Looking Back: Country Music With Maxine Brown

Sunday, February 6, 2011

THIS POSTING IS NOT AN ADVERTISEMENT

If you are not familiar with the music of the 50s and 60s Maxine Brown's Looking Back To See - A Country Music Memoir - is the book to grab from the shelves of our National Library. The Three Bells (1959) is one of the biggest hits of all time and gave Maxine Brown, her sister and brother international stardom. And the story begins...

Mini review:

Maxine Brown shared stages with everyone, from unknowns to the knowns like Rick Nelson and Elvis Presley. "She saw Elvis at the beginning of his incredible, tragic ride" when she devoted one full chapter to travels with the King.

Then there were Jim Reeves and Johnny Cash and pieces of advice - "Lousy bands can mess up the greatest singers..." - from the people she met during the times of boogie-woogie, swing music, television, horror movies, The Kennedys, space flight, hula hoops and "nickel Cokes."

Country Music People magazine says it all, "This is the story of The Browns... It is also the story of rip-offs, frustration money woes, and the harsh truths about fame... Told in a spunky, no-holds-barred, immensely readable style with plenty of juicy anecdotes (blurb)."

If you have the time and interested in country music, this is the book to check out. And who are the Browns, in case you are not familiar with them? Her book tells all.

Image: Cover of "Looking Back To See - A Country Music Memoir" by Maxine Brown, The University of Arkansas Press (2005), USA. From: National Library Board, Singapore. NLB: 782.421642

Original article: Andy Lim.

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Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, Ricky Nelson, Matt Monroe Of Ipoh, Malaya (Part V)

Monday, March 1, 2010

During this time in the 60s in small town Ipoh, Malaya, there was also an explosion of singers who really made names for themselves by impersonating and singing songs by Cliff Richard, Elvis Presley, Matt Monroe and Ricky Nelson.

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In my hometown our well-known *impersonators include: Ho Kok Onn - Cliff Richard, Les Lee - Elvis Presley, Johhny Lee - Matt Monroe, and Richard Ng - Ricky Nelson.

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Our band The Teenage Fentons, was always the back-up band for all of them when they performed at the movie theatres like the Lido and Rex Theatre.

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*There are impersonators of western pop singers from all over Malaya in the 60s.

Image/original article: Joseph Chin Collection, Ipoh, Malaysia.

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(6) 'Billboard' Pop Influence In Singapore 50s

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

TOP TUNES INFLUENCE: 1958 - 59

The picture shows the RM Orchestra in full swing, with its big band sound. Each player had a music sheet and played accordingly. No missed beats, no missed notes as everything was done 'by the book'.

So when Malaya won independence in 1957, the radio service was split into Radio Malaya and Radio Singapore. When 1958 came, the year provided Singaporeans first list of Billboard's 'Hot 100' and the songs were heard all over the island.

Growing up and studying for his Senior Cambridge Examination, blogger listened to these songs. And pop song crazy classmates knew each favourite song by heart:

At The Hop - Danny And The Juniors
Don't - Elvis Presley
Get A Job - The Silhouettes
Tequila - The Champs
Catch A Falling Star - Perry Como
He's Got The Whole World - Laurie London
Twilight Time - The Platters
Witch Doctor - David Seville/Chipmunks
All I Have To Do Is Dream - Everly Brothers
Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley
Hard Headed Woman - Elvis Presley
Yakety Yak - The Coasters
Patricia - Perez Prado
Poor Little Fool - Ricky Nelson
Volare - Domenico Modugno
Bird Dog - Everly Brothers
It's All In The Game - Tommy Edwards
It's Only Make Believe - Conway Twitty
Tom Dooley - Kingston Trio
To Know Him Is To Love Him - Teddy Bears
The Chipmunk Song - David Seville

Image: National Heritage Board Singapore & Singapore Press Holdings. Original article: Andy Lim Collection.

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(2) Country Western Influence: Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Roy Rogers, Hank Williams, Frankie Laine, Jim Reeves, Glen Campbell

Sunday, August 9, 2009

During the earlier years in Singapore there were already many songs from the treasure chest of country oldies. Songs like, Dont Fence Me In (1945), by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, not forgetting Gene Autry, Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (1945) were in existence on 78rpm records. Then favourites like, Your Cheating Heart (1952) and Jambalaya (1952) by Hank Williams followed. His own personal choice was Cold, Cold Heart (1951).

