Andy 60s Music: People Got To Be Free. Let Us Make Peace. Let Us Forgive.

I DON'T KNOW WHO WROTE THIS PIECE, BUT IT'S WORTH READING.

Thanks to this sensible and peace-loving person. 

"Every minute… someone leaves this world.
Not only the old.
Not only the sick.
Not only the weak.
Someone. Somewhere.
Age has nothing to do with it.
Life does not always send a warning.
The truth is… we are all standing in a line.
A line we did not choose.
A line we cannot see the end of.
And the strange thing is… most of us don't even realize we are in it.

We wake up every morning thinking we have time.
Time to hate.
Time to fight.
Time to compete.
Time to prove we are better than someone else.
But the line is moving.
Quietly.
Patiently.
Relentlessly.
And every day… someone steps out of it.
We never know how many people are ahead of us.
We never know when our name will be called.
We cannot move to the back of the line.
We cannot step out of it.
We cannot pause it.
And no amount of money, power, fame, or connections can halt its progress.

So, while we are still standing here… while our turn has not yet come…

Let us make peace.
Let us forgive.
Let us stop carrying the heavy bags of anger and hatred.
Let us do good.
Not tomorrow.
Not when it is convenient.
But now.
Let us tell the truth, even when lies seem easier.
Let us be honest, even when honesty comes at a cost.
Let us show kindness to people who may never be able to repay us.
Because one day — whether we like it or not — we will leave this world.
That is the one appointment no human being can cancel.

So, what is the point of holding a grudge against someone who could leave tomorrow… or you could leave before them?

What is the point of destroying someone's life, sending a brother to prison, or plotting revenge… when neither of you truly controls tomorrow?
Why boast about money… when money has never stopped death?
Why boast about status… when titles disappear the moment life leaves the body?
Why deceive yourself with power and connections… when countless powerful people stood in this same line before you and still had to leave?
Why fight your own brother over land… when the earth itself will one day cover both of you?

'People Got To Be Free': The Rascals: Stereo [Summer] 1968. YouTube Video by: Smurfstools Oldies Music Time Machine.

Look around the world.
People fighting.
Families breaking.
Communities divided.
All for things that cannot follow us beyond the grave.
Evil often grows from ignorance.
Pride is the costume of foolishness.
Selfishness is the poverty of the soul.
And betrayal… betrayal is the language of weakness.

But kindness… kindness is strength.

Compassion is wisdom.
And humanity is the greatest legacy a person can leave behind.
At the end of life, nobody asks how much money you had in your bank account.
They ask how many lives you touched.
They remember whether your presence brought peace… or pain.
Whether you lifted others up… or pushed them down.
Whether you built bridges… or burned them.

So while we are still alive…
While our hearts are still beating…
While our feet are still moving in this mysterious line called life…
Let us do good.
Let us love more.
Let us forgive faster.
Let us help those who cannot help themselves.
Let us use the little time we have… not only to build our lives…
But to uplift humanity.
Because when our turn finally comes…
And we step out of this line…
The only thing that will remain…
Is the good we did for others?
May the Lord guide our hearts to what is right, forgive our shortcomings, fill our lives with sincere goodness, and grant us a beautiful ending when our time comes."

This message is really touchy, and I know that you will feel it as well.

It's a food for thought for the wise.

Good day!

This article was sent to me by good old friend Mun Chor Seng, seen here with his wife during our pop guitar blast at the National Library in 2016.

Why fight your own brother over land… when the earth itself will one day cover both of you?

Andy’s 60s Music Reviews Author Eddy Eng’s New Book, ‘An Enchanting Potpourri’

The book cover, with illustrations by KM Encila.

UP TO 650 VIEWS👍

Enchanting it is! Here's Eddy Eng, with a potpourri of tales ranging from ghost stories, [and these are real ones, experienced by the writer himself, in his home at Emerald Hill], to stories from Singapore's corporate world with pages of his own "divergent views", and as he puts it, "musings". And surprise, surprise, he is also an artist besides being an author. He does oil paintings with framed interpretations of Venice in Italy, Zhangjiajie in China and other scenic adventures he went through during his years as a family man and as a business executive. He dedicates his book specially to his children and brother and lovingly acknowledges his wife Farrah, helping him with countless revisions.

