Friday, February 10, 2012
Cliff Richard and the Shadows
Cliff Richard and the Shadows probably had the all-time greatest western impact on Malay rock groups in the 60s.
Here's a scene from the 1961 romantic film he starred in called "The Young Ones" . Aside from their many hits led by singer Cliff Richard, The Shadows band also recorded many instrumental surf "a go go" style tunes (similar to The Ventures).
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Les Fentones in the classic film "Play Boy" - 1967
** UPDATE **
Guest Blogger Ghaz writes:
"Dear Carl,
Your posting on Les Fentonnes on
your blog is very interesting.
The lead vocalist appeared on the
film Playboy (1967) is the late A. Karim Jais. Prior to their appearance
on the film, Karim had also cut a few EPs with the said band in June 1966, and
among the hits include Bahagia Menjelma , Julaida and Si-Dara
Jelita. Karim did a remake of his songs in a compilation abum 30 years
later, but this time it was done with ZZ'Exprezz, a Singaporean band who make
its recordings using the original 60s equipment. Prior to his death, Karim used
to work as a manager for the Singapore’s famous Satay House.
Besides Karim, the late M. Osman also
used to record with Les Fentonnes for his songs Kaseh Berduka and Mawarku
Pergi. The only female vocalist for Les Fentonnes was Fatimah H.S.
Les Fentonnes also recorded as
themselves, where the lead guitarist Manaf Ahmad (a.k.a. A. Manaf) sang their
famous number Di-Sa’at Bahagia.
You can check these songs on YouTube.
Enjoy the music!
Warmest regards,
Ghaz, KL"
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
another great Saloma song -- with a Latin/South American influence
Just for fun, as a side note, since Ghaz's post has inspired me to start watching all the P Ramlee and Saloma videos I can find, I'm adding this video (which is not Twist related at all) showing the influence of Latin/South American dance music in Malaysia at the time....
Oh, check out the Western Electric/Altec 639A/B microphone in the shot there!!!! all time classic microphone!
Oh, check out the Western Electric/Altec 639A/B microphone in the shot there!!!! all time classic microphone!
TWIST-LAH LAGI! (LET'S TWIST AGAIN!)
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 )
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 )
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
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