Guest abang1961 Posted February 25, 2013 Posted February 25, 2013 Yes, it is time for me to start a topic on the Golden Oldies, songs from the 50s all the way up to the 90s. Songs that I grew up with, songs that I sung in school concerts, songs that were played on the radio during my/our formative years. Most of the forum readers would have known, by now, that I am your typical (another stereotyping here) gay.. likes Broadway, show tunes, big band.. all that song and dance routine. In this topic, I am inviting my fellow forum users to enjoy non-English music Yes, there are scores of wonderful singers out there, the Chinese, the Japanese and the Taiwanese (not to mention Thai singers too..). 2 of the more outstanding ones will be featured first.. They are my all-time favourites... Ms Misora Hibari 美空云雀 (deceased) and Ms Cai Qin 蔡琴. I know this is alien to most of you.. just enjoy their singing style.. Ms Hibari's unqiue singing style is known as Enka. This is her final hit in the 80s... Kawa no nagare no you ni (the ever-flowing waters in the river/stream) I have been her (Ms Cai Qin) fan since 1980s.. yes, she is the equivalent of Ms Streisand in the East. She is still having sell-out concerts nowadays... her next stop in Singapore is 1st May. This song catapulted her to instant stardom. The tile: Final Night.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92XuYiJXL20 Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 25, 2013 Posted February 25, 2013 I assume you must know this one by one of the four Hong Kong Kings of Pop in the 80s and 90s – Leslie Cheung. He was a wonderful singer and actor. He appeared in many movies, including Chen Kaige’s “Farewell My Concubine” – won a Golden Globe, was nominated for 2 Oscars and walked away with the Palme D’Or in Cannes – and Wong Kar Wai’s “Happy Together”, for which Wong won Best Director at Cannes in 1997. Leslie was gay and both movies had strong gay themes. Around 1989, he gave 33 consecutive sold-out concerts at the 10,000-seat Hong Kong Coliseum. Jean-Paul Gaultier later designed many of his costumes. He eventually came out as gay at one of his closing concerts.Sadly, it turned out he also suffered from clinical depression. In 2003, he jumped to his death from the top floor of Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel. He was only 46. In 2010, CNN voted him the third most iconic musician of all time, after Michael Jackson and The Beatles.He had the most beautiful face and the smoothest skin of any guy I’ve ever met. Quote
kokopelli Posted February 25, 2013 Posted February 25, 2013 He had the most beautiful face and the smoothest skin of any guy I’ve ever met. quote Fountainhall The smoothest skin of any guy you met? What's the rest of that story? Quote
Guest abang1961 Posted February 25, 2013 Posted February 25, 2013 Incidentally Leslie left us exactly 10 years this April Fool's Day. For his fans, there will be 3 concerts that particular week to pay our respect to this talent. If you like a beautiful boy-man, this is it. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 25, 2013 Posted February 25, 2013 What's the rest of that story? Need there be any more?? We met and chatted several times - professionally! He was one of the nicest guys you could hope to meet. TIme magazine wrote of him after his death - Was any actor as beautiful as Leslie Cheung? Did anyone bring to the gift of glamour the seductive insolence Leslie exuded? His first appearance in a film his face soft and smooth, with lips that expertly puckered or pouted had the impact of a struck match. The screen flared to life; suddenly there was heat, and the incense of sulfur. . . . In his films, and in the spectacular concerts that had him crooning ballads one minute and flouncing in a Jean-Paul Gaultier gown the next, Leslie was the consummate tease. He performed a seven-veils dance for us, and we lost our heads to him. . . . It is a gift to be beautiful; it is an art to know how to lend that beauty to a film character. An actor of commanding subtlety, Leslie rarely overstated an emotion because he knew what the camera saw: he knew the camera loved him. http://regionalcinemaoct2012.blogspot.com/2012/11/tribute-leslie-cheung.html Photo: Macau_TV He had a long-term boyfriend and I always knew he was only into Chinese guys. Unlike another young handsome and gay Canto-Pop star, Danny Chan who always had an entourage of westerners around him, but sadly he was also into drugs. He collapsed in a coma in a gay club one night. His family kept him on a respirator for 17 months before switching it off in 1993. He was only 35. Quote
