Filed under: Ethiopia
Alèmayehu Eshété was from Ethiopia.
If one were to pick a specific point that marked the birth of the distinctive Ethiopian soul music, one could do worse than choose the late Emperor Haile Sellassie’s visit to Jerusalem in 1923. During his stay he heard European brass instruments, which made such an impression on him that he hired a group of Armenian players to become official musicians of the empire. One of these players, Kevork Nalbandian, even composed the current Ethiopian National Anthem in 1926 (Although, according to Wikipedia, it was Solomon Lulu Mitiku).
Thus a distinctly European flavour of brass band music was brought into a country whose traditional music bore heavy influence from Muslim forms, and its own modal pentatonic scale. Additionally, because it was actually impossible to buy saxophones, drums or other musical instruments under the Selassie regime, only the marching bands had access to them, giving the subsequently played music a foreboding, militaristic ambience.
Meanwhile in Europe, a new generation became that baby boomers started the cultural revolution of rock ’n’ roll, R ’n’ B and pop music in the 1960s. The same generation in Ethiopia, in their 20s during the early 60s, wanted to change the country and get connected with the world. But where Ethiopia was different was that they had about 6,000 Peace Corps from America. President Kennedy invented this civil service for youngsters in order to work in third world countries, so these people brought with them a lot of American flavours: long hair, bell-bottom trousers and plenty of vinyl records.
Thanks to the newly acquired influences from the West, the sound emanating from the clubs Addis Ababa was a heady stew of deep, hypnotic rhythms, distinctly Western guitar licks and soulful eastern melodies and vocals. The sound bore the unmistakable badge of American records (Stax and Motown artists in particular) plus something distinctly African and new.
Soon labels such as Amha Records and Kaifa Records sprung up around the city to capture the sounds produced by the more popular singers and performers. Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatke, Tlahoun Gèssèssè, as well as others all brought their soulful sound to the clubs and cut records.
The Alem-Girma band was formed by Alèmayehu Eshété and Girma Beyene in 1972. Both supposedly shared the taste of music and clothing fashion that was coming from the United States (James Brown, Elvis Presley, and Wilson Pickett to name a few). The band retained some of the members from the All Star Band. From left to right: Tekle “Huket” Adhanom (guitar), Tamerat “Lotti” Kebede (drums), Alemayehu Eshete (vocals), Girma Beyene (piano and arranger) & Tekle Gebremariam (sax). The band lasted until 1974, after Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam’s military coup against Selassie. Under Mariam’s Derg, or ruling council, Addis Ababa’s nightlife died off.
Volume 9 of the Ethiopiques series is devoted to Alèmayehu Eshété’s earlier music, while Volume 22 of that series covers his career between 1972 and 1974. Some of his songs have also appeared on volumes 3, 8, 10, and 13. Also, L’Arôme, in association with Buda Musique, has recently released a vinyl only collection of some of his best tracks, entitled Ethiopian Urban Modern Music Vol 2. He still active in Ethiopia performing and recording to this day.
Catalog Number PH 172 on Philips, “manufactured by E. A. Records for Phonogram in E. Africa”. Publishing date listed as 1973.
Filed under: Israel
The Fat & The Thin were from Israel.
Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל), is located on the southeastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders with Lebanon in the north, Syria and Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. The West Bank and Gaza Strip, which are partially administrated by the Palestinian National Authority, are also adjacent. With a population of about 7.2 million, the majority of whom are Jews, Israel is the world’s only Jewish state. It is also home to Arab Muslims, Christians and Druze, as well as other religious and ethnic minority groups. Jerusalem is the nation’s capital, seat of government, and largest city.
The modern state of Israel has its roots in the Land of Israel, a concept central to Judaism for over three thousand years. After World War I, the League of Nations approved the British Mandate for Palestine with the intent of creating a “national home for the Jewish people”. In 1947, the United Nations approved the partition of the Mandate of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The Arab League rejected the plan, but on May 14, 1948, Israel declared its independence. The new country’s victory in the subsequent Arab-Israeli War expanded the borders of the Jewish state beyond those in the UN Partition Plan. Since then, Israel has been in conflict with many of the neighboring Arab countries, resulting in several major wars and decades of violence. Throughout the conflict, Israel’s boundaries have been subject to dispute, although Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, and efforts are being made to reach a permanent accord with the Palestinians.
Uzi Fuchs (a.k.a. Uzi Fux) sang on this song, while Watson T. Browne provided the vocals on the A side. Uzi would later go on to form Uzi & The Styles, while Watson T. Browne would go on to a solo career in various countries across Europe . The only other information that I have been able to find, is that they recorded a a song called “I’m A Travelin’ Man” that was included on the second volume of the “Conquer the World” compilation.
