RITA CHAO (凌雲) "RITA CHAO WITH THE QUESTS" (1967)

Rita Chao, best known to her Mandarin-speaking fans as 凌雲 (…Ling Yun, Ling Ying or Seow Mei-Mei, depending on your preferred source of information…), 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.



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!!!

"Rita Chao With The Quests" includes the following tracks:

01. 隔壁的冤家 (The Boy Next Door) (2:01)
02. 薄情郎 (He's Untrue) (3:23)
03. 別纏住我 (Only Friends) (3:35)
04. 搖搖搖 (Shake Shake Shake) (1:49)
05. Hanky Panky (3:11)
06. 愛人你變了 (I Know) (3:17)
07. 去年今天 (Lonely Heart) (3:36)
08. 媽媽的勸告 (Bachelor Boy) (2:07)
09. Sixteen Candles (3:16)
10. 小姑娘 (Let True Love Begin) (3:05)
11. 往日的舊夢 (Gonna Be Alright) (2:23)
12. 我不能沒有你 (Wooly Bully) (2:07)

All tracks were remastered in March 2019 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.

Rita Chao as she appears on the front cover of the album

Preceded by four stunning 7" EPs - all available here on Stereo Candies - Rita Chao's debut album was released sometime in early/mid 1967 by Columbia / EMI in Singapore with catalogue number 33 ESX 603.

The album comes in a lovely flipback laminated sleeve with a two-colour printed matte back. The front cover uses a flipped picture of Rita Chao that earlier graced her 我不能沒有你 (The Boy Next Door) EP, while the back offers a slightly psychedelic collage of four different pictures that portrait her in three different outfits, including the one she is wearing on the front cover.

The vinyl copy in my possession is a first pressing with green labels that was manufactured in Australia, probably just weeks before EMI's Singapore pressing plant came on-line in June 1967. The second pressing has black labels similar to those that you can see in the post I dedicated to Sakura's debut album.

The colours on the front cover of my original copy are quite pale in comparison to the reconstruction that I'm offering in this post. You can catch a glimpse of the original cover in this picture available on the Stereo Candies Instagram account. I thought that somehow my copy was defective, or that maybe it had been exposed to direct sunlight for a long time but, as I was searching the Internet prior to compile this post, I discovered that other copies bear the same defect... The other record that appears in such picture is an infamous sounding bootleg that exploits this same cover, but features a different tracklisting that also includes tracks released a few years later.

As the title clearly implies, on this album Rita Chao is accompanied by The Quests, the legendary Singaporean group which was very active during the mid-late '60s, both as a backing unit - most notably for Rita herself and Sakura - and as performers in their own right with a very long series of singles and four full-lenght albums. It's about time that I also start taking care of their recordings, but that's another story, so let's move on to the usual track-by-track commentary...



Side 1 opens with "隔壁的冤家 (The Boy Next Door)", a song written by Johnny Madara and David White that was originally performed by American girl group The Secrets in 1963. The same year the song was turned into a huge hit in Singapore by The Crescendos, you can listen to their version own by clicking here.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to find any information about "薄情郎 (He's Untrue)", I would believe that it is an original composition, but the presence of a Mandarin + English title seems to prove the contrary... Maybe some reader of this blog can shed some light on the subject? Anyway, this track features Reggie Vergese in top form offering a great performance on acoustic guitar, including a mandolin-style solo.

"別纏住我 (Only Friends)" is a Mandarin cover of "Ton meilleur ami", a song originally performed by French singer and actress Françoise Hardy in 1962. An English version of this song was popularized in Singapore by Heather and The Diamond Four.

The very short and lively "搖搖搖" (Shake, Shake, Shake) was originally included in the 1966 movie "何日君再来" (Till the End of Time), which was a huge success in Singapore and launched the acting career of the young 胡燕妮 (Jenny Hu). The voice singing the original tune belongs to Chinese singer and dubbing artist 静婷 (Tsin Ting); you can watch the original music number here.

"Hanky Panky" is a song written in 1963 by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich for their group, The Raindrops. It was famously remade by rock group Tommy James and the Shondells, who took it to No. 1 in the United States in 1966. On this version, The Quests add their trademark guitar sound and wild drumming, turning Rita's performance in a Garage classic. Here's a link to The Raindrops' original version.