Frankie Laine's High Noon (1952) Rawhide (1958) were also best sellers as the theme of the rough and tough in country music gripped Singapore, "And I must face a man who hates me/Or like a coward, a craven coward/Or like a coward in my grave..."

People who came to the US from Europe composed songs like the Texan Fraulein (Bobby Helms), and Little Dutch Girl (George Morgan). The influence was gradual though, so when Elvis Presley emerged with his first movie, Love Me Tender (1956) followed by Loving You (1957) with songs like, Lonesome Cowboy, A Lotta Livin' To Do and Hot Dog, most pop music enthusiasts went agog. Country and rock were combined. Johnny Cash joined the scene with, I Walk The Line (1956).

Then Rio Bravo (1959) hit the big screens in Singapore. Tough John Wayne, sexy Dean Martin and teenage idol Ricky Nelson held everyone to ransom with My Rifle, My Pony And Me. Marty Robbins with El Paso (1959), known as a gunfighter ballad, kept Singaporeans singing this elaborate tale of 13 verses for months on end. Then Jim Reeves, who had earlier hits provided his rendition of, *He'll Have To Go (1959) and Johnny Horton with, North To Alaska (1960).

When Glen Campbell, By The Time I Get To Phoenix (1967) hit the trail and John Denver came with Leaving On A Jet Plane (1967) and Take Me Home Country Roads (1971), the Country and Western craze woke the baby boomers up!

The Singapore 60s cowboy craze erupted when our local boys and girls came with twanging acoustic guitars and hawaiian guitars as back-up. Not many Fenders appeared on stage then. The CW craze had begun.

Then, shades of Ferlin Husky, a cowpoke from the hills of Pasir Panjang, Singapore, emerged! He was Rocky Wong and appeared on stage in full regalia, with his cowboy suit, guitar and hat. He could have been the first Singapore cowboy. (earlier posting: August 9th, 2009).

This journey, discovering country music from the 50s to the 70s, is a personal one and the songs are milestones along the way.

*Singapore Karaoke Favourite: Jim Reeves', He'll Have To Go (1959).

Image: http://cnet.com.au/

Image: http://spout.com/films

Original Article: Andy Lim

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Ricky Nelson 1940 - 1985 Early 60s Influence

Monday, July 6, 2009

***********************If there's anyone as good looking as Elvis Presley, it's Ricky Nelson and it wasn't his songs that attracted the American public in the beginning but his lovable antics with his family in the DC comics series called, The Adventures of Ozzie And Harriet (image), where the Nelson family, that meant his parents, brother David and the dog had their family life, sometimes fact and sometimes fiction, made into humorous episodes.

Personally, a collection was kept up to the 80s, before the comics were thrown away into the dustbin. Such a pity! Computer scanning in the 90s could have saved the beautiful and colourful images. Many Singaporean comic lovers had them too in the 50s. Anyway...

The Nelson family was also family fare on radio and TV but as he grew up, Ricky Nelson began a singing career and "became a teen idol sensation from 1957 up to 1962, where he had thirty Top-40 hits, more than any other artist at the time except Elvis Presley and Pat Boone."

"When Billboard introduced the Hot 100 Chart on August 4, 1958, Nelson's single, Poor Little Fool became the first song ever in the number one position on that chart." He also became an actor, made a few movies and appeared with Dean Martin and John Wayne.

His songs are so well-known internationally and they are perennial favourites. The songs include, Someday, Lonesome Town, Hello Mary Lou, Travellin' Man, Young World, It's Late, Stood Up, Garden Party, Dream Lover with a personal favourite, Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? Nelson was active all the way up to his death at 45 years.

Like Kyu Sakamoto (Sukiyaki), he passed away in a plane crash in 1985. Cliff Richard has only 3 favourite rock and roll idols and Ricky Nelson is one of them.

Vinyl: EP/Imperial Record: 156; EP/IMP: 163; Decca: ED 2760.

Quotations: Wikipedia.

Original article/image: Andy Lim Collection

Comics image: http://www.kaskus.us/

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