Catalog number 45-604 Hed Artzi (which translates to ‘The Echo of My Country’) of Tel Aviv, Israel. No release date given.
Filed under: Vietnam
Elvis Phương was from Vietnam.
Records from Vietnam are rare, at best. And usually, I am unable to find hardly any information about music (outside of tradtional folk music) in that country before the Eighties. But, I was surprised to find a biography on Elvis Phương:
Elvis learned to sing by listening to the records or tapes of foreign singers. When he was 17 or 18 years old, against his father wishes, Elvis Phương chose to stay in Vietnam to pursue a career in singing instead of going to France for an education. Elvis Phương, whose real name is Pham Ngoc Phương selected his stage name after his idol, Elvis Presley.
His first appearance in front of an audience was in 1962 at Regina Pacis high school’s open house where he sang Nua Dem Ngoai Pho and O’ Cangaceiro. The first band that he worked with was the Rockin’ Stars, a popular band during the early 60s. In subsequent years, he also collaborated with other famous bands such as Les Vampires and Phương Hoàng. In 1968, Mr. Ngoc Chanh of Shotguns Productions produced Elvis Phương’s first album titled Shotguns 26: Tieng Hat Elvis Phương. In 1977, Elvis Phương’s musical journey took him by storm with the first album produced overseas titled Hat Cho Nguoi Vuot Bien. Since then, Elvis Phương has recorded many tapes and / or CDs and appeared in many videos.
He currently lives in Cerritos, California, where he runs EP Productions. He also has a website (that is under construction). And, apparently he is an Aquarius (his birthday on February 1st), his favorite color is black & white and his lucky number is thirteen.
There is a separate catalog number for each song on this record… The catalog number for this song is GP • 1287 31 3 7 on Dưâm Records of Vietnam. No release date given.
Filed under: Cape Verde
While all of the members of Voz De Cabo Verde were originally from tiny island nation of Cape Verde, the band actually formed in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands in 1966. Although, I have also read that the band may have originally formed in Dakar, Senegal before relocating to the Netherlands.
The original line up consisted of Luis Morais (saxophone, clarinet), Morgadinho (trumpet, vocals, bass guitar), Franck Cavaquinho (drums), Toy Ramos (guitar), Jean da Lomba (bass guitar). The singer Djosinha joined the group in 1967, then pianiste–organist Chico Serra in early 1968.
For four years, the group was based in Rotterdam, but they toured regularly in the Benelux countries, France, Portugal, and America. They also played in many of the Portuguese speaking countries of Africa, including several tours in Cape Verde.
Le groupe se sépare en 1970.The group broke up in 1970, but reformed in 2002 with the original members (except Cavaquinho Frank died a few years earlier) in Lisbon, Portugal. This only lasted a few months, before Luis Morais turned up missing.
Catalog number 113 482 F on their own Voz De Cabo Verde label. No other information is available.
Filed under: Pakistan
♬ Bhavayia
The Silhouettes were from Pakistan.
The name “Pakistan” means “Land of the Pure” in Urdu, as well as in Persian. It was coined in 1934 as “Pakstan” by Choudhary Rahmat Ali, who published it in the pamphlet Now or Never. The name represented, according to Ali, the “thirty million Muslims of PAKSTAN, who live in the five Northern Units of (British) India – Punjab, North-West Frontier Province. (a.k.a. Afghania), Kashmir, Sindh, and Balochistan.” The nation was founded officially as the Dominion of Pakistan in 1947 after the Partition of India, and was renamed the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1956.
Apparently, there was a market for traditional music played on Western instruments. Not sure who this was being marketed to, either the indigenous population or foreign tourists. But there were a number of bands that released similar records, most notable being The Fore Thoughts, The Mods and The Panthers.
Here are the liner notes:
In your hands, is the first ever stereo long playing album recorded and manufactured in Pakistan.
We present to you a top, pop local group, ‘THE SILHOUETTES’. These brilliant young contemporary musicians play tunes, some of which are folk, and were written before they were born, in such an original way as to give these melodies a new concept.
We have called the L.P. ‘THE SOUND OF THE SILHOUETTES’, mainly because we could not think of a more apt title. You will enjoy listening to the scintillating rhythms, the unique combinations of Guitar and Electric Sitar in SOFT SILHOUETTES and BHAWAIYA, the ingenious blending of vibraphone and Electric Sitar. In SOUND OF THE SILHOUETTES, you will also listen to classical numbers like RAGA AMEN and PEELO which they have played with gusto and perfection.
Versatility is a strong point of THE SILHOUETTES. In addition to featuring exciting folk tunes, they also make a point of featuring some of their own compositions in meticulous execution.
