My spare time has been quite limited recently, that's why this month all you get is this very short post about the mysterious Johnny Tan and his one-and-only release.
I tried hard to find some information about him on the Internet, but all my efforts were useless... I easily guess that Johnny's "15 minutes of fame" happened a few years ago when small label Outhouse Recordsstole one of his pictures - the same you can see scrolling this page a little bit - to grace the cover of the vinyl bootleg compilation "Chinese Rocks"...
I usually try to avoid personal comments on the artists themselves, but I must admit that Johnny's trendy apparel and his superquiff(...is this the correct English term for his hairstyle?) make him look a bit over the top, in a manner of speaking.
Despite his tall stature, his frail falsetto voice suggest me that probably Tan was still in his early teens when he recorded the tracks compiled on the release presented on this page.
The excellent accompanying band featured on these recordings is Charlie and His Go-Go Boys, a Singaporean group that in 1966-67 released many instrumental EPs and one album on Swan Records (...or Star Swan...), the same independant label that also released Johnny Tan's EP sometimes in 1967.
While searching for more information about them, I chanced upon two other bands with a similar name which were active in Singapore during the late '60s / early '70s: Charlie and His Boys and Charlie and His Orchestra... Could it be that Charlie simply opted for a change of name when the A Go-Go trend was over?
Anyway, as usual, I would really like to know something more about Johnny and Charlie, maybe someone out there can share any information? Thanks in advance!
edit 16.06.2016:
A visitor of this blog was kind enough to provide some information about Johnny Tan, here's what he wrote:
«Johnny Tan was in RTS (Radio Television Singapore) Talentime 1968 with the song "My Bonnie". His performance was out outrageously "CAMP" as you can see from his record covers. Singapore audiences were not ready for this kind of performance at that time. He released only one EP and disappeared into obscurity. Such a shame!!! Even though I was very young at that time, I can still recall.»
Well, thank you so much for your precious contribution Daniel!!!
Johnny Tan as he appears on the back cover of "Shakin' All Over"
Here's the track list for this 7" EP:
01. Shakin' All Over (2:52)
02. My Bonnie (1:46)
03. Love Potion No. 9 (1:47)
04. My Love (2:36)
All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl in December 2015 and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with scans of the complete original artwork.
Please have a look at the comments section for the download link.
The EP ends brilliantly with a cover of Petula Clark's international hit "My Love", a song written by Tony Hatch in late 1965; here's a playback of the original version.
The following clips offer a complete preview of the remastered EP, enjoy!
A few more information about Johnny Tan, Charlie & His Go-Go Boys and the 60s Singapore music scene is available here:
If you have any other useful information about this post, or if you spot any dead links, just get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!
«I don't think that there is such a thing as the Don Sebesky sound. [...] I think the common denominator here is more an attitude towards music, a willingness to blend various influences without worrying about where they come from. The way I look at music is the way I look at life - I have no pre-conceived notion about either. If today I feel like doing a certain kind of music, that's what I'll do. And tomorrow, I might try a different kind. I think that if I had one sound, if I stumbled on one formula and I had to stay with that one sound and keep pushing it, I'd never be happy. That's why I said that I don't think I have a "sound". But an attitude, an approach to music, definitely, yes.»
[Don Sebesky, from an interview conducted in 1973 by Didier C. Deutsch]
Donald John Sebesky was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, USA, on 10 December 1937; his father worked in a steel-cable factory, his mother was a housewife. At the age of eight he started learning the accordion; he later came to realize that this instrument was the best possible choice he could have made because, as he says, «the accordion is a 'mini-orchestra' and teaches the principles of harmony from the very beginning».
Sebesky soon started learning piano too, and in high school he switched to the trombone to get into the marching band. Then he began commuting into New York from New Jersey to study with Warren Covington at the Manhattan School of Music. His earliest influences were the big bands of Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson.
During the mid '50s he began his professional career playing with Kai Winding, Claude Thornhill, and the Tommy Dorsey Band led by Covington. In 1958 he was hired to play the trombone in Maynard Ferguson's band appearing on their album "A Message From Newport"; on such occasion he signed two compositions: "Humbug" and "Fan It, Janet".
"Don Sebesky & The Jazz-Rock Syndrome" back cover
He also played briefly with Stan Kenton appearing on "Viva Kenton!" in 1959, but at the turning of the decade he decided to give up trombone playing and devote himself full time to writing and arranging, working out an individual style based on a combination of Jazz and Classical music.
