Filed under: Singapore
I can’t tell you anything about Yvonne or her backing band The Sparklers, except that they were from Singapore.
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.
If you have any information, please contact me.
Catalog number MEP 8003 on Magpie Record (that’s right, singular…), manufactured by EMI Australia Limited. No other information available.
Filed under: Pakistan
♬ Jungee
The Fore Thoughts were from Pakistan.
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 Mods, The Panthers and The Slihouettes. The Four Thoughts actually released two records, both with the exact same front cover.
Here are the liner notes from the e.p.:
Let me present to you the first record released by the up coming group, ‘Fore Thoughts’. In this album they are playing four of the very popular Pakistani Folk tunes composed and arranged by the brilliant young maestro Sohail Rana.
Together they present a sound which you have not heard before, it is a successful and happy marriage of Eastern melodies to Western instruments. The instruments you will hear in this album are: Electric Guitar (lead, played by Anif Luqmani [printed as ‘Anis Luqmani’]), Electric Organ (played by Anis Ahmed), Bass Guitar (played by Bashir Belouch) and the drums (played by young Umeed Ansari).
The tunes presented here are from different regions of Pakistan, namely former provinces of Sindh, Punjab, and East Pakistan. You will agree with me when I say that they have done full justice to melodies by retaining their Eastern Flavour in the interpretation.
Wishing you all a very happy listening time,
Fazili Shakil, Manager
If you have any information, please contact me.
Catalog number EKCE 20003. on The Gramophone Company of Pakistan Limited and was manufactured by Columbia in Pakistan.
Filed under: Kenya
I could find no information what so ever on either the Rift Valley Brothers or the their label Sawa Sawa Sound. But, as you can see by the label’s address, they were most likely from Nairobi, Kenya. Also the language listed on the single is Kĩkũyũ, which is a language native to that region.
Here’s some information on the Kĩkũyũ tribe from Wikipedia:
The Kĩkũyũ are Kenya’s most populous ethnic group. ‘Kikuyu’ is the anglicised form of the proper name and pronunciation of Gĩkũyũ although they refer to themselves as the Agĩkũyũ people. There are about 5,347,000 Kikuyu people in Kenya, equal to about 22% of Kenya’s total population. They cultivate the fertile central highlands and are also the most economically active ethnic group in Kenya.
Although uncertain, ethnologists believe the Kikuyu came to Kenya from West Africa together with the other Bantu groups. On reaching present Tanzania, they moved east past Mount Kilimanjaro and into Kenya, finally settling around Mount Kenya, while the rest of the group continued migrating to Southern Africa . They were originally hunter-gatherers but unlike the Nilotic tribes who were pastoralists, they began farming the very fertile volcanic land around Mt. Kenya and the Kenyan highlands.
Since the initial posting, I have found that the Rift Valley Brothers recorded two more singles, one on Kalamindi label and the other on the Nguirubi lable. They also recorded as the Rift Valley Stars for the Sibour label.
Catalog number STD 7-06 on Sawa Sawa Sound of Nairobi, Kenya. No other information available.
Filed under: Israel
♬ Katja
The Lions of Juda were from Israel. They released a handful of singles, almost all of which are credited to The Lions. But in 1968, they recorded their big hit “Our Love’s A Growin’ Thing”, which was released all over Europe. But the flipside is the track that they are most remembered for today.
This song is probably one of the heaviest songs to come out of the Middle East, with the exception of some of Erkin Koray’s records.
I have not been able to find any information on the band, although I know that they were somehow connected to Uzi & The Styles, who were a legendary band in the history of rock music in Israel.
Catalog number 72007 on Phonodor Records of Israel, released in 1968. This record was re-issued in France, Germany, Holland and Spain by Fontana.
Filed under: Vietnam
♬ Đức Minh • Saigon Thứ Bẩy
♬ Thanh Vū, Hôʼng Phủc & Phượg Bắʼng • Tīnh Yêu Trên Đại Dượng
Records from Vietnam are rare, at best. I have been unable to find hardly any information about music (outside of traditional folk music) in that country before the Eighties. Here is what little information I have been able to find about records such as this one: “Records of this nature were outlawed within days of the fall of Saigon, and most were either destroyed by the Communists or, interestingly, destroyed by their owners who did not want the communists to have them.”