The original version of "愛人你變了" (I Know) was written by Robert Suriya of Naomi & The Boys and was included on the band's second EP released in 1965 by Philips. "快樂誕辰" (Happy Happy Birthday) was also included in the same EP, and is a cover of a 1957 Doo Wop number by The Tune Weavers (...original version is here).



Side 2 starts with "去年今天 (Lonely Heart)", a Mandarin cover of The Thunderbirds' "My Lonely Heart", one of the most popular original compositions in the history of Singapore Pop Music, which was written in 1966 by Harvey Fitzgerald - the band's lead singer - and Gerry Pasqual, their manager. The magic of the original version is reinforced by Rita's memorable performance and the evocative Mandarin lyrics would send shivers down the spine of the coldest human on Earth. This is a M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E!!!

"媽媽的勸告 (Bachelor Boy)" is a cover of a song written by Cliff Richard and Bruce Welch. Originally performed by Cliff Richard with musical accompaniment by The Shadows in 1963, it was also included on the successful movie "Summer Holiday".

"Sixteen Candles", the immortal youth anthem written by Luther Dixon and Allyson R. Khent, was originally performed by American Doo-wop group The Crests in 1958. On this release Rita sings a slightly adapted version of the original English lyrics; a version with Mandarin lyrics was also recorded and released during the same year.

While the "atmosphere" of all the other covers on the album is rather faithful to the original, this rendition "小姑娘 (Let True Love Begin)" - 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 along with Sandy Baron and George Eddy. Another interesting version recorded by The Crests in the early '60s is linked here for comparison.

"往日的舊夢 (Gonna Be Alright)" is a Mandarin cover version of Gerry and The Pacemakers' hit. The song was written by Gerry Mardsen and originally performed by the group in 1964.

The album ends 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.

The following clips offer a complete preview of the remastered album, enjoy!

More information about Rita Chao is available here:

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

https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/%E5%87%8C%E9%9B%B2

https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/rita_chao_and_sakura

http://madrotter-treasure-hunt.blogspot.com/search/label/rita%20chao

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

If you have any other useful information about Rita Chao and "Rita Chao With The Quests", or if you spot any dead links, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

VINNY BELL "WHISTLE STOP" (1964)

«SPECIAL NOTE TO THE CONSUMER AND RECORD REVIEWER: this album contains recordings by VINNIE BELL, at this writing New York's busiest studio guitar player. It is designed to show-case Vinnie's electronic genius and his musicianship. The album is based on the contemporary, popular, instrumental approach to recording. This is not a JAZZ recording.»

[from the back cover notes of "Whistle Stop"]



It's high time for another chapter in our series of posts that celebrate leading American session guitarist and pioneer of electronic effects Vincent 'Vinnie' Bell.

One of the two or three greatest guitar geeks of the Space Age Pop era, Vinnie Bell will go down in musical history as the inventor of the 'water guitar sound' that was a big fad in instrumental recordings during the '60s.

Used most prominently on Ferrante and Teicher's 1969 Top Ten cover of the theme to "Midnight Cowboy", and on his own rendition of the "'Airport' Love Theme" in 1970, the effect became one of the most-copied technique among guitarists until the wah-wah pedal became standard equipment in the '70s. Among the other essential records that feature his trademark sound, we should at least mention Dick Hyman / Mary Mayo's "Moon Gas", released in 1963 and available here on Stereo Candies..

Born in Brooklyn in 1935, Bell started to learn to play the mandolin when he was four years old according to the old method: solfeggio and a good swat for every mistake. Then, at eight years of age came the switch to guitar, and at the ripe maturity of twelve years the start of his professional career.



Trained by teachers like Carmen Mastren, who taught him the rhythm guitar, and Tony Mottola, who taught him the basic all-around fundamentals and made him his protégé, Bell also studied under Everett Barksdale and Mickey Baker.

