Filed under: Japan
♬ キサナドーの伝説
The Jaguars were from Japan.
After The Beatles toured Japan in 1966, Japanese bands started playing music with vocals. Previously, The Ventures had been the biggest band in Japan, so instrumental music was more common.
The new style was called the “Group Sounds” or simply G.S., and had its peak from 1967-1968 with hundreds of professional bands that included The Golden Cups, The Mops, The Spiders, The Tempters and The Tigers. Apparently wearing matching outfits was a requirment to be in a band at that time.
Beside playing covers of The Beatles, The Monkees and the Rolling Stones songs, the groups had also their own material. Most of their perfomances were in “jazz kissa’s” (coffee shop with jazz music) and American airbases.
The Jaguars also made teen-oriented feature films in the style of “Help!” and “Hold On!” Just like American and British teen-rock movies, the movies were more known for the music performances than the plot development.
Thanks to John Sharp for getting this translated for me.
Catalog number ES1047 on Philips of Japan. No release date listed.
Filed under: Republic of the Congo
♬ Makelele
Uele Kalabubu (and his tribe) were supposedly from the Republic of the Congo. I am unable to find any information on them (or is it he?) or Afroground. Not sure if they were some European studio creation like Kongas… But I have seen other singles and albums by them, but none of them have a picture of any musicians.
Sometimes while researching these records, I end up with more questions than answers. If you have any information, please contact me.
Catalog number SG 119 on AZ records of France.
Filed under: Morocco
The four Megri brothers were popular session musicians / composers / producers from Morocco. There names were Hassan, Mahmoud, Jalila and Younès. Jalila was apparently a songwriter and producer, and Younès had a solo career. But, Hassan and Mahmoud recorded two singles singles as Les Frères Megri.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, a new form of pop music emerged in the region of North Africa. This new form resulted from the fusion of local Arabic music with European pop music. Arab media often referred to this new style as “Progressive”. In many ways, it is an independent form of music that has strong and variable Arab, African and European influences; an expression that has branched out and evolved separately from popular traditional Cha’abi music of the region.
Darja, the Arabic dialect of North Africa, is often used as the lyrical language for songs in this genre. While the music is sometimes distinguishably Arabic, it is often not. The rhythms are mixtures of Berber, Arab, African and popular European, performed to the artists’ own recipe and vary to their interpretation.
I have seen quite a few records that they have either played on or produced, but I’ve only seen two singles (with Hassan and Mahmoud) and two albums (one with Hassan, Mahmoud and Younès, and one with just Mahmoud and Younès) by ‘Les Frères Megri’. Apparently they still run a recording studio in Morocco, and Younès released an album in 2004.
Catalog number 6269 013 on Philips of France. No release date listed.
Filed under: India
S. Hazarasingh was from India.
The term “Bollywood” originally referred to Bombay’s (now known as Mumbai) Hindi language film industry. Although there are a number of other studios that produce films in other languages, more recently the definition has been expanded in the West to describe pretty much all films produced on the sub-continent. But where in most countries a film’s soundtrack would merely be used as a promotional tool for the film, in India film music has become an industry unto itself with playback singers and dance numbers. The music is just as important as the film and lives on long after the film has left the theaters. These songs are, for the most part, the pop music of India.
As with most popular music, other artists sometimes recorded cover versions of these songs. Of these musicians, a small number specialized in instrumental arrangements and created what could be called the elevator music of India. While there were a few who used the harmonium or ‘mouth organ’, the most popular instrument used in these “instrumental favorites” was the steel guitar.
The earliest known report of anyone playing slide guitar was Gabriel Davion, a native of India who had been kidnapped by Portuguese sailors and was brought to Hawaii in 1876. Of course, there are Indian string instruments like the gotuvadyam and the vichitra vina that utilize slide known to have existed since the 11th century. But it was not until Ernest Ka’ai and his Royal Hawaiian Troubadours’ toured in 1919 before the slide guitar was introduced to India.
S. Hazarasingh started out in the film studio orchestra as early as 1941, and had played on the original version of “Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu.” On many of his records, he is listed as “S. Hazra Singh”. Apparently there was a popular comedian in India named “Hazara Singh”, and he changed it to prevent confusion. I do not know how many 78’s he may have recorded, but I have seen two singles from 1964 and 1967. He didn’t release his first solo album until 1966, and only released two more before he passed away in 1971.
Since the initial posting, these songs have been included on the “Bollywood Steel Guitar” compilation on Sublime Frequencies.
This is a Malaysian pressing of this record. There is no indication of the company that pressed it, but the catalog number is RSLP 2012. The Indian version on HMV of India has the same cover, except for a red background instead of the blue background and was released in 1969.
Filed under: Singapore
The Impianbateks were not from the Middle East, as the cover may have led you to believe… They were actually from Singapore.