Breezy at one end of the book; seriously different at the other, this author is like a chameleon, changing his writing style from an easy breather to that of a serious corporate lawyer facing the trial judge.

Our author is a ‘south paw’ or left~handed guitarist.

He designs all his chapters with lines from the great ones! Introducing his book, he quotes Janvier Chouteu-Chando, "The vicissitude of life teaches us about our limitations in a world with no guarantees and permanence." He says he's a die-hard believer that form and substance are both equally important and compares a good book to good food, so he fills the pages with colourful illustrations by designer Krystle Mae Encila. And they make up a great menu. The cover illustration [above] is one.

Eddy sings Elvis on board a cruise liner and wows the crowd with his performance.

Now, the reason why he's on this blog. He does not only have a flair for writing and art; Eddy is also a bass guitarist using left-handed guitars. He says that his "passion for music went back to his childhood days" and if it wasn't for his mother, "he would have been a musician or artist". He even went to music school to hone his skill. 

And to top it all, Eddy is also a pop singer. The image shows him rendering an Elvis hit  with, ‘Crying In The Chapel.’ Wow Eddy! What can’t you do?

Eddy has the last words. "This book," he spouts, " is meant to entertain, inform and provoke." So, guys, here's a book that's enchanting and absorbing, written in cheek! Delicious indeed.

Check out Eddy’s book. Read it and make your comments! 

Andy.

EDDYWRITES: 

Where words come alive.

email: EddyWrites 

Mobile:  +65 9117 5551

Sonny & Cher - 'Sing C'est La Vie' (Stereo Remix) YouTube Video by: jacob 6657

According to the author, this oldie has served a purpose in later life when things did not turn out as expected.

Eddy's left-handed guitars, one of which is a bass. He should be on stage soon with such talent and artistry.

He had to serve his army days in Singapore like other citizens do. Eddy [left] puts it, "With the boss inspecting unit parade."

Author, artist, musician, soldier and a corporate executive; Eddy Eng. Thanks, Eddy, for the chat and book. It's really been great meeting you after all these years.

[Eddy has included in the book two of his own two articles from this blog. Do you know which ones?]

Click below to read:

.: A Happy Lunar New 2024: Facing Dragons @ The Gates: 龍門遭遇 By Eddy Eng

.: Beatlemania Becomes Beat Le Mania: By Eddie Eng

Shopping for a ukulele for Farrah. Chosen one with a solid mahagony sound board. Tonal quality is better than my acoustic guitar.

Copyrights Reserved: Most illustrations are from the book.

Does Singapore Hold Reading In High Regard? By: Christopher Toh.

https://pngtree.com/free-backgrounds-photos/girl-looking-for-books

    UP TO 700 VIEWS

16 CHATS, COMMENTS

I met Chris during those early years when he was a journalist. Cheerful, open and always knowledgeable, we had a chat over both our favourite topic, local music from the 60s. This article is a comment in reply to **my own article about reading books. [Andy]

"Having worked with a book publisher for the better part of five years, I feel sad that Singapore does not hold reading in high regard. While the book business in several countries has picked up in recent years, it is not the case in Singapore.

What's also interesting is that over here it's the nonfiction books that make the most sales. It used to be children's books but our declining birthrate has meant that fewer parents buy books for their children. So we are not creating tomorrow's readers today.

I don't know if it's because kids equate reading to school texts but somewhere along the way from sixteen to adulthood the idea of reading for entertainment stops and I believe that for many, it's a case of reading only because they must.

I hope I'm wrong. While I do enjoy a good video or two, apart from music, books are still my most basic form of entertainment.

What many people don't realise is that a lot of our top tv series or even movies are all adaptations of books.

