SAKURA (櫻花) "SAKURA GOES BOOM BOOM WITH THE QUESTS" (1967)

Ying Hua, best known by her stage name of Sakura Teng, was born in Muar, state of Johor, Malaysia, in May 1948. She grew up there, where she received her education in Chinese and English, but has always been mistaken for a Singaporean as she had been living in the republic until the mid '80s.

During her years in school, Sakura won many singing competitions as well as many public speaking awards. Despite being a top student, and having decided to become a singer, at the tender age of sixteen she quit school and moved to Singapore.

Her music career began in 1965, when she was just seventeen, at the now defunct New World, an amusement park located in the central area of Singapore.



On her path to fame, Sakura was lucky enough to meet Su Yin (舒雲), a.k.a. Henry Foo, a Singaporean singer, songwriter and lyricist, who was also the A&R manager for the Chinese section at Columbia / EMI.

He immediately recognized her potential, and in 1966 she was signed by the label. Her first 7" EP was an instant hit: it sold 25,000 copies and became the first in a very long series of successful releases which lasted until the early '80s.

Interestingly, her stage name is actually a literal translation of her Chinese name, which means 'cherry blossom' in Mandarin. Apparently she was given the nickname when she started singing Japanese numbers in Chinese during her early stage performances.

One side of the original inner sleeve shows many EMI Records goodies by local artists...

Sakura recorded many fabulous Mandarin covers of popular English songs and she was part of the pioneers who launched the Rock Movement in Singapore. Along with Rita Chao, with whom she joined forces on many recordings during the late '60s, they were both known as 'A Go-Go Queens of the Sixties'.

Sakura and Rita began performing as a double act in 1967, as both singers were doing well and EMI felt that pairing them would give both their careers a boost. Together they toured Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan, building a fan base at each port of call.

On stage, Chao usually played the part of the impish naif, while Sakura was the more mature half of the duo. They split up in the mid '70s but are still fondly remembered.

...the other side shows only international artists, with the exception of The Quests and The Surfers

During her heyday in the '60s and '70s, Sakura cut more than fifty records and she also came to be known as the 'Yodelling Singer' for her vocal 'trademark'.

She still is one of the most popular female Mandarin singers, and during her career she also recorded songs in many other languages including English, Japanese, Cantonese and Malay.

In 1985 Sakura relocated to the U.S.; since then she has quit recording but she kept on performing live until 2013, when she definitively retired at the age of 65.

Sakura and The Quests in session as they appear on the back cover of the album

"Sakura Goes Boom Boom With The Quests" includes the following tracks:

01. 檸檬樹 (Lemon Tree) (3:03)
02. 我愛牛郞 (I Love Cowboy) (2:57)
03. 我要輕輕地告訴你 (Aku Kechewa) (3:23)
04. 什麼道理 (Stupid Cupid) (2:52)
05. 牧童之歌 (I Don't Care If Tomorrow Never Comes) (2:53)
06. 做一對小夫妻 (I Need You) (3:10)
07. 真友愛 (Michelle) (2:37)
08. 心事放不下 (Morning Town Ride) (2:33)
09. 歡樂今宵 (2:12)
10. 隔壁的姞埌 (Boom Boom) (3:33)
11. 可愛的春天 (My Bonnie) (3:00)
12. 提醒你 (Like I Do) (2:20)

All tracks were remastered in February 2018 and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with complete artwork reconstruction and printable PDF files.

Please have a look at the comments section for the download link.



Preceded by three singles - all available here on Stereo Candies - Sakura's debut album was released sometime in early 1967 by Columbia / EMI in Singapore with catalogue number 33 ESX 602.

The front cover features a colourful and slightly psychedelic background drawing with dominant yellow and pink tones, with a superimposed picture of Sakura wearing a gold and black suit with impressively large sleeves... Of course I know the old proverb that says you can't judge a book by its cover, but even if I didn't know anything about this release I am sure I couldn't help but falling in love with it at first sight.

As the title clearly says, on this album Sakura is accompanied by The Quests, a legendary Singaporean group which was very active during the mid-late '60s, both as a backing unit - most notably for Sakura herself and Rita Chao - and as performers in their own right with a very long series of singles and four full-lenght albums.



Interestingly enough, the bottom part of the back cover includes a Max Factor ad: "Sakura also goes Bazaaz with Max Factor". I'm not sure about what 'bazaaz' means but I suppose it is used as a sort of magic word. A quick search led me to this page where I found an original Max Factor ad taken from a late '60s magazine - the one you can see above - which uses the same lettering chosen for the title of the album, as written on the front cover, and also features similar background drawings.

