Gesang Martohartono - Riwayat Mu Ini, Sedari Dulu Jadi, Perhatian Insani...

Friday, May 21, 2010

GESANG MARTOHARTONO (image) has passed on at 92. One of the more familiar Indonesian composers, the song Bengawan Solo (inspired by the River Solo in Java) was penned by this gentleman in the 1940s.

It has been sung by numerous artistes and these include, Rebecca Pan, SK Poon, Waljinah, Toshi Matsuda, Frances Yip, Anneke Gronloh, Sam Saimun, Sajekti and many others. English versions are by Hong Kong pop star Mona Fong and The Sundowners, a Singapore vocal group from the 60s, sing it in their own easy style. Instrumental ones are too many to mention. One of the better interpretations of the melody comes from The Stylers. And it's hot. (Check side-bar) >>>>>

The song's bigger than the composer. It has brought Gesang lots of royalties and for a song that was composed on a bamboo flute in keroncong style, it has been translated into a dozen languages. In 2009 Gesang said, "Unfortunately (the river) is not as beautiful as before..."

"Air mengalir sampai jauh/Akhirnya ke laut..." May you rest in peace pak!

Image: bocahiseng.blogspot.com/2010/05/gesang-mening...

Original article: Andy Lim.

Information: Internet.

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Bengawan Solo And Foreign Songs (Part III)

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

FOREIGN SONGS BECOME ENGLISH HITS (3):

ITALIAN: Nel blu dipinto di blu, known also as Volare is Domenico Modugno’s signature song. It is the only song ever by an Italian artist to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts. His recording won the Grammy (1958) and is the only foreign-language recording sung entirely in Italian.

Written by Modugno himself and Franco Migliacci, it came in third in the 1958 Eurovision Song Contest. But only Dean Martin's version (1958) made its way into the hearts of many Singaporeans. Beats even Bobby Rydell's more upbeat version!

PERUVIAN/ANDEAN: El Cóndor Pasa or Flight of the Condor (1913) is a song by Peruvian composer Daniel Alomía Robles based on traditional Andean folk tunes. It is popular worldwide because it is covered by Simon & Garfunkel in their Bridge Over Troubled Water album (1970). This cover version is called El Condor Pasa (If I Could). When Simon heard a version called Paso Del Condor by Jorge Milchberg, he personalized it by adding his own English lyrics. They are all listed as songwriters in this version.

Perry Como released a cover of Simon's English version on his album It's Impossible. Simon & Garfunkel did release their version as a single in the U.S. and it reached 18 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.

SPANISH: Singapore guitar groups are familiar with Perfidia (1939), The Ventures classic. It means faithless, treacherous or false and was written by Alberto Domínguez in the 1900s. Aside from the original Spanish, other renditions exist, including an English version by Milton Leeds.

The song became a hit for Xavier Cugat in 1940 and used by Chinese director Wong Kar Wai in some of his movies. Perfidia has been recorded by many artistes as early as the 50s, including Gene Autry, Charlie Parker, Mel Torme, Glenn Miller, Nana Mouskouri, The Shadows, The Ventures, Linda Ronstadt, Nat King Cole, Lawrence Welk, The Four Aces and Perez Prado.

INDONESIAN: Bengawan Solo (1940) in Bahasa Indonesia is by Gesang Martohartono and sung in kroncong style, a popular folk music with influences from the Portuguese. The Japanese, who occupied the country during World War II, brought the song to Japan afterwards. It has become an international hit since.

The song became popular amongst the Chinese community in SE Asia after Malaysian singer Poon Sow Keng recorded it in Mandarin for Hong Kong Pathe (1957). It was further boosted by Ms Koo Mei, who sang her version for Philips Records. Many Chinese language singers have written their own lyrics for the tune, making it one of the greatest classics in S.E. Asia.

The English recording of Bengawan Solo is called, By the River of Love from an early 60s Hong Kong record sung by Rebecca Pan. Sakura Teng and Mona Fong (image) sing it both in Chinese and English. While Teng heats it up, Fong gives it a cha-cha-cha beat!

And so this short journey ends in Asia again. We have come one full circle. If you happen to know of pop songs that have been translated into English, please write in.

Image: You Tube

Information: Wikipedia Songs

Original article: Andy Lim

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Dominique, L'amour Est Bleu, Volare (Part II)

FOREIGN SONGS BECOME ENGLISH HITS (3):

ITALIAN: O sole mio (1898) or It's Now Or Never by Elvis Presley has also been performed and covered by many artistes, including opera pillars like as Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza and The Three Tenors, as well as rock and pop artistes like Bryan Adams and Luciano Pavarotti who won a Grammy for his rendition of this operatic piece.