In 1965 Don Sebesky joined Verve Records when Creed Taylor was still a producer for the label. One of his most distinctive and successful arrangements was for Wes Montgomery's album "Bumpin'" released the same year.
In 1967, when Taylor left the company to launch his own CTI, Sebesky joined the newborn label as staff arranger, giving his precious contribution in creating many hit records.
Sebesky's arrangements have usually been among the classiest in his field, reflecting a solid knowledge of the orchestra, drawing variously from Big Band Jazz, Rock, Ethnic music, Classical music of all eras and even the Avant-garde for ideas. He once cited Béla Bartók as his favorite composer, but one also hears lots of Stravinsky in his work.
In 1968 he debuted as a solo artist with "Don Sebesky & The Jazz-Rock Syndrome", the subject of this post, an albums intended to merge - as per its title - Jazz and Rock music. This record was soon followed by "The Distant Galaxy", a weirder affair that combined exotic and electronic instruments with unusual arrangements; this precious gem will hopefully appear on these pages sometimes soon.
"Don Sebesky & The Jazz-Rock Syndrome" inner gatefold, left panel
In 1973 Sebesky released his opus "Giant Box", a double LP for which he employed musicians that makes the term 'all stars' sound like an understatement; this may have been Creed Taylor's most ambitious single project.
The album reached number 16 on the U.S. Billboard Jazz Albums Chart and was nominated for a Grammy. Later on, this step out into the spotlight was followed only by sporadic releases among which we remember "The Rape of El Morro" (1975), "Three Works For Jazz Soloists & Symphony Orchestra" (1979) and "Full Cycle" (1983).
"Don Sebesky & The Jazz-Rock Syndrome" inner gatefold, right panel
Active as a teacher since the 70s, Sebesky is the author of "The Contemporary Arranger", an authoritative easy-to-understand text covering all aspects of arranging for Jazz bands and other Contemporary / Pop ensembles, which is used in colleges and music schools all over the world.
He has worked with such orchestras as the London Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the Boston Pops, The New York Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic of London, and the Toronto Symphony.
As a recording artist and in collaboration with other artists, he has won three Grammy Awards and has been nominated for 27 more, won a Tony and has been nominated for two more, won two Drama Desk Awards and four Clio Awards.
His Broadway theater credits include "Porgy and Bess" (London production by Trevor Nunn), "Sinatra at The Palladium", "Sweet Charity", "Kiss Me Kate", "Bells Are Ringing", "Flower Drum Song", "Parade", "The Life", "Cyrano", "The Goodbye Girl", "Will Rogers Follies", "Sinatra at Radio City", "Pal Joey", "Come Fly Away" and "Baby It's You".
One of the most highly regarded arrangers in the business, Sebesky's work is precise and elegant, yet bristles with ideas and always displays his sure grasp of instrumental potential and the abilities of the performers for whom he writes.
...and more on the back!
"Don Sebesky & The Jazz-Rock Syndrome" contains the following tracks:
01. The Word (3:46)
02. Shake a Lady (3:46)
03. Banana Flower (2:52)
04. Meet a Cheetah (4:07)
05. I Dig Rock'n'Roll (2:05)
06. Never My Love (3:11)
07. Dancing In the Street (3:21)
08. Somebody Groovy (4:12)
09. You've Got Your Troubles (2:57)
10. Big Mama Cass (2:58)
All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl in November 2015 and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with complete artwork reconstruction and printable PDF files.
Please have a look at the comments for the download link.
Recorded between June 1967 and January 1968, and bearing catalogue number V6-8756, "Don Sebesky & The Jazz-Rock Syndrome" was released on Verve Records during the first half of 1968. The album comes in a beautiful gatefold sleeve with colourful pictures by Joel Brodsky which is a real pleasure for the eyes.
As the 'V6' prefix in the catalogue number implies, the album is recorded in full stereo, althought mono copies were also pressed as promotional items for radio stations.
The following liner notes printed on the inner gatefold were written by Cool Jazz musician and author Michael Zwerin.
«Big bands are not coming back. Let's face it. The old style, rooted in the swing era, is an anachronism. Those bands will hang around only as long as that generation is alive; they are relics, museum pieces - still groovy, but relics nonetheless.
Basie, Herman, James and the few others still carrying on will not survive their own generation. They have no issue; young cats do not generally form swing bands these days. They play Rock and Roll, whether we like it or not.