With “MAIN DIVANA” and their great performance of “SOUND OF THE SILHOUETTES” the Silhouettes are sure to become the most popular entertaining group for a long time to come.
The Silhouettes did release one other single, as the backing band for Runa and Dina Laila. But as far as I know, that was it. As for their record label, which is the only record I have seen from the region that was not on some version of EMI / HMV / RCA, Arokey Chemical Industries was taken over by the Pakistani government in 1972.
Catalog number ACI.S-I on Arokey-Records, “A product of Arokey Chemical Industries, Ltd. 3rd Floor, N.G.B. McLeod Road, Karachi”. No release date listed.
Filed under: Dahomey
Orchestre Picoby-Band were Abomey, which was the former capitol of the kingdom of Dahomey, which is now known as Benin.
Dahomey was under French rule until the country gained it’s independence in 1960. For the next 12 years, ethnic strife contributed to a period of turbulence. There were several coups and regime changes, with three main figures dominating – Sourou Apithy, Hubert Maga, and Justin Ahomadegbé – each of them representing a different area of the country. These three agreed to form a presidential council after violence had marred the 1970 elections. In 1972, a military coup led by Mathieu Kérékou overthrew the council. He established a Marxist government under the control of Military Council of the Revolution (CNR), and the country was renamed to the People’s Republic of Benin in 1975.
As for Orchestre Picoby-Band… This single was the first of three that they released in sequence on L.A. Aux Ecoutes. And I have read that they also released two other singles on the Albarika Store label. All of the songs on the L.A. Aux Ecoutes singles are credited to Avolonto Honore, who also wrote songs for fellow countymen El Rego and Orchestre Poly-Rhytmo, as well as recording under his own name.
On the African Scream Contest compilation, released by on Analog Africa, Samy Ben Redjeb interviewed Nicolas Gomez, who the band leader and guitarist of the Picoby-Band
The band formed in 1953. They were looking for a lead guitarist so I joined them in 1955. The first few years we really struggled, mostly because we had really crappy equipment! That changed radically in 1980. We had written to the cultural centre in Abomey asking for financial help; so did Renova Band, another great group from this town. The cultural centre didn’t have enough cash to support both groups so they decided to organize a competition, with the winner receiving 500.000 CPA. We won and with the cash we bought all kinds of instruments! We then participated in first national music festival, in 1965. The government would invite one band from each, (there were six states at the time). We represented Le Zou. At the end we came in third. La Sondas took first, followed by Annassoua Jazz.
In 1976 we participated in, the Festival des Arts et des Cultures. For that festival we changed our name to Echos du Zou. Super Borgou de Parakou won. We took second place with a traditional track containing revolutionary lyrics called Mi So Gbe. Although Orchestre PoIy-Rythmo was the better band, they made a few mistakes during that contest. The whole band arrived on their brand new motorbikes. Remember it was in 1976, we had the revolution going on here, and Benin was a socialist country at that time. I guess the jury didn’t like those bikes too much. Also. Poly-Rythmo were supposed to compose a song based on the traditional rhythms from their region, but they just played those crazy Jerks.
The two winners of that ‘76 contest, Super Borgou and us, were both going to represent Benin at Festac 77 in Lagos. Unfortunately our equipment was far too weak for such an important show, so we decided to team up with Poly-Rythmo – they had all those fancy Marshall and Orange amps. So we combined the three bands and became L’Orchesrte National du Benin. Mêlomê Clément was President de l’orchesrtre and Moussa Mama Djima was Chef d’orchesrtre. We came in second.
Catalog number LA 27 on L.A. Aux Ecoutes of Dahomey, pressed in Nigeria. No release date listed.
Filed under: Singapore
The Vampires were from Singapore.
Singapore is an island nation located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and is one of the few remaining city-states in the world and the smallest country in Southeast Asia.
When the main island was colonized by the British East India Company in 1819, it contained a fishing village sparsely populated by indigenous Malays and Orang Lauts at the mouth of the Singapore River. The British used the position as a strategic trading outpost along the spice route. It became one of the most important commercial and military centres of the British Empire and the site, in 1942, of what Winston Churchill called “Britain’s biggest defeat” at the hands of the Japanese. Occupied by the Japanese Empire during World War II, it reverted to British rule in 1945 and was later part of the merger which established Malasia in 1963. Less than two years later it left the federation and became an independent republic on August 9th, 1965. The new republic was admitted to the United Nations on September 21 that same year.
In 2003, Singapore’s Media Development Authority (MDA) commissioned a six-part series documentary for televison on the Singapore music scene from the 1960s to the present day, entitled Jammin’. If anyone knows how I could get a copy of that documentary (especially the first two episodes), I would greatly appreciate it.
