In my recent WhatsApp, I briefed you on a singer-actress of the 1960s
named Norma (sometimes spelt Normah) Zainal. She began her singing
career in 1964 together with her elder sister Hamidah Zainal and
Noorsiah Yem, forming a trio called "Tiga Serangkai" (Three
Strings), where they managed to record an EP by Philips Singapore.
Norma Zainal (centre) as one of the members of Tiga Serangkai, featured in this 1964 EP:
Tiga Serangkai featuring Rahmah Hassan in their song "Lenggang
Singapura", accompanied by Orkes Rangkaian Lima Sekawan led by composer
Ali Ahmad.
In 1966, she began acting in a Cathay Keris film titled "Jiran
Sekampong" (Neighbors of the Same Village) as a heroine. However, Norma
is more popular playing negative roles in her later acting, such as in
the films "Kacha Permata" (Glass Diamond) [Shaw Brothers'
MFP, 1966], "A-Go-Go '67" [Shaw Brothers' MFP, 1967] and "Kekaseh"
(Lovers) [Cathay Keris, 1968].
Watch "Kacha Permata" here:
Zaiton (the actress, not Siti Zaiton) and Norma Zainal,
two stars from the film "Kacha Permata" (1966) met each other again at a
reunion organized by a Singaporean reporter in 2019.
Norma Zainal showing to Singapore Berita Harian reporters a videoclip
of her performing "Panggilan Rohani" with The Blue Beats in the film
"A-Go-Go '67". (photo credit: Siti Aisyah Nordin) - Article HERE
In
the same films that she acted, Norma also sang "Playboy" in "Kacha
Permata" with the accompaniment of Les Kafila's, followed by "Panggilan
Rohani" (The Call of My Soul)
in "A-Go-Go '67" with The Blue Beats. Another recording work by her is a
song titled "Terima Surat" (Receiving A Letter) from a 1969 EP called
"Dendang Ria", accompanied by the RTS Orchestra. (RTS =Radio &
Television of Singapore). "Dendang Ria" was a weekly
TV Singapura entertainment program, which began its show in 1963. I
read from the "Dendang Ria" record sleeve that by this time, Norma
Zainal had become a nightclub singer. I also saw in e-Bay a decade
years ago another EP done by her, but perhaps it was
an early 1970s release by an independent, small recording company.
Unfortunately, I didn't capture the details.
PANGGILAN ROHANI | Normah Zainal & The Bluebeats | OST A Go-Go 1967
A photo of Sanisah Huri taken from Malaysia's "Berita Harian". She still looks elegant at 71!
I read an article in Malaysia's Berita Harian reporting that Sanisah
Huri will be performing at the Petronas Philharmonic Hall in Kuala
Lumpur next month. I'm so excited to know this, as Sanisah has been my
favorite singer, while the hall is a very prestigious
venue for a concert meant for the elite class of Malaysian society.
Performing at this venue and other prestigious place like the Istana
Budaya is indeed an achievement. I had watched two concerts in Istana
Budaya alone - the first one featuring Ahmad Jais with my best friend
while the other with a group of pop yeh yeh performers
with Yatie.
Sanisah Huri's recording work with The Terwellos, The Hooks, Clique Fantastique and Dendang Perindu on EMI.
Sanisah
Huri has a long singing career from the 1960s until the mid-1980s. In
the film "A-Go-Go '67", she performed "Siapa Gerangan" (Who Is He?)
with a band called The
Terwellos, after which she made an SP (where this song and "Alam Seni"
was included) and an EP with the same band on EMI label. Then, she
recorded with The Hooks (1968), Dendang Perindu (1969) and Clique
Fantastique (1970), before moving on as a solo artist.
Among recording works by Sanisah Huri in Senada, both as a solo artist and as a team member of Suara Perindu.
Her contract with EMI ended in 1974, after which she joined Senada owned
by composer Kassim Masdor, who also composed many hit songs for her,
with lyrics provided by Yusnor Ef. She remained there until 1979. In
1976, Sanisah teamed up with Hasnah Haron, J.