Maybe it should not be a case about whether books should continue to be a thing but that storytelling continues to thrive. After all, our stories were originally of the oral tradition before books. And now it's moved on to electronic devices.

However, books still rank high as gifts so maybe that's where it will continue to survive. Keep giving books as presents!"

Comments are always welcome.

**  https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2016/09/five-decades-of-pictures-and-news-items.html

Author: Christopher Toh.

Christopher Toh 

Ex-Music Journalist, 

Pod-Caster.

Thank you my friend.

The nearest song I could find where 

some words and phrases relate to books?

Check out the lyrics...

Simon n Garfunkel: The Dangling Conversation.

YouTube Video by: Big Chuck Lyric.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjC6soIUVkk

Images: Google.

Are News Books Still Popular? Yes: 'Daily Mail' 5 Vols. Of Pops n Pix

    UP TO 500 VIEWS

30 CHATS, COMMENTS

Are book shops closing down because less and less people are reading text on paper as more and more are mousing or tapping the Internet to read from Kindle,  e-reader, iPad, Tablet or smart-phone, since they find it convenient and sometimes free to read off these technological miracles? Now is this statement true? I'm not sure.

It took me a while to collect this set of five volumes.

But I'm still lurking in book shops and book sales and some two years ago managed to get a set of coffee-table ones that I found so useful. They went for a dream price of ten dollars each.  In a nutshell, I paid about sixty dollars for what I thought was a bargain. And it was.

From the news and picture archives of the Daily Mail this fabulous British newspaper charted people, places and events that made up five memorable decades (from 1960 to 2000) into readable volumes. And the contents, according to the blurb, were photographs from the momentous and the apocalyptic to the offbeat and the trivial. And it's true.

Cover of the first book in the series.

At a cute 17 cm. square per book, I couldn't buy them all at one time, having to hunt for three of the five volumes after getting the first (1960's) and the third (1980's).  I remember paying a little more for two of them. 

But it was fifteen pounds (S$30/00) each when it first came out in 2010.  Using quality paper and beautiful photographs in black and white each book by Trans Atlantic Press from Hertfordshire, England is nearly 400 pages thick. Nobody would pay for five books now since portable hard disks are a bargain?

The Beatles and Folk Group Peter, Paul n Mary.

I don't think I have the stamina to write a review on each of the five books and even if I had I'd probably be sued by the publishers for exposing their hard work so I am highlighting Decade of Our Lives 60s (above) and had it narrowed down to only pop music and relevant news and pictures. With a picture on every page it's quite a task.  But let's take a peek inside.

For the liberated woman: Plastic Dresses and The Pill.

The series is an exciting picture journey all the way with a clear description for each and every image taken. According to the introduction, the 1960s was a swinging decade when postwar baby boomers came of age and found themselves in a new permissive era as the Pill launched a sexual revolution. 

As hemlines rose all you needed was love; flower power challenged old orthodoxies and Kennedy carried the hopes of a generation when he became US President.  Like Martin Luther King after him, John F. fell to an assassin's bullet.

Youthful Cliff 's 'Summer Holiday'

In the movies there was John Wayne, Anthony Perkins, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and the Magnificent Seven gang of Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen and friends. On stage were Adam Faith and Cliff Richard, clean living members of society...

I'd better not carry on. The volumes are still with me on my library shelf. Love reading directly from solid, hard copies, especially in bed. No blue light giddiness nor sleeplessness afterwards... 

But never stop reading, hard copies or from tablets.

Comments are welcome...

The Beatles: 'Paperback Writer' 

YouTube Video from The Beatles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYvkICbTZIQ

Paperback Writer

Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?

It took me years to write, will you take a look?

It's based on a novel by a man named Lear

And I need a job

So I wanna be a paperback writer

Paperback writer...

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul McCartney

Paperback Writer lyrics © Iricom US Ltd, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group

Disclaimer:

There is no intention to promote any publication nor make financial gains. Any copyrights misdemeanours and this posting will be deleted. Do let me know.

Christmas Songs, Hymns, Carols n Agatha Christie With CYLin: by Jimmy Chng

Everly Brothers. YouTube Video: 

from Catherine Silver.