Long before any company commercially produced guitar effects pedals, Vinnie Bell was tinkering and inventing with his own electronic custom effects pedals for his guitars. He constantly invented new effects using fuzz distortion and wah-wah pedals, before anyone else had them. This gave him an edge over most other guitarists in the '60s recording world, and producers loved to bring him on their sessions to get his unique guitar effects.

Bell soon became an in-demand session guitarist. The list of artists who benefited from his work is huge and includes Louis Armstrong, Simon and Garfunkel, Frank Sinatra, Dionne Warwick, Donovan, The Mamas & The Papas, The Four Seasons, The Lovin' Spoonful, Bobby Darin and many more...

For a detailed biography of Vinnie Bell, I suggest that you read the post I dedicated to his debut album a while ago.

My copy of "Whistle Stop" comes with an original Verve company inner sleeve, yippee!!!

"Whistle Stop" contains the following tracks:

01. Moonglow (2:02)
02. Night Train (2:41)
03. Fever (2:29)
04. Dawn (2:09)
05. Bellzouki (2:12)
06. What'd I Say (2:57)
07. Last Stop (1:39)
08. Trainman's Blues (2:23)
09. Shindig (2:06)
10. Whistle Stop (2:13)
11. Memphis (2:18)
12. I Have But One Heart (1:59)
13. The End of the Line (1:47)
14. Tramp Song (2:07)

All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl in March 2018 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.

Here's the complete credits and personnel list of the album:

Vincent Bell: guitars and effects
Everett Barksdale: bass
Paul Griffin: electric piano, electric organ
Al Gorgoni: rhythm guitar
Gary Chester / Buddy Saltzman: drums

Arranged by Claus Ogerman and Charles Calello, except "Bellzouki", "Trainman's Blues" and "Whistle Stop" arranged by Vincent Bell.

Director of engineering: Val Valentin

Liner notes: Warner Fredericks

Cover photograph: Todd Webb

Produced by Creed Taylor.

Vincent Bell, circa 1964

Probably recorded sometime during the last months of the previous year, "Whistle Stop" was released by Verve with catalogue number V6-8574 (stereo) and V-8574 (mono) around January or February 1964.

The album cover features a picture by famous American photographer Todd Weeb, which depicts a small train station in Domingo, some sixty kilometers south-west of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Luckily, there is a road just near the rails, and Google Maps can help to give a more precise idea of where the picture was taken. Of course at least 55 years has passed, the small station is not there anymore, but I think I have recognized the old water tower...

Both the album title and its cover clearly imply that this work is focused on the railroad, and at least five of the tracks also explicitly refer to trains, trainmen, stops, stations and lines. A nice theme, I would say, and one that also vaguely inspired Bell on his previous solo effort.

Anyway, curiously enough the author's name is spelled as Vinny Bell on the front cover, spine and center labels, but he is referred to with the more usual Vinnie Bell on the back cover and in the liner notes... The same liner notes identifies this as Bell's «first recording as a soloist», which is not the case since his debut album was released no less than three years earlier, in late 1960.

In the page dedicated to the album on the super cool Spage Age Pop website, the reviewer points out how apparently the label was trying to «distance itself from its own artist» by including on the back cover the "Special note to the consumer and record reviewer" that you can read in full at the beginning of this post, warning them that «this is not a Jazz recording»... I can't help but agree with him, also when he writes that «Whistle Stop is, arguably, Bell's best album by far.»

In November 1963, "Whistle Stop" was preceded by a 7" release credited to Vinny Bell and The Bell Men. This included the title track on Side A and "Shindig" on the flipside. In Italy the songs were switched and the record was given the picture cover that you can see below. In Australia the songs included on the single were "Moonglow" and, once again, "Shindig". On such occasion they were credited to Vinnie Bell; pictures of this release are also available below.

In Italy the "Whistle Stop / Shindig" single was released in a picture sleeve and sides were switched...

    

...while the public in Australia was offered a "Moonglow / Shindig" single

The following is a slightly edited version of the liner notes written by Warner Fredericks that are printed on the back cover of "Whistle Stop":

«Better open the window and get ready to toss out every idea you’ve ever had about what a guitar should sound like. Because from the moment the stylus touches the first groove of the record inside this sleeve every guitar you’ve ever heard will become part of the past tense of your life. Vinnie Bell’s new recording as a soloist, composer, leader, arranger is a straight-off blast into the future of guitar music.