But something else has been coming-on lately. It has been called 'Jazz-Rock', a budding love affair between a raw but vital, enthusiastic child and a somewhat weatherbeaten but dapper older gentleman.
Basically the one-eyed monster killed old-style dance bands, along with a lot of other things. For awhile, when the tube was still a novelty, nobody did anything else at all but sit in front of it. Then came the Twist and people began moving out again - to dance. The Twist really buried big bands; four electrified kids could produce the volume of fifteen unamplified guys, a lot cheaper. And the other eleven musicians starved or became school teachers.
It may have been a blessing in the long run. The new beat spawned dancing as a worldwide participation sport. For the first time, you don't have to know the steps; anything goes. Just move out on the floor, stay loose and swing.
As the dances became more abstract and creative, more permissive and popular, the music kept pace - becoming more and more complex until, suddenly, we find Jazz peeking through the door again. Many straight-ahead Rock groups are beginning to add horns. Some will inevitably add more and, since there are few sounds as exciting as seven brass and five saxophones wailing, new-style big bands will soon begin criss-crossing the country just like the old once did; not museum pieces, but contemporary, communicating dance organizations. People will once more dance to big bands - which will sound like this record.
Though he just turned 30, Don Sebesky is a product of the big band tradition, having played trombone with Warren Covington, Stan Kenton, Claude Thornhill and Maynard Ferguson. His big writing break came through Maynard and he has since scored albums for Wes Montgomery, Astrud Gilberto, Erroll Garner and Kenny Burrell.
When Don started to think about this album, he "wanted to come up with something new. It seemed to me that the style in which I had been writing - traditional Holman-influenced Basie - had become a dead end for me. It was either a matter of getting more complex and involved, or simpler. I chose the latter, or rather it was chosen for me. I discovered The Mamas and the Papas and their light, groovy approach influenced my thinking tremendously."
So there are very few hard, 'shouting' big band moments here. Instead, it sings with unisons and counterpoint. The tunes themselves reflect the Mamas and the Papas influence: "Somebody Groovy", a John Phillips tune, "Dancing in the Street", in which Don based the writing on Cass Elliot's phrasing of the same tune, and "Big Mama Cass" which is of course dedicated to her.
The musicians - who were all chosen "for their ability to swing in a Jazz way and yet relate to a Rock feel at the same time" - evidence obvious enthusiasm playing Sebesky's music. I particularly call your attention to Don MacDonald's drums, to Chuck Rainey's really astounding Fender bass - and to two young men you're going to be hearing from a lot, Larry Coryell and Dick Spencer.
Coryell, who's already made quite a name for himself with the Gary Burton group, is perhaps the personification of the Jazz-Rock movement among musicians. He plays real Jazz guitar - writing his own line, improvising on the changes - but unlike some of his colleagues he has also taken the time and trouble to master the electronic effects available on the amp. As a result, Coryell has virtually cornered the market on the wailing, haunting kind of guitar you hear on "Dancing in the Street" and, most especially, on "The Word" - a too-much tour de force right down to the closing cadenza.
Spencer likewise epitomizes the new generation of horn men - guys who grew up with Jazz and Rock in the unswerving belief that the twain shall meet. It's his soulful alto that puts the groove in "Somebody Groovy", the personality in the portrait of "Big Mama Cass". On "Meet a Cheetah", Spencer gets together with Joe Beck (another very now guitarist) and Sebesky himself - who, like Bob Brookmeyer, turns out to be a trombonist who also plays a mean piano. And organ (on "I Dig Rock 'n' Roll Music"). And harpsichord (on "Banana Flower"). And clavinet (dig his dialogue with Coryell on "The Word").
Don feels that "this is the first big band of the Rock era, bringing the influences of traditional big bands and combining them with the music being written today by John Phillips, the Beatles, the Beach Boys and other meaningful groups in an instrumental way, featuring a good strong rhythm section and blues-influenced soloists."
Obviously, Don Sebesky has found an alternative, a way to move ahead while still acknowledging his musical roots. Jazz-Rock is the turning point. Listen, dance and rejoice to it.»
Don Sebesky, exact date unknown, probably late '60s / early '70s
...and to finish this post, here's the complete credits as reconstructed from the original list included on the inner gatefold and the information written on the center labels of "Don Sebesky & The Jazz-Rock Syndrome". Additional information about some of the tunes is also included, along with some clips that offer a generous preview of the remastered album, this time I couldn't help to upload less than six... Enjoy!