We Wish You A Merry Christmas.

Gaudeamus Igitur: Recorded June 2021. 

Glasgow University Chapel Choir

YouTube

Andy explains, "It's a song learnt as a student at St. Andrew's or St. Margaret's.

The Song has Latin manuscript and used as a formal graduation hymn; a jolly, light-hearted composition originating in 1289, that makes fun of university life. Like the phrase Carpe Diem, it's just another way of saying, Seize the day!"

Here's a note from Jimmy Chng:

Hi Andy, 

You asked if I could contribute an article for your blog like what my late sister Lin had done so annually for a number of years. I had initially told you that I wasn't able to. As I subsequently pondered on your request, something inside of me "triggered" and motivated me to try and come up with one. I think it has to do with the love and respect I have for my sister as well as the gratitude we both have towards your wonderful blog.

Lin was the eldest amongst her four siblings, with me being the youngest at 5 years her junior. She went to a mission school and through her, I learned to sing Christian hymns and Christmas carols at a very young (pre-school) age. I think Latin was a subject in her school's curriculum then as well, and unsurprisingly I also learned to sing Gaudeamus Igitur.

Since young, Lin had always wanted to be a school teacher. As kids, we used to play "school" and us younger siblings and our neighbours' children of similar age range were her "students" and she the "teacher."  Her ambition to be a school teacher was realized when she joined the teaching profession upon completing her secondary school studies. She remained in the teaching profession until her retirement.

She loved reading, especially novels by Agatha Christie [above titles are for illustrations only] and both my other sister and I would listen intently when she told us the stories soon after she had finished reading. Lin also loved listening to pop music/songs on the radio. On occasions she and I would do sing-alongs together to Everly Brothers hits like, Devoted to You, Lightning Express, Ebony Eyes, etc.

It's been slightly more than a year since Lin's passing. She would have, around this time of the year begun to draft another article for your blog had she not succumbed to her illness.

The piece she contributed to your blog on 23 December 2019 titled, **"Christmas message: God used your blog to bring about this happening," was in appreciation and gratitude to you and your blog.

Merry Christmas to you & family and your readers.

The writer, family and friends. 

Read the article below to appreciate this pix.

**Link:

https://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2019/12/christmas-message-god-used-your-blog-to.html

Ms CYLin and Jimmy Chng have written a number of articles for this blog. Check them out by clicking their names under Labels below.

Everly Brothers YouTube Video:

Some of the Best: from Pete Roberts.

Images: Google.

You Tube Videos.

If you take information from this article for your own use, 

at least credit me because copying is stealing.

Andy.

Thank You For The Music: Comments From Facebook Friends

HI GUYS, 

COMMENTS MADE ON FACEBBOOK HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED TO 

'Post a Comment' BELOW EACH POST. 

JUST TYPE IN YOUR NAME UNDER 'KEY IN SEARCH TOPIC' [RIGHT COLUMN].

You will find your name as many times above each of your comment.

Thank you for being part of it with your contributory memories, comments, and photographs. 

And the SONGS from some of you.

Images: Google.

The Story of Rock n Roll - Consultant Paul Du Noyer. My Bookshelf Recommends...

Here's my suggestion for this rainy month's read, a 1995 big book published in Australia.

UP TO 1.000 VIEWS

It's a totally absorbing read because the colourful layout is simply inviting and the stories and articles are written by pop music journalists for the different decades - from the 50's to the 90's, i.e. Bill Haley to The Beatles, from Bruce Springsteen to Beastie Boys right up to Billy Ray Cyrus. And scattered in between, all the gossips, personal details and music ideals about the hundreds of pop singers and musicians during those 50 years or so. About 400 photographs to browse and key biographies to absorb.

A great book for students keen on pop music culture and for seniors wanting to go into nostalgia mode [but definitely with more details than what they thought they already knew].

On page 12 of the book [image - book cover] the chapter reads, ELVIS BEGINS. But did it really start with Elvis. You got to read the 11 pages before to find out.