These songs fall a bit more into the Easy Listening or Lounge category, but the use of reverb on both tracks is quite interesting. Also this record came out in 1966, which was one year after the U.S. troops arrived in Vietnam.
If you have any information, please contact me.
Catalog number S.N.1009 / 2177 on Sōng Hnac of Vietnam.
Filed under: Zaïre
♬ Venus
Orchestre Vévé was founded in Léopoldville, Zaïre by Verckys Kiamuangana Mateta after he left Franco & OK Jazz in 1969. Now, Léopoldville is known as Kinshasa and Zaïre is called the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Verckys Kiamuangana Mateta he was mostly known for playing the saxophone, but he also played guitar and organ. He owned a recording studio and established his own production company as well as a record label.
This song was originally by Shocking Blue who were from Holland, and it was later made famous by Bananarama in the Eighties. As far as I can tell, this is the only song that Orchestre Vévé recorded with Bovic (a.k.a. Bovick Ye Bondo) on vocals. I do know that Bovic did record two songs with Docteur Nico & L’Orchestre African Fiesta…
I stumbled across an article (which I am unable to find now) that said Orchestre Vévé were going to reunite and record a new album in 2003, but have yet to find any other information to support that story.
Catalog number 90.465 on African Records of France, originally issued on Vévé records of Zaïre (catalog number 37) in 1970.
Filed under: Egypt
Omar Khorshid is where all this insanity started for me, although I did not know it at the time.
Back in 2005, while I was in San Francisco for my job, a friend of mine took me to Aquarius Records, where I picked up a disc called “Radio Morocco“. Although I had purchased a few other compilations of 60’s and early 70’s music from India, Asia and Turkey, as well as discs by Ananda Shankar and Takeshi Terauchi in the past… This was different. What was this music even called? I had no idea. So, to the internet. I started Google-ing everything I could think of. Eventually, I stumbled on some information about Omar Khorshid.
Omar was originally from Egypt, where he got his start playing with Umm Khulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, and Abdel Halim Hafez. He was the first person to introduce electric guitar into Arab music. Apparently, his brother Elhamy tried to imitate his sound but was supposedly not as popular as Omar.
Besides being a musician, Omar was also an actor as well as having scored thirteen motion picture soundtracks. In 1971 he won the Premier Prize at the Film Festival of Tachkand for his music for the film “Abnati El Aziza” (“A Teen’s Life”). His sister is also a famous Egyptian actress, Sherihan Ahmed Abd El Fatah al-Shalakani.
In 1972, he moved to Lebanon where he recorded a handful of solo albums. He returned to Egypt after the civil war began in Lebanon in 1975. Upon his return, he starred in “Hata Akher El-Omr” (“Until The End of Lifetime”) along with Nagwa Ibrahim and Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz.
Omar delivered his most noted performance opposite Madiha Kamel in “El-Arrafa” (“The Fortuneteller”) in 1981. He played a police officer who sympathizes with a student arrested for her political opinions. Two months after the critical acclaim and box-office success of the film, Khorshid was killed in a car accident. One of the more popular rumors was that he was having an affair with a married woman whose husband arranged the accident.
As of March 2007, actor and singer Sameh Youssry is trying to convince members of Omar Khorshid’s family to authorize a biographical movie in which Youssry would star.
The fact that there is not a shrine (or at least a website) dedicated to the man is a mystery. He does not even have a listing on Wikipedia. What little of his solo recordings that are in print and available on compact disc are not exactly his best material, but are will still worth tracking down.
Catalog number GVDL-202 on Voix de l’Orient series for A. Chahine & Fils in Lebanon, and manufactured and distributed by EMI of Greece, 1974.
◄●►◄●►◄●►◄●►◄●►◄●►◄●►◄●►◄●►◄●►◄●►
Since the initial posting of this article, Hany Zaki has started work on a website dedicated to Omar Khorshid.
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.
