Webber/Rice: 'Any Dream Will Do' Is 1968 Song

SONGS I LOVE:
The Music Of Andrew Lloyd Webber production that is coming to Singapore showcases his internationally acclaimed compositions, especially one from Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. It is called Any Dream Will Do, composed together with Tim Rice. I saw the musical at the Kallang Theatre when the *RUG performed here some years ago but didn't realise that the song was written in 1968.

It is a full 2 hour musical today but was originally a fifteen minute performance at Collete Court School in London in the late 60s. The song was first recorded on vinyl by Joe Cuddy (image) and it became a number one hit in Ireland in 1974. (I haven't heard of Joe Cuddy before listening to this particular song. Have you?)

Any Dream has been sung by Donny Osmond, Andy Gibb and others but associated with **Jason Donovan after it was released as a single in 1991. The singer played Joseph in the West End stage production at London Palladium. This beautiful and haunting song was on the UK singles chart for only two weeks. It's strange that a song of this quality and stature lasted for such a short time.

It is also true that the version by Donovan is not listed under 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die, edited by Robert Dimery. Do you like this song? Tell us.
A temporary sample of the You Tube Recording is on the right side-bar.
Information:Wikipedia.

*Really Useful Group.
** The two Jasons: Jason Donovan is an Australian singer born in 1968, while Donovan Philip Leitch is a Scottish singer born in 1946 with 60s hits, Atlanta, Jennifer Juniper, Mellow Yellow, etc.
Image 2: http://www.45cat.com/

Image 1: http://www.irish-showband.com/
Original article: Andy Lim.

Dwarfs, POWs, Gunslinger, Teacher And Panther? Songs That We Don't Sing In The 60s

Whistle While You Work:
I remember watching Disney cartoons when I was very young and loved Snow White (1937) with her seven dwarfs. One particular song, Whistle While You Work, enchanted me so much that I easily learnt the skill because I wanted to whistle the tune so badly. Music from the past has many of these whistling tunes. This posting is about some of them.
Coloney Bogey March:
Another one that became a whistling hit was the Colonel Bogey March written in 1914. Although not many people remember the title, they knew how to whistle, "that River Kwai song." The song was a powerful one because of its repetitive, simple melody and because it was from the soundtrack of the blockbuster, The Bridge On The River Kwai.

Prisoners of War:

The tune was played when the POWs marched towards the prison camp and is not to be mistaken with the orchestral counter-march composed in 1957 by Malcolm Arnold. Both marches had been recorded together by Mitch Miller and his Orchestra as March from the River Kwai - Colonel Bogey.

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly:

In 1966, Singapore film goers went wild with a spaghetti western called, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly and the main theme, composed by Ennio Morricoe, echoed for months everywhere.

Clint Eastwood:

Hugo Motenegro had a version using the Moog synthesizer that went up to number two on the Billboard Pop Single Chart in 1968. And gunslinger Clint Eastwood (image) clinched it again. It was so popular that it had been covered by our local group, The Stylers.

I Whistle A Happy Tune:

The very pretty Julie Andrews (in later years to become *Blake Edwards' wife) appeared in a movie that fascinated both young and old. The King And I (1956) showed for weeks at the Cathay Cinema in the 50s and a song that kept everyone bright and cheerful was, I Whistle A Happy Tune.

The King And I:

In the movie, it was performed on board a ship when teacher Andrews was on her way to meet Yul Brynner the King. To ease her son's fear and tension, she sang and whistled the song. It became a hit with other songs in the show.

The Pink Panther Theme:
The Henry Mancini Pink Panther Theme (1963) is an instrumental composition that whistled its way to a nomination at the Academy Award for Original Music Score in 1964. It won three awards.

Inspector Clouseau:

The movie about the pink cartoon character was animated in time to the tune. It became successful commercially and made bungling Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers), a character in the Pink Panther series. It was directed by special Oscar winner *Blake Edwards. *(A few days after this posting Blake Edwards passed away, with wife Julie Andrews by his side.)