The book ends with U2, R.E.M. and Nirvana with a great Artistes Index beyond these chapters. There is also a top 10 hit list for all the 50 years. Name the musicians and singers and they are in the book.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Only one of hundreds of stories to read from the book...

The Paul Anka picture is for illustration only and does not appear in the book but there are others.

Did you know that Paul Anka's composition DIANA had been recorded in 320 versions, totalling more than 10 million sales. He was still a minor then. He could only take his vast wealth when he turned 21 in July 1962 - page 55/column 3.

A glance at one of the pages and 

how the write-ups are formatted.

[This post is not an advertisement. I read the book and find it useful for any introductory course to rock n roll or pop music.]

Library Reference:

The Story of Rock n Roll - the year-by-year illustrated chronicle - Consultant Editor - Paul Du Noyer. [1995 - Carlton Books Ltd - UK/Australia.]

ISBN 1 86309 099 1 

Images - google.

Andy 60s: Music References By William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet (Parting is such sweet sorrow) : A painting by Frank Madox Brown (1870).

"Who is it in the press that calls on me,
I hear a tongue shriller than all the music..."

William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 - 23 April 1616) made more than 500 references to music in his plays, sonnets, and poems. Do you know from which play the above quotation came from? No romance here, but a tragedy indeed.

Below are 6 meager samplings of some of them. Images are also shown of musical instruments used during that period.

 Musicians: Baroque Artists, Dutch; Artist: Dirck Hals; Oil On Wood; The Hermitage; St. Petersburg, Russia, 1623.

(1)
Romeo:
It is my soul that calls upon my name.
How silver-sweet sound lover's tongue by night,
Like softest music to attending ears!

(Romeo and Juliet: 2: 2)

A guitar-like musical instrument used during the Elizabethan period in England in the 14th and 15th Century, the golden age of English history, when Queen Elizabeth I was the ruler.

Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits (1980) composed by Mark Knopfler.

The Taming of The Shrew (Katharina and Petruchio); Artist: Washington Alston 1809; South Carolina US.

(2)
Lucentio:
Preposterous ass, that never was so far to know the cause that music was ordain'd!  Was it not to refresh the mind of man after his studies or his usual pain?

(The Taming of the Shrew: 3: 1)

A modern interpretation from Bristol's Old Vic in 2018 supplied by Mature Times

(3)
Orsino: 
If music be the food of love, play on...

(Twelfth Night: 1: 1)

(4)
Lorenzo:
The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sound,
Is fit for treason, stratagems, and spoils...

(The Merchant of Venice: 5: 1)

The Egyptian Queen: 19th Century engraving: Granger Collection New York

(5)
Cleopatra:
Give me some music; music, moody food
Of us that trade in love

(Anthony and Cleopatra: 2: 5)

US President Ulysses Grant asks Senator Carl Schurz to play on a flute he proffers using the same Shakespearean quote.

(6)
Hamlet:
Do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?
Call me what instrument you will,
Though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me.

(Hamlet: 3: 2)

Love theme from 'Romeo and Juliet' called, A Time for Us' by Henry Mancini in 1968.

Images and Videos from Google and YouTube Subscribers.

Image from EricBronson Wong [HongKong] showing scenes 

from the movie versions of 'Romeo and Juliet'.

'Whispering Hope' A Hymn And John Keats' Poem

JOHN KEATS (ENGLISH POET) AND SEPTIMUS WINNER (AMERICAN COMPOSER)

UP TO 2,400 VIEWS

It has been a long time since a book is mentioned within these postings of singers and songs.

I love John Keats' (1795-1821) To Hope, from his collection of poems under, Keats: Truth and Imagination. It's a book from my home library. He was well-known for poems like The Eve of St. Agnes, Ode To A Grecian Urn and others. He died at the very young age of 25.

The hymn, Whispering Hope, another favourite of mine, was playing on YouTube and I was listening to the Haley Westenra's rendition. It was one of a number of songs composed by Septimus Winner (1827-1902). Jim Reeves made it famous in 1958.

