Another great piece of excellent scholarly musical commentary from our groovy pal in Malaysia, Chubby Ghaz:
Ghaz writes:
The Twist has always been my favourite 60s rhtyhm since I was 9. In one of my mom's cassette collections, two of Chubby Checker's hits - Let's Twist Again and The Twist - were the ones that I loved most. Another Chubby's tune which has always been included in the oldies selection both in Malaysia and Singapore is Limbo Rock.
Quite a number of times, my younger sister and I would be asked to perform this dance for our occassional family gatherings. Eventually, one of my closest friends recommended a nickname for me - Chubby Ghaz - which I'm still using today in my cyber-communications!
Between 1962 and (at least) the early part of 1966, Twist music was incorporated into many Malay songs, after the leading composers learned about its popularity.
Here are some of them:
AZIZ JAAFAR & NORMADIAH - Jangan Menjeling (Don't Stare)
[from the film Jeritan Batinku (The Cry Of My Soul) -1962]
SALOMA - Selamat Pengantin Baru (Best Wishes For The Wedding Couple)
[from the film Madu Tiga (The Three Wives) - 1964]
P. RAMLEE - Bunyi Gitar (The Guitar Sound)
[from the film Tiga Abdul (The Three Abduls) -1964]
P. RAMLEE - Ai Ai Ai Twist
[from the film Masam Masam Manis (Sour But Sweet) -1965]
M. BAKRI & THE SWALLOWS' COMBO - Malaysia Baru (A New Malaysia) [1965]
M. BAKRI & THE ANTARTICS - Pelita Hati (A Light For My Heart) [1966]
Enjoy the music!
Chubby Ghaz
Kuala Lumpur
(THANKS AGAIN TO CHUBBY GHAZ for sharing his wonderful insights with us on this blog !!! -- Carl )
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Doo Wop influence in Malaysia in the 1960s
In this post, KL based Pop Yeh Yeh/Malay music scholar, Ghaz, shares with us his analysis of the immense influence that Doo Wop had on early groups of the 1960s in Malaysia (before pop yeh yeh was born)
Ghaz writes:
"Lately, somehow, I have been yearning for a switch in my music listening back to the English 60s songs. Last year, I bought a 5-CD set containing altogether 100 songs of the decade, but it was left idle on my shelf for so long. So, I put a stop for a while my routine listening to Klasik Nasional FM and those Malay 60s songs CD in my car and instead, lent my ears to these ones while driving to work.
James' Brown's I Feel Good, Mamas' & Papas' California Dreaming, The Four Tops' Reach Out, I'll Be There, Spencer Davis' Group Keep On Running and The Supremes' Stop! In The Name of Love had in fact made me very energized. There are other hits of course, which I believe you have heard them back in your country. It's just regretted that The Platters were not included in this collection, which made a little bit frustrated ....
I was introduced to The Platters in 1983 (I was 9 then) by my aunt when she bought their cassette that year. The Canadian-based doo-wop group really amazed me, till I could listen to their numbers as a lullaby! You'll be surprised that theyq did influence the Malay pop arena in the early 1960s. This was how the story goes.
Sometimes in the mid-1950s, one of the Platters' members went to Singapore and paid a courtesy visit to the Shaw Brothers' Malay Film Production studio, where P. Ramlee acted, directed many of the films there and wrote the songs for the film soundtracks. They managed to meet each other and discussed a lot on each other's involvement in music. Ramlee had always wanted to inject some improvement to his compositions, and eventually he adopted the doo-wop tune to his next series of songs. How it was done?
With Ramlee himself as the group leader, he teamed up with his pupil Kassim Masdor plus their colleagues in the studio - Aziz Jaafar, Noormadiah, Ahmad Daud and Ahmad C. to set up a singing group similar to The Platters whom he named Pancha Si-Tara (The Five Stars in Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language). The group had its own radio programme of the same name in 1960, besides having their songs recorded between that year and 1962, and become the guest stars in the film Labu & Labi (1962).
To maintain professionalism, Ramlee made a rule that none of the guys in Pancha Si-Tara could be in love with the female singer. However, the rule was broken when Aziz Jaafar married Noormadiah in 1961, leading to their withdrawal from the group. At the same year, Ramlee wedded Saloma, whom he later brought in to replace Noormadiah, and Ramlee took over Aziz's role as the leading male vocalist!
