Tracy Huang Soft Sweet Sophisticated Stylish

Sunday, January 10, 2010

############################She is Singapore's sweetheart from the 70s and drew sitting room audiences during her shows on local television. With her beautiful face, soft and sweet voice and innocent appeal, Tracy Huang became a hit with Singaporeans.

Huang has two names; in Singapore she is known as Huang Luyi, but back home in Taiwan she is Huang Ying Ying. She became a popular singer at the exclusive American club where audiences were necessarily limited, but enthusiastic. Her specializing more in English songs than in Chinese ones earned her a fan base.

When she came to Singapore, the local television organisation contracted her as a compere for the Chinese Variety Show series. She did well professionally and at that time also signed on with EMI to do covers of English songs. Her popularity soared and she completed many albums up to the 80s. Name the pop number and she would probably have covered it.

Her first English album Feelings was rewarded with a Hong Kong Gold Disc Award for outstanding sales and a similar trend followed with Mississippi and I Don't Want To Talk About It. She also became a hit in Australia.

Tracy Huang didn't forget her Mandarin followers and the quality recordings set new standards too. Her albums succeeded in the most difficult of markets and she soon became a household name in this region. Slow numbers or fast ones, her sophistication remains. That's Tracy!

Reference: Sleeve cover Portrait EMGS 5042/EMI Records.

Image/Original article: Andy Lim Collection.

YouTube: From EHT123 and xiaochein. Thank you!

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Philippines Rivera Floods - 70s Songbird Gracie

Sunday, October 4, 2009

The people from the Philippines that blogger has encountered are mostly warm, gracious and gifted with music in them.

D' Starlights and The Fabulous Echoes came in the 60s and Freddy Aguila later. In the 70s a pretty young Philippino lady sang her way to the hearts of nightclubbers in Hong Kong and SEAsia with her beautiful voice and charming personality.

Gracie Rivera signed up with EMI/HK and produced a number of English records. This particular selection from GRACIE (image) includes: Torn Between Two Lovers, Fairy Tale, Morning Of My Life, Somebody Waiting, Both Sides Now, The Music Of Love, It's Time, Fly Away, Like A Sad Song, I Am A Rock and personal favourites, Erestu and of course Amazing Grace.

EMI Records were big because they released a string of English albums in the second half of the 70s by artists that included Teresa Carpio, Esther Chan, Rowena Cortes, Felicia Wong, Tracy Huang, Frances Yip and Gracie Rivera.

Then there were George Lam, The New Topnotes and The Western Union Band. Two independent labels also released English albums in the 1970s. The company's main rival was Polygram.

The vinyl was recorded in 1977 (EMGS 6012). It was arranged and conducted by Fabulous Echoes and Kong Ling personality Vic Cristobel. Comment anyone?

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(5) Country Western 60s: Singapore Cowboys

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

They are one of the best bands in Singapore and they specialise in Country and Western Music. Matthew Tan is the vocalist and plays rhythm guitar, Michael Png plays steel/acoustic guitar, Richard Danker plays bass, while Derrick Danker is on lead guitar. Phillip Monteiro plays drums.

For their EMI the group recorded, Singapore Cowboy, Broken Lady, Lucille, Daytime Friends, That'll Be The Day, Legend In My Time, City Of New Orleans, Movin' On, Margaritaville, It Was Almost Like A Song, Lovesick Blues, Play Born To Lose Again, From Graceland To The Promised Land and The Last Farewell.

For Part II, on EMGS they recorded, Let's Put The Sing In Singapore, Love Or Something Like, I Can Almost See Houston From Here, Honky Tonk Downstairs, *Stranger, Shenandoah, Get Down Country Music, Leaving YOu Is Easier Than Wishing You Were Gone, Tulsa Time, North To Alaska, More Than Just A Memory and Showboat Gambler.

*Female vocalist of the 70s Tracy Huang accompanied them in Stranger. Both recordings were produced by Reggie Verghese, engineered by Vincent Lim and strings arrangements were by Martin Pereira.

Information: EMI Records (Long Play Vinyls). Image: Back Cover of EMGS5016 - Andy Lim Collection. Original Article: Andy Lim

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'Sayonara' 60s Music: American/Japanese Influence, Marlon Brando, James Mitchener, Irving Berlin, Miyoshi Umeki, Tracy Huang

Friday, July 3, 2009

J-Pop or Japanese popular music reminds me of two songs significantly Japanese, but neither is J-Pop. One of these songs became popular because of Marlon Brando's encounter with Miyoshi Umeki and Hollywood's exotica about everything eastern.

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Sayonara the movie (1957), from the book by James Mitchener and Sayonara the song by famous lyricist, Irving Berlin, encompassed everything that was stereo-typical about the Japanese in the eyes of the American. "Sayonara, Japanese goodbye/Whisper sayonara, but you mustn't cry/No more we stop to see pretty cherry blossom/No more we 'neath the trees, looking at the sky..."
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But the public absorbed the song like tears to tissue paper and it became a hit in Singapore in the late 50s and lingering beyond the 60s. And Brando's line, "Well, that's the cutest thing I ever saw honey..." after listening to the song, confirmed America's ideas about Eastern people and culture.

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The original version by Miiko Ta'aka, is from the soundtrack of the film, while the one played on radio was by Miyoshi Umeki. Her 45 rpm vinyl, Sayonara - Japanese Farewell Song - has Be Sweet Tonight on its flipside (Mercury 71216). Both versions are great to listen to.

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It is still a popular song and there were numerous covers done in Asia. Singapore pop band, The Quests, did an instrumental version in the 60s and in the 70s, Tracy Huang our beautiful, sophisticated recording artiste did a cover too. It can be found on UTube. The book by JM? Good read.

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Image: http://www.imdb.com/title

Original article: Andy Lim Collection.

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