Both poem and hymn have similar themes, except that the feeling of hope is expressed differently. But they agree on one point, that it is Sweet, fill the sky with silver glitterings and has the voice of an angel:

So, when dark thoughts my boding spirit shroud,
Sweet Hope, celestial influence round me shed... (Keats)

When the dark midnight is over,
Watch for the breaking of day... (Winner)

The 19th Century is still around today with its poetry and music. Perhaps you may have read the poem and is familiar with the song? Pray tell.

Portrait of 'Hope' by George Frederick Watts 1886 (2nd Version) is featured in the Keats' book that I mentioned.

To Hope
by John Keats (composed 1816)

When by my solitary hearth I sit,

And hateful thoughts enwrap my soul in gloom;
When no fair dreams before my "mind's eye" flit,
And the bare heath of life presents no bloom;
Sweet Hope, ethereal balm upon me shed,
And wave thy silver pinions o'er my head!

Whene'er I wander, at the fall of night,
Where woven boughs shut out the moon's bright ray,
Should sad Despondency my musings fright,
And frown, to drive fair Cheerfulness away,
Peep with the moonbeams through the leafy roof,
And keep that fiend Despondence far aloof!

Should Disappointment, parent of Despair,
Strive for her son to seize my careless heart;
When, like a cloud, he sits upon the air,
Preparing on his spell-bound prey to dart:
Chase him away, sweet Hope, with visage bright,
And fright him as the morning frightens night!

Whene'er the fate of those I hold most dear
Tells to my fearful breast a tale of sorrow,
O bright-eyed Hope, my morbid fancy cheer;
Let me awhile thy sweetest comforts borrow:
Thy heaven-born radiance around me shed,
And wave thy silver pinions o'er my head!

Should e'er unhappy love my bosom pain,
From cruel parents, or relentless fair;
O let me think it is not quite in vain
To sigh out sonnets to the midnight air!
Sweet Hope, ethereal balm upon me shed,
And wave thy silver pinions o'er my head!

In the long vista of the years to roll,
Let me not see our country's honour fade:
O let me see our land retain her soul,
Her pride, her freedom; and not freedom's shade.
From thy bright eyes unusual brightness shed---
Beneath thy pinions canopy my head!

Let me not see the patriot's high bequest,
Great Liberty! how great in plain attire!
With the base purple of a court oppress'd,
Bowing her head, and ready to expire:
But let me see thee stoop from heaven on wings
That fill the skies with silver glitterings!

And as, in sparkling majesty, a star
Gilds the bright summit of some gloomy cloud;
Brightening the half veil'd face of heaven afar:
So, when dark thoughts my boding spirit shroud,
Sweet Hope, celestial influence round me shed,
Waving thy silver pinions o'er my head!

From Illustrated Poetry Anthology (1996: Brockhampton Press).

Haley Westenra sings 'Whispering Hope': Video Haley Westenra. Thank You.

Whispering Hope

by Septimus Winner - (Composed 1868)

Soft as the voice of an angel,

1. Breathing a lesson unheard,
   Hope with a gentle persuasion
   Whispers her comforting word:
   Wait till the darkness is over,
   Wait till the tempest is done,
   Hope for the sunshine tomorrow,
   After the shower is gone.
   • Refrain:
     Whispering hope, oh, how welcome thy voice,
     Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.
2. If, in the dusk of the twilight,
   Dim be the region afar,
   Will not the deepening darkness
   Brighten the glimmering star?
   Then when the night is upon us,
   Why should the heart sink away?
   When the dark midnight is over,
   Watch for the breaking of day.
3. Hope, as an anchor so steadfast,
   Rends the dark veil for the soul,
   Whither the Master has entered,
   Robbing the grave of its goal;
   Come then, oh, come, glad fruition,
   Come to my sad weary heart;
   Come, O Thou blest hope of glory,
   Never, oh, never depart.

Images: Google

Christmas joy is here 

More postings soon

For everyone's cheer...

Andy.