Roger Whittaker:

There are many whistling tunes? Do you know one that you like? Have you heard of Roger Whittaker? He whistles most of his songs like Mexican Whistler, Pretty Bird, River Lady and classics like The Elizabethan Serenade. But that's another story...

Image:

Original article: Andy Lim.

Chuckle With 'glee' - 60s Music Revived On TV. Have You Seen It Yet? Best Show In Town

THIS ARTICLE IS BLOGGER'S PERSONAL VIEWPOINT OF "GLEE". IT DOES NOT ADVERTISE THE SHOW.

60s music fans are in for a treat. For many weeks now there's a new television show that plays pop hits of yesteryears. Yes, in the latest episode 'Ballad', the Fox Broadcasting Company production 'glee' on Singapore cable TV features, Bill Withers' Lean On Me, The Pretenders' I'll Stand By You and the Lionel Ritchie & Diana Ross classic, Endless Love.

Then the big treat came when, Young Girl (original performers Gary Puckett and The Union Gap) were featured with (You're) Having My Baby by Paul Anka. It was a thrill to watch these songs revived, energised and sung by the best of today's youthful talents from the cast of glee.

Other songs from the 60s music category featured in other episodes were, Dione Warwick's I Say A Little Prayer, the West Side Story evergreen, Tonight, Queen's Somebody To Love and The Supremes' You Keep Me Hanging On.

The best was yet to come when Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline, the My Fair Lady hit, I Could Have Danced All Night and Tina Turner's Proud Mary were performed by the very talented group.

So 60s music fanatics, look out for future episodes when this truly versatile group of boys and girls will sing and dance their way through TVs new musical extravaganza with, Papa Don't Preach, True Colours (both 1986), Imagine, Don't Rain On My Parade, and selections from Hair.

And the theme song that runs through the whole episode? Don't Stop Believin'. I won't!

Have you seen it yet?

Image: google images

Original article: Andy Lim Collection

Checkout GLEE website: http://www.fox.com/glee/

'The Who', 'Tommy' And Rock Operas - 70s

It was reported in the news media, Pete Townshend may have to quit the legendary band if his hearing gets worse.

Yes, the news item started me thinking about The Who, the rock group that sends the adrenalin pumping and ears exploding when I spin the turntable to play their hits. And Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend are no ordinary musicians, with the group literally bringing the stage to a 'destructive' end with their music and instruments.

"This fantastic group has sold about 100 million records and have charted 27 top forty singles in the United Kingdom and United States with 17 top ten albums, including 18 Gold, 12 Platinum and 5 Multi-Platinum album awards in the United States alone (Wikipedia)."

Frankly I got to know The Who a little bit after my acquaintance with Deep Purple's music and heard them only when they covered Johnny Kidd and the Pirates' Shakin' All Over in their Live At Leeds album in 1970. Not too late as I was a bit more matured to appreciate the music.

Of course there was also the rock opera Tommy that came in 1969 and others in the genre like Godspell, Hair, (with protest songs) and Jesus Christ Superstar (saw the stage musical in Australia, in November 1973). Pinball Wizard, Good Morning Starshine, Aquarius, I Don't Know How To Love Him, Prepare Ye The Way Of The Lord, *Day By Day are some of the songs that not only entertained but excited listeners.

Any rockers out there? Have you ever seen their shows live? Overseas?

*Covered by The Blackjacks, Singapore 60s band.

Original article: Andy Lim Collection

Image: rockanthology69.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archi...

(4) Who Wears Short Shorts... At A Wake???

WHO WEARS SHORT SHORTS AND SHORT BLOUSES?

"Photo 2: Alfred Choo, the future international lounge pianist is at the keyboard. **Didn’t know the girls were already in hot pants back in the early 1960s. Back then we boys were curious whether the girls wore anything below that short chinese blouse.

The stage was the former Cultural Centre Center at Fort Canning, now demolished and replaced by the one presently at the rear of the National Museum (circa 1962).

Funny thing though, my late grandmother was roped in to cut and sew the costumes. Where’s the connection? She came from Toi Shan County, China to marry my grandfather in the 1910s.