Arabic culture has a large influence on the cultures of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
I tried translating this using an online Malay to English translator, but didn’t get very far before I threw in the towel. I do know that this band is comprised of what was previously two bands: D’Impians and The Bateks. I have seen one other single by them, but it was not in Arabic.
Here are the liner notes, for those of you who know Malay…
Sunggohpun lagu2 “The Bateks” sering kedengaran di-udara, ahli2-nya sudah berpisah di-sebabken oleh sa-suatu yang tidak dapat di-elakkan. Tetapi dengan ada-nya, semangat seni di-sanubari dua daripada ahli nya, mereka menyesuikan diri mereka dengan kumpulan “D’Impians” yang mempunyai chiptaan-chiptaan lagu dan gaya menyanyi tersendiri. Pada awal’tahun ini tertubohlah suatu pancharagam. Yang di-beri nama “Impianbateks”.
If you can make heads or tails of that, let me know… Also, If you have any information, please contact me.
Catalog number CEP 3005 on Cosdel Records of Singapore. No release date listed.
Filed under: Ethiopia
♬ 
?
With the exception of Mulatu Astatke, Mahmoud Ahmed is probably the most well know musician from Ethiopia. He has been featured on three of the Éthiopiques volumes on Buda Musique (numbers 6, 7 and 19) and has recently released a live album. He still records and tours to this day, mainly in Europe.
Here is an excerpt of his biography from the Afropop Worldwide website:
Mahmoud Ahmed was born in the Mercato district of Addis Ababa, but he hails from the Gouragué people, who live south-west of the Ethiopian capital. The Gouragué are known for their cuisine, their diligence in business, and their exuberant traditional dances. Young Ahmed showed little aptitude for schooling. Only music interested him, and instead of studying, he would spend his hours listening to the Tèquali Radio, to bands like the Imperial Body Guard Band, and singers like Tilahoun Gèssèssè.
As a result, Ahmed soon wound up shining shoes alongside other poor, going-nowhere boys in the capital. In 1962, Ahmed took a position helping out at the Arizona Club, one of the semi-legal night spots that were popping up in Addis in those days. This was the time when Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie, in power since 1930, began to sense that his country was slipping away from him. In an effort to appease roiling popular sentiment against him. Sellassie would ultimately relax restrictions on music production, formerly the sole province of the state cultural organization and recording company, Agher Feqer Mahber (“The Love of Country Association”). This paved the ways for Ahmed’s early releases on Amha Records. But first, Sellassie allowed state bands, like the Police and Army Orchestras, to create side branches that played popular music. Sellassie had had a hand in creating these brass orchestras when back in 1924 he invited 40 Armenian musicians refugees to come to Ethiopia as state musicians.
Despite their new liberties, these institutional bands were technically barred from performing except when on official government contracts. But many defied this law. As it happened, the Arizona Club where Ahmed worked became a favorite moonlighting hangout for the Imperial Body Guard Band. One night when the band’s lead singer failed to show, Ahmed persuaded the band to let him sing a few current hits. Arrangers Sahlé Dègado and Girma Hadgu took up his cause and gradually introduced him into the band’s official lineup, where he remained until 1974. Ahmed recorded his first 45-RPM single in 1971.
Here is a discography that lists just about all of Mahmoud Ahmed’s releases, including early singles and cassette only releases…But it does not look like this record is listed.
Catalog number is C-0284 on Hitachi of Japan, distributed in Ethiopia by E. A. K. of Addis Ababa. This record originally came with a pamphlet, all in Amharic, which you can view here.
Filed under: Lebanon
Back when I first started this whole insanity, one band that I was constantly reading about was The Cedars from Lebanon. They are most noted for using saz or oud instead of electric guitar on most of their songs, making them one of the best examples of East meets West.
On their first single they went by the name The Sea-ders, but on their second single they switched to The Cedars. This particular single was originally released in Israel, but due to the fact that the Six Days War had just broke out, most copies were destroyed. Soon after, The Cedars moved to London where they recorded two more singles. But after their fourth single, Decca decided to drop the band. Eventually they got into some serious money problems, sold all their instruments and equipment, broke apart and were forced to go back to Lebanon.
In 1969, Decca decided to re-issue this single in Turkey, were it was a big hit. In fact this song was covered by Mavi Işiklar and the B side “Hide If You Want To Hide” was covered by Selçuk Alagöz, both in Turkish (and both are featured on the Grey Past compilation “Turkish Delights“).
Catalog number 68.107 on Decca, manufactured in Turkey. Release in 1969.
Filed under: Thailand
♬ Mon Kla
♬ Sri Nuon
Johnny Guitar was from Thailand. The band was featured on the first Thai Beat A Go-Go compilation released by Subliminal Sounds and the Shadow Music of Thailand compilation released by Sublime Frequencies. Here are the liner notes for this album:
FACTS ABOUT FABULOUS JOHNNY GUITAR.
