.

                           Making Believe by Naomi and the Boys - video by cuckoo bird.

Of the 14 songs, 8 are originals by Suriya, Till The End Of Our Time, I Love You, I Know, I Won't Miss You, The Time Has Come, Get You Outa My Mind, If You Change Your Mind and It's All Over.

The rest of the songs are interpretations of Paul Simon's Sound Of Silence, The Everly's So Sad, Frazier's There Goes My Everything, the well-known Schertzinger/Mercer song, I Remember You, Otis/Benton/Hendricks, Looking Back and the song that made this group famous, Happy, Happy Birthday Baby by Sylvia/Lopez.

Good friend Henry Suriya let me have his only copy of this album. Old St. Andrew's School boys...

His take on the album soon!

Image/Original article: Andy Lim Collection.Monday, February 01, 2010

'Unforgettable': Cheryl's Tribute To Her Dad Moses Tay, Bassist For 'Naomi And The Boys'