It never occurred to me that somehow the cover design of this album could be tied to a large international promotional campaign, but I easily guess that this is exactly what happened. This is another reason why I love doing these write-ups: there's always something else to be learned about a record, or more tiny details to discover, even after I had it in my shelves for years.

As a last note, according to Discogs the copy in my possession is not a first edition, it is a reprint made sometime after the EMI record factory in Singapore was established in June 1967. This second edition is easily identifiable from the black center labels, while the first has green labels which are also marked as "Made in Austrialia".



Side 1 opens with "檸檬樹 (Lemon Tree)", a Mandarin cover of a Folk tune written by Will Holt in the late '50s. The song has been recorded by many artists, including Peter, Paul and Mary (...available here...) and The Kingston Trio (...here). The most successful version was recorded by Trini Lopez in 1965.

"我愛牛郞 (I Love Cowboy)", entitled "我愛牛郞 (Cowboy Sweetheart)" on a previous EP, is a Mandarin cover of "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart", a Country and Western song written and first recorded in 1935 by Rubye Blevins, who performed as Patsy Montana. You can listen to the original version here.

"我要輕輕地告訴你 (Aku Kechewa)" is a slow number written by Syed Ahmad Vinton, who played drums with The Antartics. The song was originally recorded with Malay lyrics in 1966 by Eddie Ahmad, with accompaniment provided by The Antartics themselves. The version recorded by Sakura has Mandarin lyrics and halfway through the song it offers a great solo by The Quests' lead guitarist Reggie Verghese.

"什麼道理 (Stupid Cupid)" is one of the wildest pieces included on the album. The song was written by Howard Greenfield and Neil Sedaka, and became a hit for Connie Francis in 1958. Verghese adds tons of distortion to his guitar sound, turning the original number into one of Sakura's best covers. Here's the original version for your reference.

Another picture of Sakura and The Quests in session

"牧童之歌 (I Don't Care If Tomorrow Never Comes)" is another Mandarin version of a famous song written and originally performed by American Country singer-songwriter Hank Williams; you can listen to the original version by clicking here. Back in 1966, this was Sakura's first published song to feature her trademark yodelling.

I am sorry but I can't tell you much about "做一對小夫妻 (I Need You)", the last track on the first side... Its simple title doesn't help, and the only related result I could find is this hilarious clip on YouTube; it seems that the song is the same... In his book "Beyond the Tea Dance", Joseph C. Pereira asserts that this is a cover of a Beatles track written by George Harrison... Maybe he's right, but I can't find any similarity at all between these two songs: anyone can help about this?

Side 2 starts with "真友愛 (Michelle)", a cover of the classic Beatles tune... Do you really need a link to the original version of this song?!? C'mon...

"心事放不下 (Morning Town Ride)" was originally a lullaby written and performed by Malvina Reynolds in 1957. The song was further popularized by The Seekers, who recorded it for the first time in 1964 bringing it to the charts in late 1966. Here's a link to their version.

Sakura in session

"歡樂今宵", which should translate with "Happy Tonight",  as mentioned by a kind visitor of this blog - in a comment at end of this post - is a cover of the song of the same name originally sung by Billie Tam (蓓蕾), which was recorded for the 1966 Shaw Brothers movie "歡樂青春 (The Joy of Spring)".

"隔壁的姞埌 (Boom Boom)" is a Mandarin cover of a song written by American Blues singer and guitarist John Lee Hooker, who recorded it in 1961. Musically, it is another wild piece that uses fuzz distortion in the same vein of "Stupid Cupid".

Approaching its end, the album includes two of the oldest recordings made by Sakura with The Quests that originally appeared on her debut EP back in 1966, where the accompanying band was mysteriously credited as Sounds Anonymous...

"可愛的春天 (My Bonnie)" is a traditional Scottish folk song which was also recorded by Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers - an alias for The Beatles! - in 1961 (...the original version is available here).

"提醒你 (Like I Do)"is a song written by Richard Manning based on a segment from "La danza delle ore" by Amilcare Ponchielli. This tune was first released and brought to success by Nancy Sinatra in the U.S. during early 1962 (...available here) and by Maureen Evans in the U.K. (...here).