Lucky for us, she brought with her to Singapore plenty of chinese culture; she knew everything about the clothes and style of yesteryears, intricate Chinese buttons, pretty samfoo and unique pig-tails. She also knew the feminine art of using a hand fan. If you look at the photos, you find the boys and girls dressed up in various Chinese outfits.

Alfred Choo, the senior student of Foorman’s was the Music Director. Choo later became a top-notch hotel pianist in Hong Kong’s Peninsular Hotel and at the Marco Polo Hotel in Singapore."

Original article/image: Peter Chan.

Note from Blogger: They were wearing hot pants since the 50s, Peter!

**Short Shorts (1958) by The Royal Teens [Spoken:] Ooh man, dig that crazy chick/Who wears short shorts/We wear short shorts/They're such short shorts/We like short shorts/Who wears short shorts/We wear short shorts. [Repeat 2x]

(3) "Flower Drum Song" - Musical At Fort Canning Drama Centre Singapore In 1962

FLOWER DRUM SONG IN SINGAPORE:

"Photo 1: When I look at this 1962 photograph, the first thing that strikes me are the stage props. Don’t they remind you of those seen at a Chinese wake? Or do they look more like the 1950 anti- government street demonstration with all those banners?

Remember the musicals I was discussing in the previous posting? Well this time I am not in the audience but as a performer. And in one of the biggest and most popular musicals in the 60s, Flower Drum Song. How did it happen? It was in 1962 when Foorman’s School of Music - the place I attended my piano lessons - gave a public concert at the former Fort Canning Cultural Center, Singapore.

Flower Drum Song is a musical comedy set in San Francisco's Chinatown concerning old-fashioned Chinese and modern Chinese-Americans clashing over tradition and trying to find romance. That’s all I knew except for the big names like the darling Nancy Kwan and handsome James Shigata. The concert finale was set to the music of Grant Avenue, one of many songs taken from the musical."

Article/Image: Peter Chan Collection.

(2) Experiencing London's 60s Musical "Oliver!"

MUSICALS AND PETER CHAN:

"I do say I don’t enjoy or know very much about stage plays or musicals until I was in one myself (Flower Drum Song). My introduction to the theaters was when a friend got me some free tickets to watch his son perform in Oliver! at the London Palladium (image).

Soon, I learnt there was a way to buy more economical tickets if you bought on the afternoons just one or two days before the actual performance.

I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and in the next few weeks, while on a business trip in London, my family sat through Jesus Christ Superstar, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Martin Guerre, and Phantom of the Opera, well before they hit Singapore shores."

Image: from e-bay.

(Original Article: was contributed by Peter Chan who was a Singapore 70s pop musician but now a successful business person.)

(1) Flower Drum Song, Asian-American Musical

****************************************************************************************************************************** INTRODUCING FLOWER DRUM SONG:

After World War II, Americans began to show an interest in the "mysterious East" and Rodgers and Hammerstein, with all their positivity, had explored this interest in South Pacific and The King and I. Both musicals were hits in the late 50s and early 60s in Singapore. But they had never been staged in the local theatres, or had they?

Flower Drum Song is another musical with an Asian theme that was popular in Singapore in the 60s. It is a 1961 Academy Award-nominated film adaptation of the 1958 Broadway musical play Flower Drum Song, written by the composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The film and stage play were based on the 1957 novel by the Chinese American author C.Y. Lee.

This movie featured a mostly Asian-American cast with members that included dancers, though two of the singing voices were not by Asians. Starring in this movie were Nancy Kwan (images), James Shigeta, Benson Fong, James Hong, Reiko Sato and the original Broadway cast members Jack Soo, Miyoshi Umeki (Movie: Sayonara) and Juanita Hall.

It drew large crowds at the Singapore cinemas when it was shown in the 60s, while sexy and vivacious Nancy Kwan became a household name. The songs from the movie, on the other hand, were not so popular in Singapore but, I Enjoy Being a Girl performed by Nancy Kwan and voice dubbed in by B.J. Baker and A Hundred Million Miracles performed by Miyoshi Umeki and cast members, had a good following locally.

Information on musicals: Wikipedia.

Original article: Andy Lim Collection