T. NOPARATANA (NOPARATANA TIPAYAOSOT) is the leader of Johnny Guitar. He’s 29 years old and almost six feet tall. He composes, listens politely to what the others have to say about his compositions and arrangement, and then insists that they Record Exactly what he wrote and arranged in the first place. He has very definite ideas of his own about almost everything. He plays Electric Organ more than 12 years. He used to be playing with “Bangkok Blue Band” his hobbies include all sports and art. He was born in Bangkok.
S. PRASERT (PRASERT SANGKLA) is 19 years old. He plays Lead Guitar. He was born in Surin.
P. KUA (KUA PHAN-NGARM) is 21 years old. He plays Rhythm Guitar. He was born in Surin.
M. MONGKOL (MONGKOL MOUNGVIROTE) is 20 years old. He plays Bass Guitar. He was born in Bangkok.
A. ANUN (ANUN AMARANONT) is 20 years old. He plays Drums. He was born in Bangkok.
Johnny Guitar is “A KING OF STRING BAND” in THAILAND.
He started to play string music in 1963.
Johnny Guitar is the first band who gets wonderful and new ideas in string music. They arranged THAI CLASSICAL to be THAI POPULAR ( A GO-GO for dancing and listen) Johnny Guitar got twice EXHIBIT in exhibition string band of THAILAND. In 1965 Johnny Guitar got a big succeed in string music. They can get “Golden Shield” From H.R.H. Prince BHANUBANDH YOKUL ( HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRICE OF THAILAND) In 1966 Johnny Guitar get a big hits from their first record “SUPHAN-NAHONG” after their first hits. They’re going to have the second Record “LAO CHA REON SRI” which is a biggest sell and biggest demand.
Now! Here is the first longplay which is very best, greatest sound for stereo phonic, and best souvenirs.
Catalog number LBS.999 on Thai Phonograph Record Company, manufactured and distributed by Lucky Bamboo Records. No release date listed.
Filed under: Dahomey
Orchestre Super Jheevs des Paillotes were from the West African country formerly called Dahomey, now known as Benin.
Since this song was originally posted on the site, it has been included on the African Scream Contest compilation on Analog Africa. Samy Ben Redjeb went to Benin, and interviewed guitarist D’Almeida Expédit:
The band formed, without me, around the early 70s. They had struggled to get things going, they didn’t have a steady guitarist and were soon looking for a musician who could transform their chaotic energy into something productive. A few members were dispatched to Cotonou in ‘71, and that’s where they found me. During our first jam session I improvised a few things on guitar. They had never seen someone handling that instrument the way I did, They all wanted me to stay, but I told the manager of the band, De Souza Marius, that I would only stick around if he found me a daytime job. Two weeks later not only me but the entire band was employed at the CFDT, the local textile manufacturer which De Souza was also managing. We all felt more comfortable financially and could better focus on our music. We had some incredible musicians.
Our late bass player Agbotro Jude was considered to be one of the best in the country; he is the composer of the song you want. And then our crazy drummer Ambroise Gnagenon…He was a genius He would build his drum kit out of goat skin and other weird tools; we use to call it “La batterie indigene”. The bass drum pedal would break in the middle of every live performance; we would stop, waiting for him to fix it, and then continue. He had a really wild style. He is gone now, but you can still see the drum at Las Trois Paillotes. That’s the place we would meet and rehearse everyday after work, and on Saturdays we would set that place on fire! We were popular here but it was a regional thing – we did not use to record you know -but we toured a bit. Dasa, Azofe, Sabalo; it was hot!
One day Apova Bruno from Discafric came to Bohicon to record a band called Las Superstar de Cotonou. which had come here for a concert. Bruno arrived with his recording equipment, and while he was assembling his set-up he heard us practicing nearby He was intrigued by our sound and came to talk to us about making a recording, which we did three weeks later at Les Trois Paillotes. He brought his Nagra reel-to-reel, we played into one microphone, and that was it. We recorded that track three or four times and he later chose the best version. We did not hear from him for a while after that, despite people telling us that they could hear our song on the radio. Anyway I finally bumped into him one day while he was trying to get drunk in a bar in Bohicon. I forced him to follow me to our manager’s house so that they could clarify our payment. They had a brief chat and one week later we received one 7” inch single. That was all we ever received for that recording, which is the only one we ever did.
This song is punk rock.
Catalog number DCF.26 on Discafric, manufactured in France. No release date listed
Filed under: Turkey
Mavi Işiklar roughly translates into Blue Lanterns, and they were from the swinging scene in Turkey.
This is from the Psyche Van Het Folk web page:
Mavi Işiklar was undoubtedly one of the most successful beat/rock bands of the latter part of the 60’s. They managed to sell thousand of records one after the other and be loved for what they really were even in the conservative Anatolian towns. They were a really good R&B band but gradually became a successful underground entity after 1968.
Apparently they reunited in the summer of 2000 and played some shows in Turkey to promote a CD compilation of their material that been released on Ada Müzik at the time.
Catalog number FS 175 on Sayan of Turkey, released 1968.
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