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.

Don't Criticise What You Can't Understand: Dylan

Bob Dylan was in Singapore recently. A truly great 60s artiste with an independent mind, some of his songs are interesting reads. So looking from a different perspective and unless you are familiar with this particular song, please READ the extract of, The Times They Are A Changin' (January, 1964, Columbia Records) below. Apologies to Bob Dylan. Bracketed remarks are mine:

Bob Dylan:
"Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'
(Orchard Road floods?)

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'
(New roulette wheel at Casino?)

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
There's a (contest) outside ragin'
It'll soon (clear) your windows
And (strengthen) your walls
For the times they are a-changin'
(Perhaps a tsunami?)

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agein'
For the times they are a-changin'
(Seniors Realisation Week?)

The line it is drawn
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
For the times they are a-changin'..."
(Formula One Night Race?)
Just wondering. If there's a need for change, is it for the better? That's important.
Image: From 'Google Images'

SINGAPORE GENERAL ELECTIONS 2011

Orchard Road Floods And Johnny Cash In 60s

Peter Chan, 70s music man and current business man, sent me some pictures of floods in Singapore. Here's one (image) that occurred at Orchard Road in the 60s. No, it wasn't the first time the recent flood devastation happened at glamorous Orchard.

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So why is a 60s music blog discussing floods you ask. While looking at Peter's photographs and reading the papers about the recent deluge, I remember a late 50s song about "rising waters" by Johnny Cash and managed to retrieve it from a website called, starcasm.net It's got that unique Cash beat that our Man In Black specialized in.

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The singer who had never feared "death, darkness and such apocalyptic things as floods" had put on vinyl, Five Feet High and Rising for his 1959 concept album Songs of Our Soil. Much like his gallows countdown 25 Minutes To Go, this song is an "hourglass ballad, measuring time with the rising waters of the Mississippi River flood of 1937." From historical data, waters from the massive river rose 15 feet above flood stage after 21 consecutive days of rain.

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There are many C&W songs about floods and the more popular ones are, When It Rains It Pours by Merle Haggard, High Water by Bob Dylan, Rainy Day Blues by Willie Nelson and Steady As The Rain by Dolly Parton.

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So to all Singapore music lyricists today, writing ditties about our achievements on this beautiful, sunny island can be a little cliched, so why not write about our recent floods at our most celebrated shopping street? Might make it to the Top 10 Singapore Song Chart, if there's any.

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Image: Peter Chan Collections.
Information: http://starcasm.net/archives/46507
Original article: Andy Lim.

Peter Paul & Mary - "Blowin' In The Wind" - Flower - Mary Travers - Gone At 72

Mary Travers, 72, the female third of the popular 60s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, died after battling leukemia for several years.

Travers and her music mates, Peter Yarrow and Noel Stookey, best known for their hit, *Puff The Magic Dragon, were in the American folk music scene in the early 60s with their influential style and civil rights cause.

Blowin' In The Wind by Bob Dylan was recorded by hundreds of artistes because it was the anthem of the civil rights movement. But it was Peter, Paul and Mary who made it an international hit.

Led by Mary Travers, they had already put protest songs into the music hit parade with their version of Pete Seeger's If I Had A Hammer, but they were able to balance commercial success with their espousal of worthy causes.

In August 1963, they performed Blowin' In The Wind to a large group of black freedom marchers in Washington who had just heard Martin Luther King's famous 'I have a dream' speech.

After many hits on record that included **Lemon Tree, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, and Leaving On A Jet Plane, the group disbanded in 1970.

*Puff The Magic Dragon was banned in Singapore in 1963 for drug connotation. Was there?

** Lemon Tree was also covered by The Crescendos, a Singapore 60s group, with Susan Lim doing the lead vocals.

James Brown, Bob Dylan, Cher, Peggy Sue, American Pie, Purple Rain, Stand By Me?

It's interesting to read snippets of "over a century of the greatest artists, albums, songs, performances and events that rocked the music world."

James Brown (image) playing at The Apollo is under 'Key Performance' in the book, "Working up his soulful screams before opting for a velvety growl, he continually took his audience to the edge and back again, women exploding with screams and hollered responses... (Page: 286)"

The Little Black Book Of MUSIC (General Editor: Sean Egan, 2007) is also worthwhile buying as it's a reference guide, so if the reader is that keen on pop music, the book costs about 17 pounds on Amazon ( about S$40.00++?).

The content consists of music from 1890 up to the present day. That's a long history and a detailed and interesting one too. This blogger is learning a lot from this book and as usual, it's available in our libraries.

With nearly 800 pages, the book is small, square and thick. But worth the amount paid for!

Image: amazon.com.uk

Original article: Andy Lim