Look at the line-up of tunes: "Night Train", "Memphis", "What’d I Say", "Bellzouki", "Dawn", "Trainman’s Blues", "Shindig", "Fever", "Last Stop", "Moonglow", and the title tune - "Whistle Stop". Every one of them is dressed up in sounds you’ve never heard before - sounds no one has ever heard before on record. Sure you’ve heard train sounds - but who ever heard a trombone moan come out of a guitar? Listen to the moving bass line on "Moonglow". Or, who ever dreamed of making a violin come singing out of a guitar - or a French Horn, or cello, or pipe organ, or a baritone sax?

Vinnie Bell - he’s the dreamer behind this fantastic array of new sounds that come roaring, sighing, singing out of an instrument that once used to hang around in the background of folk songs and blues. Vinnie, a superb musician and a natural born inventor, got the idea a few years ago that there was a terrific, rockin’ orchestra hidden inside the curved frame of his guitar. He was determined to pry every instrumental sound loose he could discover - or invent.

Remember when Paul Anka took off with “Steel Guitar and a Glass of Wine”? - a gold-mine of an LP. The guitar was Vinnie’s, the same guitar you will hear on "I Have But One Heart". He could bill himself like an old-time private detective, “The Eye That Never Sleeps”... He’s too busy - playing, composing, inventing.

Recently, he counted down the Top Fifty singles in the best-seller charts and discovered to his happy amazement that he had played guitar on thirty-two of the recordings! He averages close to twenty recording sessions a week in the New York studios; single dates, LP dates, TV commercials, radio commercials, movies, network TV shows... And he is a consultant for Danelectro in the engineering and development of new guitars, amplifiers and guitar attachments - both acoustical and electronic. "Bellzouki" is named after a patented device of Vinnie’s that he based on the terrific Greek bouzoukee sound. (Remember the sound track of Never On Sunday? That was a bouzoukee.)

Vinnie is originally a Brooklyn boy, born just about a mile from Coney Island. He’s a family man (“When I get to see them”) with a son and two daughters, all under 9. Married ten years, he and his wife went together for 9 years before they decided to take the final step. Vinnie’s training was informal - “But, with some really good teachers,” he says, “Tony Mottola and Carmen Mastron. Tony taught me the basic all-around fundamentals, and Carmen taught me rhythm guitar. Then, fellows like Everett Barksdale and Mickey Baker taught me a lot more later on. They’ve got something special.”

Incidentally, Everett Barksdale plays on this date and helps Vinnie make his debut as a combo leader on records. Barksdale plays bass guitar and gives the album a terrific drive. He sounds like he’s playing a bass fiddle - but most of the time it’s a Danelectro bass guitar that Vinnie helped research and develop. The other players in Vinnie’s group are: Paul Griffin, electric piano and electric organ; Al Gorgoni, rhythm guitar; Gary Chester or Buddy Saltzman on drums. Vinnie arranged three of the tunes and the others were scored by Claus Ogerman and Charlie Calello, both outstanding arrangers.

Vinnie has adapted, modified, invented, experimented, dreamed... Sometimes people are likely to think that a guy so obsessed with perfection is a little out of this world - a little touched. Vinnie’s certainly way out in a world of his own - a world of vibrant, exciting, rocking new sounds. And indeed he is touched - with genius.»



Side A starts with "Moonglow", a popular song written by Will Hudson and Irving Mills with lyrics by Eddie DeLange. There is an abyss between the first version of the song recorded by Joe Venuti in 1933 and Bell's version, but the original melody is still quite recognizable. As I already wrote, this tune was released as a single in Australia.

On "Night Train" Bell emulates a variety of train sounds with his guitar, a trick that he already applied to "Sentimental Journey" on his debut album, but in a completely different way. This song was written by Jimmy Forrest with added lyrics by Lewis C. Simpkins and Oscar Washington. compared to Bell's rendition, the original version recorded by Jimmy Forrest in 1952 is much slower and creates a completely different atmosphere. James Brown also recorded his own version of the song in 1961, turning it into a Funky number with different lyrics.