Like The Platters, Pancha Si-Tara also changed their lines-up twice following the death of P. Ramlee and Saloma. The second line-up were completely new members and recorded their cover versions of the original songs, but the team did not last long. However, the third line-up maintained most of the original line-up, with Ramlee's son Nasir taking over his role; Noormadiah replacing Saloma, and comedian veteran actor Aziz Sattar replacing Ahmad C.
I enclose below some selected audio and videoclips of Pancha Si-Tara for your easy listening and viewing. The audios featured Aziz Jaafar as the leading vocalist, while the video was an excerpt from the film Labu & Labi featuring Saloma as the leading vocalist.
BILA LARUT MALAM - PANCHA SI-TARA featuring SALOMA (P. RAMLEE in WHITE SUIT) - from the film LABU & LABI (1962)
AKU MENANGIS - PANCHA SI-TARA featuring AZIZ JAAFAR (1960)
Meanwhile, the success of the ladies group in the US such as The Shirelles, The Ronnettes and The Supremes were also admired both in Malaysia and Singapore that time. A ladies' group called Tiga Bidara (Three Charmers) was set up, consisting of Alina Rahman, Fatimah Huri and Fazidah Joned and they made their debut LP in 1963. In this album, they performed as a group on one side of the record, while for the other side, each singer recorded two songs each. They also recorded their own individual EPs, too. Fatimah Huri and Fazidah Joned recorded their respective songs with John Lee Orchestra between 1963 and 1965, while Alina had a longer stint - with Johen Lee Orchestra (1963 - 1965), The Bateks (1966), The Rollies (1967) and Band Irmadu (early 1970s.)
Enclosed below Tiga Bidara's hit called I Love You, which is adapted from a traditional Thai music called ramvong .
I LOVE YOU - TIGA BIDARA (1963)
I hope that you'll enjoy them, and continue to learn how the Malay pop tunes emergered and transformed throughout the years. Cheerio!
Sincerely
Ghaz, KL "
Ghaz writes:
"Lately, somehow, I have been yearning for a switch in my music listening back to the English 60s songs. Last year, I bought a 5-CD set containing altogether 100 songs of the decade, but it was left idle on my shelf for so long. So, I put a stop for a while my routine listening to Klasik Nasional FM and those Malay 60s songs CD in my car and instead, lent my ears to these ones while driving to work.
James' Brown's I Feel Good, Mamas' & Papas' California Dreaming, The Four Tops' Reach Out, I'll Be There, Spencer Davis' Group Keep On Running and The Supremes' Stop! In The Name of Love had in fact made me very energized. There are other hits of course, which I believe you have heard them back in your country. It's just regretted that The Platters were not included in this collection, which made a little bit frustrated ....
I was introduced to The Platters in 1983 (I was 9 then) by my aunt when she bought their cassette that year. The Canadian-based doo-wop group really amazed me, till I could listen to their numbers as a lullaby! You'll be surprised that theyq did influence the Malay pop arena in the early 1960s. This was how the story goes.
Sometimes in the mid-1950s, one of the Platters' members went to Singapore and paid a courtesy visit to the Shaw Brothers' Malay Film Production studio, where P. Ramlee acted, directed many of the films there and wrote the songs for the film soundtracks. They managed to meet each other and discussed a lot on each other's involvement in music. Ramlee had always wanted to inject some improvement to his compositions, and eventually he adopted the doo-wop tune to his next series of songs. How it was done?
With Ramlee himself as the group leader, he teamed up with his pupil Kassim Masdor plus their colleagues in the studio - Aziz Jaafar, Noormadiah, Ahmad Daud and Ahmad C. to set up a singing group similar to The Platters whom he named Pancha Si-Tara (The Five Stars in Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language). The group had its own radio programme of the same name in 1960, besides having their songs recorded between that year and 1962, and become the guest stars in the film Labu & Labi (1962).
To maintain professionalism, Ramlee made a rule that none of the guys in Pancha Si-Tara could be in love with the female singer. However, the rule was broken when Aziz Jaafar married Noormadiah in 1961, leading to their withdrawal from the group. At the same year, Ramlee wedded Saloma, whom he later brought in to replace Noormadiah, and Ramlee took over Aziz's role as the leading male vocalist!
Like The Platters, Pancha Si-Tara also changed their lines-up twice following the death of P. Ramlee and Saloma. The second line-up were completely new members and recorded their cover versions of the original songs, but the team did not last long. However, the third line-up maintained most of the original line-up, with Ramlee's son Nasir taking over his role; Noormadiah replacing Saloma, and comedian veteran actor Aziz Sattar replacing Ahmad C.