The lyrics were written by Giovanni Capurr, and composed by Eduardo di Capua. Though there are versions in other languages, O sole mio is usually sung in the original Neapolitan language and translates literally as My Sun.

FRENCH: Many French songs have been translated into English ones but two hits that blogger remembers are: (1) L'amour est bleu or Love Is Blue (1967), a song composed by André Popp and written by Pierre Cour. Brian Blackburn wrote English language lyrics for it. It was first performed in French by Greek-German singer Vicky Leandros or Vicky.

It has been recorded by many other musicians and French orchestra leader Paul Mauriat's is the best known. Claudine Longet's, Heather and The Diamond Four versions made it a hit with our Singapore listeners.

FRENCH: (2) Dominique (1963) is another French by Soeur Sourire (Jeanine Deckers) of Belgium, also known as The Singing Nun. It is about Saint Dominic, a Spanish-born priest and founder of the Dominican Order. The English version of the song was written by Noël Regney.

In addition to French and English, Deckers recorded versions in Dutch, German, Hebrew and Japanese. Also, Debbie Reynolds starred in The Singing Nun movie (image) which has an English version of the song. It was the second foreign language song to hit the top of the Hot 100 in 1963, the other being Sukiyaki by Kyu Sakamoto (previous posting).

Another one is Volare or Nel blu di pinto di blu by Domenico Modugno in 1958. No other foreign language song reached the US Billboard Charts until the Spanish language hit Eres tú hit the US charts in 1973.

Know a foreign song in English? Tell us.

Image: google

Information: Wikipedia Songs

Original article: Andy Lim

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Foreign Songs Become English Hits (Part I)

FOREIGN SONGS BECOME ENGLISH HITS (1):

It is a well-known fact that countless 60s popular and classical music from foreign countries become English language hits in the UK, US and other parts of the world. This posting will focus on some of these classics. We start in Asia.

MANDARIN: Rose, Rose, I Love You is an English adaptation of the Mandarin song, Méigui Méigui Wǒ Ai Ni by Yao Li (1940s), the only song written by a Chinese to become a major English language chart hit.

The English lyrics were written by a British DJ, Wilfred Thomas and recorded by 50s pop singer Frankie Laine and the Norman Luboff Choir, with Paul Weston and his Orchestra in 1951. The song, with different English lyrics, was also covered in the UK by Petula Clark (1951) and by Kyu Sakamoto (1960s).

JAPANESE: The second Asian song, Sukiyaki by Kyu Sakamoto went to the top in 1963. So far, this is the only song by a Japanese singer to hit the ceiling in the U.S. The Japanese title is Ue O Muite Aruko, which means I Look Up When I Walk. It is definitely a Singaporean favourite even till today. The Blue Diamonds (Holland) recorded it with English lyrics in 1963 and personally, is one of the best versions!

FILIPINO: Another Asian pop classic, the very famous, Anak (1971) or child is a Tagalog song written and sung by Filipino folk-singer Freddie Aguilar. It has been translated to over a hundred local and international languages. The English version, by Aguilar, is a direct translation of the original and should not be missed by anyone who loves a beautiful rendition of an exceptionally sad song.

Freddie Aguilar Anak Philippino Music Influence (June 24, 2009)

Sukiyaki Kyu Sakamoto US/Japanese 60s Music (July 4, 2009)

Image: google

Information: Wikipedia Songs

Original Article: Andy Lim

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Freddie Aguilar Anak Philippino Music Influence

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

This blog usually does not discuss late 70s music but there's always an exception and this particular song is going into that territory.

Most 60s music lovers and those in the business, play this song over and over again because of its haunting melody and heart rendering tale of a parent’s love for a wayward child. It has captured the ears and hearts of many Singaporeans and to many it seems to be the only folk song that comes from this beautiful country of music, love and 7,107 islands.

The original Tagalog version that brought it international success, climbed fast to the top ten charts in Japan and Europe; over 30 million copies were sold worldwide, with more than 100 cover versions and 55 conversions in 27 languages, including English.

The singer is Freddie Aguilar, the one Asian singer and composer who broke into the western market with this unbelievably poignant song. Aguilar has been given the distinction of being the only Asian artist to achieve worldwide fame. It was such a big hit that Billboard Magazine reported it as a No. 2 on the Top 100 Hits of the World in the 80s.

Go to any nightspot in Singapore today and the song is still being played by our local artistes, sometimes in Tagalog and sometimes in English. I first heard it sung by a Filipino singer at the former Glass Hotel at Havelock Road. Have you met Anak? What about Jose Mari Chan? Click his name under Labels below.

Image/Statistics: Paragraphs 3 & 4 from Wikipedia and freddieanakaguilar.com

Article: Andy Lim

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