As for The Vampires, I have not been able to find any information. I do know that they did release a second single as Dorothy & The Vampires on Philips Records.
Catalog number STL 222 on Satellite of Singapore. No other information available.
Filed under: Iran
♬ Marcella
The Black Cats were from Iran, which is about the last place you would think to find a James Brown cover…
In summer of 1941 Britain and the USSR invaded Iran to prevent Iran from allying with the Axis powers. The Allies occupied Iran, securing a supply line to Russia, Iran’s petroleum infrastructure, and forced the Shah to abdicate in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In 1951, a nationalist politician, Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh rose to prominence in Iran and was elected Prime Minister. As Prime Minister, Mossadegh became enormously popular in Iran by nationalizing the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (later British Petroleum, BP) which controlled the country’s oil reserves. In response, Britain embargoed Iranian oil and began plotting to depose Mossadegh. Members of the British Intelligence Service invited the United States to join them, convincing U.S. President Eisenhower that Mossadegh was reliant on the Tudeh (Communist) Party to stay in power. In 1953, President Eisenhower authorized Operation Ajax, and the CIA took the lead in overthrowing Mossadegh and supporting a U.S.-friendly monarch.
The CIA faced many setbacks, but the covert operation soon went into full swing, conducted from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran under the leadership of Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. Iranians were hired to protest Mossadegh and fight pro-Mossadegh demonstrators. Anti- and pro-monarchy protestors violently clashed in the streets, leaving almost three hundred dead. The operation was successful in triggering a coup, and within days, pro-Shah tanks stormed the capital and bombarded the Prime Minister’s residence. Mossadegh surrendered, and was arrested on 19 August 1953. He was tried for treason, and sentenced to three years in prison.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi returned to power greatly strengthened and his rule became increasingly autocratic in the following years. With strong support from the U.S. and U.K., the Shah further modernized Iranian industry, but simultaneously crushed all forms of political opposition with his intelligence agency, SAVAK. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became an active critic of the Shah’s White Revolution and publicly denounced the government. Khomeini, who was popular in religious circles, was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months. After his release in 1964, Khomeini publicly criticized the United States government. The Shah was persuaded to send him into exile by General Hassan Pakravan. Khomeini was sent first to Turkey, then to Iraq and finally to France. While in exile, he continued to denounce the Shah.
During this time, Iran had a more openness to the West. But this was short lived. In 1979, following the Islamic Revolution, Khomeini came to power and anything that was of Western influence was banned or destroyed. Due to this fact, not only are records from this period difficult to find, but so is any information about the artists. Many of the artists fled the country, some of them (like the Black Cats) relocated to America.
Shahram Shabpareh started out in The Rebels 5 (who later changed their name to The Rebel Kings, then to just The Rebels…). I believe that he still plays with the band today.
I do not know the catalog number for the Iranian pressing (for the cover seen above)… But for the Turkish pressing, the catalog number is 40019 on S&S Records. No Release date listed.
Filed under: Côte d'Ivoire
Guéhi Jean et son Ensemble were from Côte d’Ivoire, formerly known as the Ivory Coast.
I have not been able to find any information about Guéhi Jean. I have seen other records by him, accompanied by either Les Super Bantus and Les Super Banthy De l’Ouest, as well as a solo record from 1983.
If you have any information, please contact me.
Catalog number BB 5008 on Badmos, manufactured in France, No other information given…
Filed under: Indonesia
Rachmat Kartolo & Brimoresta were from Indonesia.
During the early 1960s, President Sukarno was under pressure from the pro-communist organization Lembaga Kebudayaan Rakyat to ban rock’n’roll. Local groups rock groups were often thrown in jail. In fact, one of Indonesia’s first rock bands, Koes Bersaudara had a hit with a song called “I’m In Jail”, which was also included on their first album.
After the Sukarno was removed from power, Western music did manage to infiltrate Indonesian radio. But, ‘tear-jerkers’, such as Rachmat Kartolo’s “Patah Hati” (Broken Hearted) were banned since they were seen as ‘weakening’ the revolution. Under the New Order, control of the arts and the media by the government has been inconsistent, but generally Indonesia has enjoyed a vibrant music scene.
Rachmat Kartolo was more well know for his acting career, staring in first film Terpesona in 1966, and he was still acting as of 1989. There is a long article about him here… But it’s in Indonesian. Other than that, I have not been able to find anything about Rachmat Kartolo or his backing band Brimoresta. If you have any information, please contact me.
Catalog number EPLN 10 on Irama of Indonesia. No other information available.
Radiodiffusion Internasionaal Annexe 