I enclose below some selected audio and videoclips of Pancha Si-Tara for your easy listening and viewing. The audios featured Aziz Jaafar as the leading vocalist, while the video was an excerpt from the film Labu & Labi featuring Saloma as the leading vocalist.
BILA LARUT MALAM - PANCHA SI-TARA featuring SALOMA (P. RAMLEE in WHITE SUIT) - from the film LABU & LABI (1962)
AKU MENANGIS - PANCHA SI-TARA featuring AZIZ JAAFAR (1960)
Meanwhile, the success of the ladies group in the US such as The Shirelles, The Ronnettes and The Supremes were also admired both in Malaysia and Singapore that time. A ladies' group called Tiga Bidara (Three Charmers) was set up, consisting of Alina Rahman, Fatimah Huri and Fazidah Joned and they made their debut LP in 1963. In this album, they performed as a group on one side of the record, while for the other side, each singer recorded two songs each. They also recorded their own individual EPs, too. Fatimah Huri and Fazidah Joned recorded their respective songs with John Lee Orchestra between 1963 and 1965, while Alina had a longer stint - with Johen Lee Orchestra (1963 - 1965), The Bateks (1966), The Rollies (1967) and Band Irmadu (early 1970s.)
Enclosed below Tiga Bidara's hit called I Love You, which is adapted from a traditional Thai music called ramvong .
I LOVE YOU - TIGA BIDARA (1963)
I hope that you'll enjoy them, and continue to learn how the Malay pop tunes emergered and transformed throughout the years. Cheerio!
Sincerely
Ghaz, KL "
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
more great clips from the film "A Go Go 67"
This one apparently was cut from the recent re-release of the film!
A. Nadar & The Zaraks - Kenanganku
Sabar Menanti by M Noor & The Night Shadows
A. Nadar & The Zaraks - Kenanganku
Sabar Menanti by M Noor & The Night Shadows
Saturday, November 26, 2011
History Channel pays tribute to the legendary Tansri P Ramlee!
(this is part 1 of 2. Follow youtube links within the video page for part two!)
My friend shared this great video clip with me yesterday. She also noted that for her, a Malaysian living in the US, "it's pretty huge" that the History Channel has chosen to do a feature on her beloved national hero - Malay/Singaporean composer, actor, director and timeless cultural icon, Tansri P Ramlee. (I can only hope that someday they'll do a feature on Pop Yeh Yeh too! Maybe they'll consider airing my film when it is released!)
Friday, November 25, 2011
Three-Day Pop Yeh Yeh Reunion concert - This January!!!
When I saw this poster last week, I nearly fell out of my chair.. I have to go to this!
Details:
Where: Istana Budaya - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
When: Friday, January 20, 2012 at 8:30pm until Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 11:30pm.
Description:
Original Singers with Original Bands :
- Jefridin @ Siglap 5
- A Rahman Hassan @ Orkes Nirwana
- A Halim @ D' Fiction
- J Sham @ The Wanderers
- Kassim Selamat @ Swallows (update: Kassim Selamat will not be attending unfortunately)
- L Ramlie @ Teruna Ria
- Fatimah M Amin @ The Clans
- A Rahman Onn @ Strangers
note: although i just read some recent dialogue on the event page (fb) that some of these bands might not all actually be composed of entirely original members, the singers will certainly be the real deal. I hope it's a huge success, for these artists' sake alone... they're living legends all of them and they will hopefully be welcomed by a sold out audience!
Below: some recent newspaper articles about this three day concert series (Unfortunately I wont be able to make it to this...I had hoped I could but the timing didnt work out)
Apache over Singapore
Joseph C. Pereira - author, music expert, journalist, record collector, mentor, and friend (met with him several times during my stay in Singapore!) has published yet another outstanding book about the Singapore 60s Pop Music Era entitled "Apache over Singapore" (According to Mr. Pereira, "Apache refers to the Shadows hit of 1961. It became a rite of passage for Singaporean bands then")
(I posted an entry about his first book on this subject, Legends of the Golden Venus, earlier in this blog.)
Released on October 2011, this book traces the development of the Singapore Sixties music scene. Publisher: Select Books
Mr Pereira has a really great perspective on this subject, having grown up in Singapore during the 60s. He's been studying this subject for years and he has also released several box set compilations of Singapore 60s music through various record labels in the past few years.
From what I gather, this book is full of fascinating stories, interviews, and rare photographs from the era. Definitely a must-read ! (I still need to get a copy for myself!!)
(Photos copyright J Pereira 2011)
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