The following clips offer a preview of the remastered album, enjoy "檸檬樹 (Lemon Tree)", "我愛牛郞 (I Love Cowboy)", "什麼道理 (Stupid Cupid)", "牧童之歌 (I Don't Care If Tomorrow Never Comes)", "做一對小夫妻 (I Need You)", "隔壁的姞埌 (Boom Boom)", "可愛的春天 (My Bonnie)" and "提醒你 (Like I Do)"!

More information about Sakura is available here:

http://www.discogs.com/artist/385495-Sakura-2

http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/%E6%AB%BB%E8%8A%B1

http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/rita_chao_and_sakura

http://questing.wordpress.com/2006/12/01/sakura-teng/

https://questing.wordpress.com/category/sakura-rita-duet-%E6%AB%BB%E8%8A%B1-%E6%B7%A9%E9%9B%B2/

http://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2009/01/sakura-teng-yodel-lady-who.html

http://mocamborainbow.blogspot.com/2008/07/sakura-teng.html

http://modcentric.blogspot.com/2007/06/sakura-pint-sized-livewire.html

http://modcentric.blogspot.com/2007/03/sakura-quests-go-boom.html

http://waxidermy.com/sakura-teng-st/

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/10/365-days-295---.html

http://news.asiaone.com/news/showbiz/sakura-teng-says-goodbye

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/886328

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dk_gilbert/sets/72157625436183960/detail/

http://www.freewebs.com/ritachao/sakurateng.htm

http://marc-antoine-panda.over-blog.com/article-32061166.html

http://www.geocities.jp/a104gs/sakura.html

http://www.geocities.jp/a104gs/sakura.rita.chao.html

As usual, I'm still struggling to find somebody who can help me with translations:

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!

SAKURA (櫻花) "我愛牛郞 - COWBOY SWEETHEART" (1967)

Ying Hua, best known by her stage name of Sakura Teng, was born in Muar, state of Johor, Malaysia, in May 1948. She grew up there, where she received her education in Chinese and English, but has always been mistaken for a Singaporean as she had been living in the republic until the mid '80s.

During her years in school, Sakura won many singing competitions as well as many public speaking awards. Despite being a top student, and having decided to become a singer, at the tender age of sixteen she quit school and moved to Singapore. Her music career began in 1965, when she was just seventeen, at the now defunct New World, an amusement park located in the central area of Singapore.

On her path to fame, Sakura was lucky enough to meet Su Yin (舒雲), a.k.a. Henry Foo, a Singaporean singer, songwriter and lyricist, who was also the A&R manager for the Chinese section at Columbia / EMI. He immediately recognized her potential, and in 1966 she was signed by the label. Her first 7" EP was an instant hit: it sold 25,000 copies and became the first in a very long series of successful releases which lasted until the early '80s.

Interestingly, her stage name is actually a literal translation of her Chinese name, which means 'cherry blossom' in Mandarin. Apparently she was given the nickname when she started singing Japanese numbers in Chinese during her early stage performances.

Sakura recorded many fabulous Mandarin covers of popular English songs and she was part of the pioneers who launched the Rock Movement in Singapore. Along with Rita Chao, with whom she joined forces on many recordings during the late '60s, they were both known as 'A Go-Go Queens of the Sixties'.



Sakura and Rita began performing as a double act in 1967, as both singers were doing well and EMI felt that pairing them would give both their careers a boost. Together they toured Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan, building a fan base at each port of call. On stage, Chao usually played the part of the impish naif, while Sakura was the more mature half of the duo. They split up in the mid '70s but are still fondly remembered.

During her heyday in the '60s and '70s, Sakura cut more than fifty records and she also came to be known as the 'Yodelling Singer' for her vocal 'trademark'. She still is one of the most popular female Mandarin singers, and during her career she also recorded songs in many other languages including English, Japanese, Cantonese and Malay.

In 1985 Sakura relocated to the U.S.; since then she has quit recording but she kept on performing live until 2013, when she definitively retired at the age of 65.

Here's the track list for this 7" EP:

01. 我愛牛郞 (Cowboy Sweetheart) (2:57)
02. 什麼道理 (Stupid Cupid) (2:51)
03. 真友愛 (Michelle) (2:35)
04. 歡樂今宵 (2:11)

All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl in March 2016 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.



Sakura's third EP was released sometimes in early 1967 by Columbia / EMI in Singapore with catalogue number ECHK 574. The cover features a picture taken during the same session that produced the iconic picture that graces Sakura's debut album, a sought after and highly enjoyable release that will be the subject of a future post here on Stereo Candies.