"Fever" was written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell. The song was first recorded in 1956 by American R&B singer Little Willie John, and topped the Billboard R&B chart when it was released as a single in April the same year. Bell aptly takes the original vocal line and builds his soloing on it with a lot of expressiveness. His trademark water guitar sound is scattered all over the track and it takes the lead along with an heavy reverb during a break halfway through the song, making it one of the best cuts on the album.

Well, I tried my best but I couldn't find any relevant information about "Dawn" a song written by one Robert Robinson... It's a real pity because this is probably the most scintillating track on "Whistle Stop" and I would have been curious to learn something more about it and listen to the original version... Maybe someone in the know could shed some light about it? Thank you!
Anyway, once again I agree with the reviewer at Space Age Pop: «"Dawn" stands out in its compact intensity. It starts revved up and keeps the pedal to the metal right to the last note. Bell's fuzzed-out tone is pretty remarkable to hear, given that it's just 1964. It's the kind of track that blows the dust out of the speakers and leaves compilation makers wondering how to possibly follow it up.»

The album proceeds with "Bellzouki", the first of three compositions co-written by Bell himself with Wandra Merrell Brown that appear on the record. As per title, the song makes good use of the Bellzouki, an electric 12-string guitar that Bell had invented and perfectioned for Danelectro just months early. Bell's creation was inspired by the Bouzouki, a Greek string instrument, and I easily guess that this is one of its very first appearances on a record.

"What'd I Say" was written by Ray Charles, who also recorded it in 1959. Bell's version is pretty tight just like the original, and although it doesn't introduce new elements we can still appreciate the precision of his mighty touch.

First side finish with "Last Stop", the shortest number on the album. This instrumental was written by Phil Ramone and Cathryn Williams, and having being copyrighted just in December 1963 I believe that it is an original piece of music created on purpose for the inclusion on this LP. Bell's guitar introduces the track with its imitation of a steam whistle and then proceeds solidly to the end, making this a favourite of mine.



Side B opens with "Trainman's Blues", another instrumental written by the Bell-Merrell duo. As the title clearly implies, this is a Blues number augmented by Bell's tremolo and distortion effects. At times I feel like he's about to dive into a devastating solo along the lines of the one played by Marty McFly / Michael J. Fox in one of the best scenes of "Back To the Future", but instead he always manage to keep the train on the track, just to use a metaphor which suits both the song and the album.

"Shindig" is an instrumental written by Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch and brought to success in 1963 by their band, The Shadows. Bell adds a touch of his water guitar sound, but his version - althought being more powerful, in my opinion - remains mostly faithful to the original.

"Whistle Stop" is the third number written by Bell and Wandra Merrell Brown, this time also aided by Phil Ramone. It would be interesting to know the name of the anonymous whistler who gives this distinctive touch to a rather simple bluesy track... Since Bell had often collaborated with Dick Hyman - who is also well-known for his whistling ability - I wouldn't be surprised if it was really him, but of course this is just mere speculation... As I already wrote, apart from being choosen as the album's title, this cut was also released as a single. This was not a wise choice in my opinion, and the album has stronger tracks that could have served that purpose better.

"Memphis" is a famous song written by Chuck Berry, which was first released in 1959. Somehow Bell's version differs from the original and I must admit that I was not able to recognize it at first listen. The chord progression seems to be the same but the distinctive vocal line is completely absent and is not replaced by any instrument, making it difficult to draw a connection with the original composition, at least for me.

"I Have But One Heart" is a popular song composed by Johnny Farrow and Marty Symes. The song is an adaptation of a traditional Neapolitan song entitled "O Marenariello", and was first recorded by Vic Damone in 1947. Bell brings the song back to its original Southern Italy context by aptly playing most of it on a mandolin and using a very clean and gentle guitar sound.

"The End of the Line" is another short instrumental written by the Ramone-Williams duo, and I assume from its copyright date that, once again, this is an original number created for the album. Bell's guitar is at its best and this track - although not sharing any striking similarities - somehow reminds me of Perrey and Kingsley's "Swan's Splashdown" from "The In Sound from Way Out!", a 1966 album that also features an unaccredited Vinnie Bell on guitar, uhm...