Recorded in June 1967 and January 1968 at A&R Studios, New York City.
Director of Engineering: Val Valentin
Cover photo: Joel Brodsky
Painting on Girl: Mario Rivoli
Art Direction: Acy R. Lehman
Produced by Esmond Edwards.
The Word (John Lennon / Paul McCartney - this track was also released as a single with cat. number VK-10605; the original version appears on the Beatles' "Rubber Soul" released in 1965, more information about the song is available here)
Clavinet: Don Sebesky
Guitar: Larry Coryell
Bass: Chuck Rainey
Drums: Donald MacDonald
Flute: Hubert Laws
Shake a Lady (Ray Bryant - original version appears on Ray Bryant's "Cold Turkey" released in 1964)
Piano: Don Sebesky
Guitar: Joe Beck
Bass: Don Payne
Drums: Donald MacDonald
Alto Saxophone: Richard Spencer
Flute: Jerry Dodgian
Banana Flower (Don Sebesky - this track was also included on Side B of the VK-10605 single)
Harpsichord: Don Sebesky
Guitar: Joe Beck
Bass: Don Payne
Drums: Donald MacDonald
Flute: Jerry Dodgian
Vocals: Janet Sebesky
Meet a Cheetah (Don Sebesky)
Piano and Harpsichord: Don Sebesky
Guitar: Joe Beck
Bass: Don Payne
Drums: Donald MacDonald
Alto Saxophone: Richard Spencer
Flute: Jerry Dodgian
I Dig Rock'n'Roll Music (Paul Stookey / James Mason / Dave Dixon - original version appears on Peter, Paul and Mary's "Album 1700" released in 1967; more information about the song is available here)
Organ and Clavinet: Don Sebesky
Guitar: Joe Beck
Bass: Chuck Rainey
Drums: Donald MacDonald
Alto Saxophone: Richard Spencer
Flute: Hubert Laws
Vocals: Janet Sebesky
Never My Love (Donald Addrisi / Richard Addrisi - original version appears on The Association' "Insight Out", released in 1967; the Addrisi Brothers later released their own version in 1977 - more information about the song is available here)
Harpsichord: Don Sebesky
Guitar: Joe Beck
Bass: Chuck Rainey
Drums: Donald MacDonald
Flute: Hubert Laws
Vocals: Janet Sebesky
Dancing In the Street (Marvin Gaye / William Stevenson / Ivy Jo Hunter - original version by Martha and The Vandellas was released as a single in 1964; the song was later covered by the The Mamas and The Papas in 1966 and by many other artists, includingDavid Bowie & Mick Jagger in 1985 - more information about the song is available here)
Clavinet and Organ: Don Sebesky
Guitar: Larry Coryell
Bass: Chuck Rainey
Drums: Donald MacDonald
Alto Saxophone: Richard Spencer
Vocals: Janet Sebesky
Somebody Groovy (John Phillips - original version appears on The Mamas and The Papas' debut album "If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears" released in 1966)
Clavinet and Organ: Don Sebesky
Guitar: Joe Beck
Bass: Don Payne
Drums: Donald MacDonald
Alto Saxophone: Richard Spencer
Flute: Jerry Dodgian
Vocals: Janet Sebesky
You've Got Your Troubles (Roger Greenaway / Roger Cook - original version by The Fortunes was released as a single in 1965; more information about the song is available here)
Piano: Don Sebesky
Guitar: Joe Beck
Bass: Chuck Rainey
Drums: Donald MacDonald
Flute: Hubert Laws
Vocals: Janet Sebesky
Big Mama Cass (Don Sebesky - this song was covered by The Buddy Rich Big Band; it appears on their "Mercy, Mercy" live album released in 1968)
Organ and Clavinet: Don Sebesky
Guitar: Joe Beck
Bass: Chuck Rainey
Drums: Donald MacDonald
Alto Saxophone: Richard Spencer
Flute: Hubert Laws
Vocals: Janet Sebesky
More information about Don Sebesky is available here:
If you have any other useful information about this post, or if you spot any dead links, just get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!
This is a call to the Malaysian readers of this blog, I know there's plenty of you out there, many thanks for your visits!
I need to purchase a few items on the Rakuten website; unfortunately they don't ship outside of Malaysia, so I am looking for someone who can purchase a few CDs on my behalf and then send them to me.
