Did Our Singapore Bands Cover Bob Dylan In 60s?

A note from anonymous:

Did any Singaporean artists of the 60s and 70s cover Dylan songs at the time? Either in English or any other language? I'm collecting covers of Dylan in languages other than English, and Asian-language ones are hard to find. Love your blog. What a lively & attractive scene you had back then, & very well detailed by your good self.

(July 13, 2011 11:04 PM).

My reply:

Hi anon,
To specifically target particular groups or singers who play or sing Dylan can be daunting, so do give me a bit of time as it may take a while. Thanks for visiting and the lovely pat on the back. Andy.

Reply From Vernon Cornelius:

Hi Andy,

I don't think anyone here covered Dylan in 60s & 70s. I know bands like 'The Quests' (1966-67) performed Don't think twice it's alright, recorded, All my Sorrows (traditional by BD as All My Trials), myself from 1969, singing All Along The Watchtower, Lay Lady Lay (and much more!).

In the 70s 'Fried Ice', 'Pests Infested', 'Straydogs', 'Heritage', 'Mogan' etc. performed BD, but I'm quite sure 'none' ever recorded such material. 1989 I recorded Mr Bojangles but not a BD song. In Chinese (Mandarin) there is great probability only the simple, Blowing in the Wind was recorded. Maybe too by Foo Soo Yin. The structure of Dylan English and music craft would've made it impossible to cover such songs, unless lyrics were changed to flow better.

I became heavily BD from '69 and played him heavily on Rediffusion 69-75, and from '89 with my band 'Overheads' performed numerous BD songs. After my Rediffusion stint I became a musicologist, and in 1972/73 gave lengthy serious talks at National Library on the History & Development of modern pop music.

Regret I didn't give you much, but this confirms much of what you already know. Sending you warmest wishes,

Vernon.

(Thanks to Vernon for the answer. Comment anyone? Know of our local bands covering BD?)Images: (1) Bob Dylan, (2) The Quests.

National Day Celebration: 'Singapop' 20 August, 2011 Promontory at Marina Bay with Vernon, Sakura Teng, Ling Xiao, Rahimah Rahim, Tokyo Square, etc.