"Tramp Song" brings the album to an end. The original version of this track is entitled "Tramp-Melodie" and comes from the original soundtrack written by German composer Martin Böttcher for the 1963 movie "Der Schatz im Silbersee" (The Treasure of the Silver Lake). It may seem an odd choice, but the orchestral movements of the original are faithfully reconstructed by Bell on his guitar, making it a perfect closure.

The following clips offer a preview of the remastered album: enjoy "Moonglow", "Night Train", "Fever", "Dawn", "Bellzouki", "Shindig", "Whistle Stop" and "The End of the Line"!

More information about Vinnie Bell and "Whistle Stop" is available here:

http://www.vinniebell.com/

http://www.spaceagepop.com/bell.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinnie_Bell

https://www.discogs.com/artist/353572-Vinnie-Bell

http://www.spaceagepop.com/rc008.htm

http://uniqueguitar.blogspot.com/2010/02/danelectro-bellzouki-model-7010-was.html

http://wfmuichiban.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-liquid-guitar-of-vinnie-bell.html

http://chmatinee.blogspot.com/2015/06/newsreel-corner-cross-promotion-for.html

https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/vinnie-bell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE3C1bX-6yk

If you have other useful information about this post, or if you spot any dead links, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

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!

THE SPACEMEN "JERSEY BOUNCE / BLAST OFF" (1959) [featuring VINNIE BELL on guitar]

This is the short final chapter in my attempt to reconstruct Vinnie Bell's path in the recorded music industry before his first single and debut album were released in 1960.

Previous posts have featured "Silently b/w Barracuda", a 1958 single by The Gallahads (...available here), and "Smoke Rings b/w Hawaiian Haze" by The Overtones, another 7" record released in 1959 (...here).

Now is time to take care about the elusive The Spacemen and their "Jersey Bounce b/w Blast Off", which was also released in 1959.

The center labels of this release include the line "with Vinnie Gambella, guitar" on both sides, and Bell is also credited for the co-writing of "Blast Off" on Side B.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to find any information about The Spacemen, except the fact that they released another single the same year... It would be great if someone out there could shed some light on this group, thanks for your help as usual!

For a detailed biography of Vinnie Bell, I suggest that you read this other post of mine.

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

01. Jersey Bounce (2:36)
02. Blast Off (2:46)

Both tracks were remastered from vinyl in November 2017 and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with scans of the original item.

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



"Jersey Bounce b/w Blast Off" was released by Felsted Records US with catalogue number 45-8578-V sometimes during the summer of 1959.

All the websites that offer information about this record usually present "Blast Off" as Side A and "Jersey Bounce" as Side B. In my opinion this is incorrect because matrix numbers and the other reference numbers on the labels suggest the contrary: they are respectively ZTSP 60857-1 and FD 286 for "Jersey Bounce" and ZTSP 60858-3 and FD 287 for "Blast Off".




The copy in my possession comes in a plain white sleeve, but I guess that at the time of release it was probably offered in a company sleeve. I searched the web but I couldn't find any Felsted sleeves... I speculate that, being operated from London Records in New York, records in the Felsted catalogue may have been released with a London company sleeve similar to those that you can see here.

The record was reviewed in the August 30, 1959, issue of Billboard and - although confined in the 'Moderate Sales Potential' column of the 'New Pop 7" Records' section - Bell's guitar work was praised. Here's a transcription for "Jersey Bounce": «Effective guitar solo treatment of the catchy oldie. Good juke wax.» and "Blast Off": «Solid guitar solo work on haunting instrumental theme. Spinnable.»

Vinnie Bell in the early '60s

The following clips offer a complete preview of the remastered single, enjoy!

More information about The Spacemen and Vinnie Bell is available here:

https://www.discogs.com/artist/3245624-The-Spacemen-9

http://www.vinniebell.com/

http://www.spaceagepop.com/bell.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinnie_Bell

https://www.discogs.com/artist/353572-Vinnie-Bell

If you have any other useful information about this post or if you spot any dead links, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!