Of course I am willing to pay, both for the CDs and for your precious time: if you can help me please get in touch at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you so much!
edit 19.02.2016
Good news, finally I was lucky enough to receive help from a very kind Malaysian citizen!
Rita Chao, best known to her Mandarin-speaking fans as 凌雲 (…Ling Yun, Ling Ying or Seow Mei-Mei, depending on the source of information you'd prefer to rely on…), was born in Singapore, probably sometimes in 1949 or early 1950; she grew up there, where she received her education.
Anyway, according to some reports, her family originated from the city of Hangzhou (杭州), which is located in the Zhejiang Province (浙江省) in Eastern China, not so far from Shanghai (上海).
Rita, the youngest of six children with three brothers and two sisters, started singing at the tender age of 8 and was already working as a singer and actress at 14. At school she was not very interested in her academic studies, instead she excelled with performance arts: singing and acting.
Luckily enough, she was born in a family of artists: her grandmother, Zhao Yongchun (趙永春), was a known Chinese Opera singer, and her mother Jing Yu Xian (荊玉仙) was a Chinese Opera singer too. Growing up in this environment allowed her to be familiar with life in the entertainment business, and helped to mentor her future career.
Her parents and relatives saw her potential as an artist quite soon, and decided to pull Rita out of school to follow the Opera troupe on their performances. Rita was given chances to perform Chinese Opera on stage and her performances were very good.
It is unclear when and where Rita embraced Pop music... However, at the end of 1965 - when she was just 15 - while touring Malaysia with her former group, she joined a band called Super XX.
In the meantime Zhao Yongchun, determined to turn her beloved granddaughter into a star, increased her vocal training, became her manager and successfully arranged for her to perform in various nightclubs in Singapore.
Rita was discovered on the local entertainment scene by Su Yin (舒雲), a.k.a. Henry Foo, a Singaporean singer, songwriter and lyricist, who at the time was also the A&R manager for the Chinese section at Columbia / EMI.
In 1966 she was signed by the label and released her very first 7" EP. On this record, she was paired with the top guitar band from Singapore, The Quests. The EP sold over 50.000 copies, and for Rita it was instant stardom.
During those days Rita met Sakura Teng (櫻花). As the story goes, Sakura was already a star singing at various Cabarets throughout South East Asia. On one occasion before going on stage, Sakura and Rita were backstage talking; they instantly clicked and started singing together. Sakura thought they had a very distinctive sound and that night she decided to add a segment to the show in which they would sing a duet. Obviously, they received a stunning reaction from the public and decided to join forces...
Well, probably that is just the romantic version of the story...: since both singers were doing quite well, it is an easy guess that EMI felt that pairing them would give both their careers a boost. In 1967 Rita and Sakura began performing as a double act and constantly toured Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan, building a fan base at each port of call.
In 1966 Rita was signed by Columbia / EMI and released her very first 7" EP. On this record, she was paired with the top guitar band from Singapore, The Quests, and it was instant stardom.
During her heyday Rita Chao recorded many great Mandarin covers of popular English songs and she was part of the pioneers who launched the Rock Movement in Singapore. Along with Sakura, they were both known as 'A Go-Go Queens of the Sixties"; in those days, they used to perform at the now defunct New World Amusement Park and they both lived in Jalan Besar.
Rita's career lasted about ten years. In 1975, when her last solo album was released, she declared in an interview that she was about to make a movie in Hong Kong and that she was tired of singing all the time... In 1980-81 she briefly returned on the scene releasing two albums with Sakura, just before disappearing completely.
For more than three decades there has been no news about her in the media, only during recent years unconfirmed information appeared on the Internet that she may have been suffering from a psychiatric illness that required long-term treatment.
In early February 2015 the news about her death spreaded: Rita's 90-years-old mother confirmed that the former singer passed away in July 2014; she has been suffering from colon cancer for about three years when she died at the Singapore General Hospital surrounded by her mother, brothers and sisters. Her ashes were scattered at sea after a short wake and funeral attended by family and friends. The family did not inform show business friends as they wanted the past to be forgotten...
Most of the information included in this post was translated by our best friend Brian (...thank you!!!) from a rare article found in the May 19, 1970 edition of "Hong Kong TV Magazine" available in this post on the great macaenese5354 blog.
I am also in debt with Joseph C. Pereira, whose books "Apache Over Singapore" and "Beyond the Tea Dance" are a constant and invaluable source of information and inspiration, thanks!!!