The backing band is not credited anywhere on the cover or labels of this release, but since all these recordings were later included on Sakura's debut album, from the information and pictures included on such release we know that they're no less than the mighty Quests, a legendary Singaporean group which was very active during the mid-late '60s, both as a backing unit - most notably for Sakura and Rita Chao - and as performers with their own hits and TV show.



Side A begins with "我愛牛郞 (Cowboy Sweetheart)" a Mandarin cover of "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart", a Country and Western song written and first recorded in 1935 by Rubye Blevins, who performed as Patsy Montana. You can listen to the original version here.

"什麼道理 (Stupid Cupid)" is a song written by Howard Greenfield and Neil Sedaka which became a hit for Connie Francis in 1958. The Quests add tons of distortion on the guitar, turning the original number into one of Sakura's best covers. Here's the original version for your reference.

Side B offers "真友愛 (Michelle)", a cover of the classic Beatles tune... Do you really need a link to the original version of this song?!? C'mon...

The EP ends with "歡樂今宵" - which should translate with "Happy Tonight" - as mentioned by a kind visitor of this blog in a comment at the end of this post, is a cover of the song of the same name originally sung by Billie Tam (蓓蕾), which was recorded for the 1966 Shaw Brothers movie "歡樂青春 (The Joy of Spring)".

Sakura as a 'cowboy sweetheart', 1966

The following clips offer a preview of the remastered EP, enjoy "我愛牛郞 (Cowboy Sweetheart)", "什麼道理 (Stupid Cupid)" and "真友愛 (Michelle)"!

More information about Sakura is available here:

http://www.discogs.com/artist/385495-Sakura-2

http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/%E6%AB%BB%E8%8A%B1

http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/rita_chao_and_sakura

http://questing.wordpress.com/2006/12/01/sakura-teng/

https://questing.wordpress.com/category/sakura-rita-duet-%E6%AB%BB%E8%8A%B1-%E6%B7%A9%E9%9B%B2/

http://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2009/01/sakura-teng-yodel-lady-who.html

http://mocamborainbow.blogspot.com/2008/07/sakura-teng.html

http://modcentric.blogspot.com/2007/06/sakura-pint-sized-livewire.html

http://modcentric.blogspot.com/2007/03/sakura-quests-go-boom.html

http://waxidermy.com/sakura-teng-st/

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/10/365-days-295---.html

http://www.thestar.com.my/Story/?file=%2F2005%2F3%2F1%2Ffeatures%2F10258953&sec=features

http://news.asiaone.com/news/showbiz/sakura-teng-says-goodbye

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/886328

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dk_gilbert/sets/72157625436183960/detail/

http://www.freewebs.com/ritachao/sakurateng.htm

http://marc-antoine-panda.over-blog.com/article-32061166.html

http://www.geocities.jp/a104gs/sakura.html

http://www.geocities.jp/a104gs/sakura.rita.chao.html

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.

RITA CHAO (凌雲) "WOOLY BULLY - 我不能沒有你" (1966)

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 Wikipedia recite «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:

http://www.discogs.com/artist/385494-Rita-Chao

https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/rita_chao

https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/rita_chao_and_sakura

http://blog.roodo.com/macaenese5354/archives/25610568.html

http://blog.roodo.com/macaenese5354/archives/25707290.html

https://questing.wordpress.com/category/rita-chao-%E5%87%8C%E9%9B%B2/

https://questing.wordpress.com/category/sakura-rita-duet-%E6%AB%BB%E8%8A%B1-%E6%B7%A9%E9%9B%B2/

http://illfolks.blogspot.com/2014/04/rita-chao-chaod-mary-proud-mary-in.html

http://mocamborainbow.blogspot.com/2008/07/rita-chao.html

http://www.tofu-magazine.net/newVersion/pages/gogo.html

http://www.smartshanghai.com/articles/nightlife/music-tuesday-far-out-east-2

http://singapore60smusic.blogspot.com/2009/01/rita-chao-pop-go-go-for-william-dad.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Singapore

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dk_gilbert/sets/72157625310673913

http://www.geocities.jp/a104gs/rita.chao.html

http://www.geocities.jp/a104gs/rita.lp.html

http://www.geocities.jp/a104gs/sakura.rita.chao.html

http://women.asiaone.com/women/people/agogo-princess-rita-chao-died-6-months-ago

http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/a-go-go-queen-rita-chao-dies-of-colon-cancer

http://www.lollipop.sg/content/partner-shocked-news-agogo-princess-rita-chao-died-6-months-ago

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.