Guest abang1961 Posted February 25, 2013 Posted February 25, 2013 Good morning... Today it is time for me to introduce Danny Chan 陈百强. Back in the late 70s and early 80s, Danny and Leslie were often cast as the leads of several Cantonese movies. Both were brilliant and displayed youthful innocence. Danny was the good rich boy while Leslie was the bad poor boy. Both have almost similar career paths - they were NOT the winners of the singing contest they joined in the late 70s. Danny became famous first because of his ability to write music while Leslie acted in supporting roles in various television serials. Of course, Danny's career sunk by the mid-80s as his range was pretty limited whereas Leslie grew from strength to strength. The following link brings you to see the album covers of Leslie. http://www.leslie-cheung.com/iplus/poll.php?id=1 Guys, be warned that Danny's singing isn't top notch. At about 1:18, the yellow bumblebee is Leslie! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iABKkMOSvIA Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 26, 2013 Posted February 26, 2013 Thanks abang for letting me relive the '80s! Both singer/actors owed their success partly to timing. There was virtually no Canto-Pop scene in Hong Kong until the late 1970s. - just as there was very little in the way of entertainment other than movies and TV, and the occasional Chinese Opera or visiting western musicians. Until then, Japanese and western pop were what Hong Kong musicians imitated. Both singers were totally fluent in English. Leslie had been at boarding school in England and started studying textile design because his father was a tailor. Some of his famous clients were William Holden, Marlon Brando and Cary Grant. Leslie said he chose his English name because of his admiration for the actor Leslie Howard in "Gone with the Wind". Within a few years, Canto-Pop was to reign supreme all over Asia for about ten years, almost as K-Pop today. The four Kings made vast fortunes, as did the one reigning Canto diva, Anita Mui. She was more popular here than Madonna. And like Leslie and Danny, she was to die young. She succumbed to cervical cancer in December 2003 aged just 40. While all gave concerts around the world, they were essentially tailored to Chinese audiences. This was a shame, because an artist like Leslie, had his management been less blinkered, could - and should - have become a major international movie and Broadway star. Quote
Guest thaiworthy Posted February 26, 2013 Posted February 26, 2013 He had the most beautiful face and the smoothest skin of any guy I’ve ever met. quote Fountainhall The smoothest skin of any guy you met? What's the rest of that story? Best left to one's imagination. I myself would not be particularly interested in hearing of a story that ends in suicide. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 26, 2013 Posted February 26, 2013 I'm pretty sure Popopelli was referring only to what he suspected might have been the rest of a less-than-innocent story resulting from my comment about "smoothest skin" - certainly not a life history!!! Quote
Guest thaiworthy Posted February 26, 2013 Posted February 26, 2013 Even if it weren't so innocent, you do not kiss and tell! Quote
Guest abang1961 Posted February 27, 2013 Posted February 27, 2013 The average Asian music lover is exposed to all forms of music genres - both Western and Asian. And cross-over and "borrowing" from another source was fairly common then. Up to the 80s, Japanese music plays a major part in influencing my preference. Almost 80% of the J-pop was translated into Mandarin, Cantonese, Fujian dialects. As a teenager in the 70s, I was so smitten by the good looks of those Japanese middle-aged men. I took up Japanese lessons, just to understand what the lyrics were! (On hindsight, I should have taken Italian as I am trying my best to understand Puccini's opera now) Fortunately, the J-pop craze eased off somewhat in the early 90s when Thai-pop was the rave. The T-pop was so different from the rest of the competition. Most of them have very catchy, very easy-to-the-ear melodies... and of course, it was all 3/4, cha cha cha. Grasshopper used to be the back-up dancers of Anita Mui, diva from Hong Kong. The group is made up of 3 guys, 2 brothers and 1 friend, 2 straights and 1 very gay man. So get ready and dance to the rhythm ... The original Thai version by Bird Thongchai.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDKo8RYh0sY This is the concert version/a medley of songs by Grasshopper... you dont have to guess who is the GAY one, right? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS8upNEwKrI Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 27, 2013 Posted February 27, 2013 I should have taken Italian as I am trying my best to understand Puccini's opera now Oh, that's so easy! You really only need to know a few phrases. "Oooh, I like you” and “I really love you!" (all the operas) "I hate you!" (almost all the operas) "I kill you" (Tosca and Il Tabarro) “I want to chop off your head but you’re kind of cute” (Turandot) “Is this a Gold Rush I see before me?” (Girl of the Golden West – yes, Puccini did actually write a western!) “Now I kill myself!” (Madame Butterfly and Tosca, again) Oh, and a few little gems like "Your tiny hand is frozen" and "I've lost my key" (apartment, that is - not chastity belt). But the lovers are so besotted with each other by this time (La Bohème Act I), just wallow in the music - but keep the Kleenex nearby. Don’t want to give the game away, but she dies – more Kleenex! About the only cute little opera he wrote is the one with a tune everyone knows and coos over – Gianni Schicchi. It’s a fun little romp with a dead body made out to be alive so that a will can be altered. The tune is “O mio babbino caro” more often known as “Oh my beloved father”. A bit sickly sweet, but affecting and difficult to get out of your head. Many will recall its use in the wonderful Merchant Ivory movie “Room with a View”. For those who actually watch such ‘stuff’, it was also featured in “Mr. Bean’s Holiday” and “Speed II”. What a dreadful legacy!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1rjEH-Aewg Quote
Guest abang1961 Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 Ohayou gozaimasu. おはようございます A very good morning to you, music lovers. Today I am remembering the first and probably only Japanese hit that makes it to the Billboard. It ascended to Number 1 in 1963 but unfortunately, Kyu Sakamoto's song has nothing to do with the title. You have guessed it correctly, it is Sukiyaki. Despite the catchy tune, the original Japanese lyrics talks about the loneliness of a single man... Enjoy this and those who can whistle a tune, join in .... An extra bonus: 李香兰 Yoshiko Ōtaka。 She is one of the most excellent Sino-Japanese singer. She lived in China during the wars and it is the hit that I enjoy most: Tuberoses"/"Fragrance of the Night" (夜來香) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=AOnhSsROSoU&NR=1 Quote
Bob Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 The original Thai version by Bird Thongchai..... This is the concert version/a medley of songs by Grasshopper... you dont have to guess who is the GAY one, right? Actually, you might be surprised....it's #1, not #2. Here's the Khmer version of a beautiful song originally performed by Bird Thongchai and Sek Loso (and the Khmer singer isn't all that hard to look at either): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLHAjMKrHAc Quote
Guest abang1961 Posted March 1, 2013 Posted March 1, 2013 Music is the universal language that crosses any communication barrier.. cliche but true. Today I am bringing back the 1940s. The song, 玫瑰玫瑰我爱你 was first written for Ms Yao Li (she is still alive)。 In 1951, Frankie Laine did an English version, Rose Rose I love you which became a hit. There are many versions throughout the years but I like Joanna Wong's soft murmuring as seen in the third MTV... Start ah..ah with her..that ad-lip is memorable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTqCN0GbYeM Quote
Guest abang1961 Posted March 2, 2013 Posted March 2, 2013 This is Saturday... I know this thread has limited appeal as it does not have sexy Thai boys on it. But wait .... I found a very interesting video from Youtube.. It shows snippets of the 2012 Tawian Gay Pride.. yes, lots of good looking guys.. ... I am all "melted" by the background song ... Japanese- folk song with Fujian lyrics.. Drool ... Quote
Guest abang1961 Posted March 4, 2013 Posted March 4, 2013 Never on Sunday.. 葛兰 Ms Grace Chang was a big movie star/singer in the 1950s. She was probably the first Asian artiste to appear on the Dinah Shore Show in 1959. Grace is talented as she can handles both Western and Oriental music. Today I am bring her version of that Greek song, Never on Sunday. This is perhaps her only English recording. Grace Chang Melinda Nercouri - Ta pedia tou Pirea The Chordettes sings the award-winning song in the 60s. Dont drop from your seat.. she attempted this set of songs in 1960s. This is from her last movie before retirement.. she married into a rich family. Armour..she introduced Bizet's Carmen to the then-Chinese speaking community She is flirtatious...Jajambo.... Memories of the good old days.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia3xZUSwKII Quote