Here's the track list for this 7" EP:
01. 我不能沒有你 (Wooly Bully) (2:04)
02. 好風采 (Pretty Flamingo) (2:30)
03. 小姑娘 (Let True Love Begin) (3:05)
04. 愛是我、愛是你 (Love Is Me, Love Is You) (1:46)
All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl in October 2015 and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with scans of the complete original artwork.
Please have a look at the comments section for the download link.
Well, let's start this short review by saying that each track on Rita Chao's second EP is a winner in its own right, there's absolutely no fillers in this release. The Quests deliver solid backing and everything in these four covers is just P-E-R-F-E-C-T.
Side 1 opens with "我不能沒有你 (Wooly Bully)", a cover of a popular song originally recorded by novelty Rock'n'Roll band Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs in 1965. Wikipedia offers much more information about the song here, and you can listen to the original version courtesy of YouTube. Another clip that shows the band performing a playback on TV is also available here.
"好風采 (Pretty Flamingo)", as Wikipediarecite «is a song written by Mark Barkan, which became a hit in 1966 when Manfred Mann's recording of it was released as a single. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart and it was a minor hit in the United States where it spent eight weeks on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart, peaking at number 29.» The original version is available here for your listening pleasure.
Side B opens with "小姑娘 (Let True Love Begin)". While the "atmosphere" of the other three covers on the EP is rather faithful to the original, this rendition of a 1961 number by legendary pianist and singer Nat King Cole is clearly marked with Rock'n'Roll elements which are not present in the original. This song was written by Mark Barkan (once again), along with Sandy Baron and George Eddy. Another interesting version recorded by The Crests in the early '60s is linked here for comparison.
The EP ends with the short and lively "愛是我、愛是你 (Love Is Me, Love Is You)". The original song was written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent, and was first recorded by Connie Francis in 1965; you can listen to her version here. Trent released her own version in 1966.
The following clips offer a complete preview of the remastered EP, enjoy!
More information about Rita Chao is available here:
In the next months I will post more Hong Kong/Taiwan/Singapore/etc. Pop/Instrumental records released in the late-60s / mid-70s. As usual, I would like to provide information about these releases and their authors.
Unfortunately the Internet doesn't offer much information - written in English - about these artists and this is the reason why I need help: if you can translate from Chinese to English please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you so much!
It's been difficult to obtain these vinyls, some are not in the best conditions and I'm currently working hard to properly master them. It seems that these artists and their music are poorly known in the West, of course it's a real pity because they made stunning releases: I'd like to share them with you with a proper presentation, hope that someone will be able to help.
Here's a collection of pictures of Malaysian singer Sakura (櫻花). A few pictures were sourced from the Internet; most of the others comes from my own records collection and are made available here for the first time.
This post is a work-in-progress, I will add more pictures and other memorabilia at a later date.
[last update: 26.02.2018]
Sakura, circa 1966-67
Sakura and The Quests in session, circa 1967
Sakura and The Quests in session, circa 1967
Sakura in session, circa 1967
Sakura in session, circa 1967
Sakura, as she appears on the front cover of the "我愛牛郞 - Cowboy Sweetheart" single, 1967
Sakura, as she appears on the front cover of her second EP, 1966
Sakura as she appears on the front cover of her debut EP, 1966
Sakura as she appears on the back cover of her debut EP, 1966
Sakura and Rita Chao as they appear in the inner gatefold of Rita's debut EP, 1966
Rita Chao and Sakura as they appear in the inner gatefold of Sakura's debut EP, 1966
Sakura and Rita Chao as they appear in the inner gatefold of Sakura's debut EP, 1966
Rita Chao and Sakura as they appear in the inner gatefold of Rita's debut EP, 1966
All my posts dedicated to Sakura on this blog are available here.
In the next months I will post more Hong Kong/Taiwan/Singapore/etc. Pop/Instrumental records released in the late-60s / mid-70s. As usual, I would like to provide information about these releases and their authors.
Unfortunately the Internet doesn't offer much information - written in English - about these artists and this is the reason why I need help: if you can translate from Chinese to English please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you so much!
It's been difficult to obtain these vinyls, some are not in the best conditions and I'm currently working hard to properly master them. It seems that these artists and their music are poorly known in the West, of course it's a real pity because they made stunning releases: I'd like to share them with you with a proper presentation, hope that someone will be able to help.
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