Kamisah and jamaliah Shamsuri as Suara Perindu and managed to cut two
EPs. During the reawakening of pop yeh yeh craze in 1985, Sanisah
re-recorded many of her top hits in an LP by Warnada based in Kuala
Lumpur.
Sanisah Huri's album with Warnada produced in 1985.
Sanisah also appeared in films as an extra. Besides "A-Go-Go '67", she
also appeared in Mat Sentol's direction "Mat Toyol" (1969), singing "Si
Baju Hijau" (The Guy In A Green Uniform), and "Dendang Perantau" (A
Traveller's Serenade) (1979) singing "Hari Jadi"
(Birthday) together with Hail Amir and A. Ramlie.
A GO GO 67 1967 - Siapa Gerangan - Sanisah Huri & The Terwellos
Konsert Ole Ole Tampines - 02 May 2015 dan juga sempana menyambut ulang tahun The Rythmn Boys yang ke 54. Video credit :BloomAbyzz
SANISAH HURI : Renungan Mataku Yang Rindu (senikata)
At long last, the Adnan Othman compilation that was released in 2014 on vinyl has been released on CD by Sublime Frequencies in a beautiful digipak with incredible audio quality, ripped from original 45s and gently cleaned up by Mark Gergis's (Sublime Frequencies) audio expertise.
I put this compilation together with Adnan when I visited him in Malaysia 5 years ago, and while it was initially only released on LP, the CD version has finally arrived. The CD includes a booklet packed with original photos from Adnan's personal photo albums, and a biography about his life from his childhood until present - his "musical journey".
If you're in Malaysia, Adnan Othman will appear at SPUTNIK REKORDZ for a special release party on November 9, 2019, joined by MODERN FLASHBACK Scooter Club. Get a copy of the CD while supplies last - and ask Adnan to sign it for you! CLICK HERE to see a video of Nazareth and Adnan opening the CD for the first time.
Photo : Modern Flashback Scooter Club - Adnan Othman at the center!
It's very hard to post two posts in a row like this, and I've been avoiding this blog for months knowing that the latest news was so sad... but another Pop Yeh Yeh legend also left us this year...
Dato' A Rahman Hassan passed away on June 13 2019.
Here's a photo of Dato' with his band, Orkes Nirwana, and his first wife, Datin Azizah Muhamad (also a singer in the band)
Photo by Juhanis Yaacob.
Read my previous posts about Dato' A Rahman Hassan here, and here.
I will soon be posting some interview footage of Dato' A Rahman Hassan and some clips of Orkes Nirwana in the rehearsal studio - clips from the movie I'm working on.
Legendary Boyanese / Baweanese singer Kassim Selamat of the Singapore Pop Yeh Yeh group, The Swallows, passed away on May 26, 2019.
Here's an article in English from Bernama.com :
Here's a photo i took with Kassim Selamat in 2010 when Cikgu Yusnor Ef introduced me to him.
And here's an article in Malay from BeritaHarian.sg - Singapore's biggest Malay language newspaper. They write about his incredible career, and also mentioned how I traveled to meet him and played his music on my radio show here in the US. The photo in the article below, on the left, was taken by his daughter when I last visited him.
Here's a song I always loved by The Swallows. When we met in 2010, we ended up driving Kassim Selamat home and he sang along to his greatest hits CD in the car the whole way. This was one of the ones i remember him singing along to in the backseat with the cool breeze blowing through the window.
Last March, the legendary Rythmn Boys, who backed artists such as S. Mariam, A. Ramlie, Jeffrydin, Adnan Othman, G. Yusoff, Novel, Sha'ari Omar, S. Ahmad, M Amin, Ramlah Aziz, Aziz Jonid, and many others, played two sold out concerts at the Esplanade in Singapore.
Adnan Othman performed with them for the first time in 30 years. S. Mariam, who was one of the group's main singers for many years, also performed that evening. M. Amin, and A Ramlan, singers who still perform regularly with the group, were also there. What a reunion!
