Filed under: Lebanon
♬ Muqadimat Musiqia / مقدمة موسيقية
♬ Khaliyk Huna Khaliyk / خليك هنا خليك
Nabil Abd el Al / نبيل عبد العال – also seen transliterated as Nabil Abdell Aal, Nabil Abdel Ali, Nabil Abdelaal and Nabil Adbel Ali – was, to the best of my knowledge, from Lebanon. He was apparently a studio musician, and played on records by Mohamed Abdel Wahab / محمد عبد الوهاب and Hassan Abu El Seoud / حسن أبو السعود. He may or may not have been related to Aboud Abdel Al / عبودعبدالعل – who was a violinist and composer.
You can find two more songs from the album above on Cedarphon’s The Groovy Sounds of 1970s Lebanon.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number SLD 15023 on Société Libanaise du Disque. Released 1974.
Filed under: Eritrea
Regarded as the mother of Eritrean soul and dubbed the “Sunshine of Eritrea”, Tsehaitu Beraki / ጽሃይቱ በራኺ (also seen as Tsehaytu Beraki or Tsèhaytu Bèraki) was born in Quatit, Italian East Africa – now known as Eritrea – on September 1st, 1939.
Beraki started playing the krar, a five-stringed harp, when she was about eight years old, eventually playing at weddings and parties. She left school at sixteen, and played the krar as her full-time career. She also learned to play kebero and bass-krar. She wrote all of her own music and lyrics, and people would come from as far as Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to record her. From 1964 onwards, her lyrics became more political, and “people were surprised that I dared to sing them”.
Beraki became actively involved in the Eritrean independence struggle in 1977. She eventually had to leave, moving to Sudan and in 1988, Rotterdam, Netherlands. She returned to Asmara in 1999.
In 2004, Beraki recorded the album Selam that was released by Terp Records in 2004 and reissued by Catalytic Sound in 2016.
Tsehaitu Beraki died on May 24th, 2018 in Rotterdam at the age of 78.
You can find all of the details of the single posted above, including the cover, over at the Eritrean Anthology’s Instagram page.
Catalog number TDA 0020 on Yared of Asmara, Eritrea. Released 1973.
Filed under: Hong Kong
♬ Girl with Mini Skirt / 穿短裙的小姐
I was first introduced to Liu Yun on a mix disc of music from Taiwan that was given to me from Menghsin Cindy Horng. On that mix was a song titled “Sister Is of Age”. I instantly fell in love with the song – especially it’s Booker T. & The M.G.’s infected bridge. And for the next 16 years, I searched to find the record with that song on it. Of course, that was not the name of the song. The name of the song is “She Is Eighteen”. Also, she wasn’t from Taiwan.
Liu Yun born in Beijing in 1941. She recorded her first record – “Wisteria Flower “/ “藤蘿花“ and “Bridal Chant“ / “洞房吟“ – in 1958 for Angel Records. Following that release, she recorded a handful of soundtracks for Shaw Brothers films. She went on to record over a dozen albums, most of which were released by Pathé – up until 1981. Then her output ceased.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number S-CPAX-331 on Pathé. Released 1967.
Filed under: Ecuador
Phantasma – also seen as Grupo Phantasma – were from Ecuador.
Other than the fact that they released two albums and five singles, the only other thing I can tell you is… They dressed up like ghosts.
Spooky, huh?
Catalog number 800297 on RCA Victor. Released 1976.
Filed under: Turkey
Orhan Gencebay – originally Orhan Kencebay – was born in Samsun, Turkey on August 4th, 1944. He is a virtuoso of the bağlama as well as a composer, singer, arranger, music producer and music director. He is also an actor, having starred in over 30 films.As of this posting, he is still active. His last album was released 2013. He is also a regular presenter and judge for Turkish reality television singing competition television programs. You can find more information about him at his website: orhangencebay.com.tr
As of this posting, he is still active. His last album was released 2013. He is also a regular presenter and judge for Turkish reality television singing competition television programs. You can find more information about him at his website: orhangencebay.com.trIn his early 20s, he became a resident bağlama player at the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT). In 1966, he was one of the primary contestants in National Bağlama Contest with Arif Sağ and Cinuçen Tanrıkorur, two other contemporary masters of Turkish music. In the late sixties, he collaborated with a wide range of musicians in performances and film music. He also collaborated with many musicians, including Arif Sağ, Erkin Koray, Neşet Ertaş, Omar Faruk Tekbilek – to name a few.
During the 1970s, he released many singles that were a fusion of traditional Turkish classical and folk music with Western classical music, jazz, rock, progressive, psychedelic, Indian, Arabic, Spanish and Greek musical styles. In 1972, he founded the lable Kervan Plakçılık, that released records by Ahmet Özhan, Ajda Pekkan, Erkin Koray, Muazzez Abacı, Neşe Karaböcek, Semiha Yankı – as well as many others.
As of this posting, he is still active. His last album was released 2013. He is also a regular presenter and judge for Turkish reality television singing competition television programs. You can find more information about him at his website: orhangencebay.com.tr
Catalog number 95 on Kervan Plakçılık of Turkey, released 1975.
Filed under: Cameroon
♬ Menga
Jieupauthan – who’s real name was Paul-Jonathan Jieugang – was supposedly from Cameroon. According to Discogs, he recorded two albums and three singles.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number SAF 1614 on Sonafric of France. No release date listed.
Filed under: Pakistan
Azam Shaikh was, to the best of my knowledge, a film composer from Pakistan. But he apparently only wrote music for one film entitled Naam Ke Nawab. But I have been unable to find anything about him or the film, anywhere.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording or the film that it is from, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number 7KDA 5328 on His Master’s Voice of Pakistan. Released 1973.
Filed under: Vietnam
Born in Gò Công Province (now Tiền Giang Province), Phương Dung moved to Saigon where she began her singing career in 1960. Her first big hit was “Nỗi Buồn Gác Trọ” in 1962, which was written by Hoài Linh and Mạnh Phát. She was awarded the “Gold Award for Female Artists” in 1965. In 1968, she married and gave up her music career for motherhood, having eight children: six boys and two girls.
In 1977 the family moved to Australia and her daughters followed in her footsteps into show business. Phương Vy had worked with the Thuy Nga Center and has done some acting – including a small role in the film Romper Stomper. Hoàng Ly worked with Trung Tâm Asia before becoming a model.
Catalog number M 3375-76 on Việt Nam. No release date listed.
Filed under: Iran
Esfandiar Monfaredzadeh / اسفندیار منفردزاد was born in Tehran, Iran. He is a film composer, songwriter and filmmaker.
He started his career early the late 1950s with the National Iranian Radio Children’s Program. He work his way up to the Youth Orchestra of National Iranian Radio and was eventually put in charge of all the music arrangement and the conductor duties.
From an early age, he was fascinated by cinema and filmmaking. He shared this dream with his lifelong friend Masoud Kimiai who eventually became a film director, screenwriter and producer. In 1967, Masoud Kimiai got a chance to direct his first film, Come Stranger, and Monfaredzadeh was asked to compose the score. Their second collaboration – 1969’s Qeysar / قیصر – was a box office success. Monfaredzadeh won the Best Film Score award for Qeysar at the second Sepas Awards ceremony – which would be repeated the following year for their collaboration Reza Motorcyclist / رضا موتوری. That same year, Monfaredzadeh joined the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults where he contributed to establish the Children’s Film Training Center as well as writing music for audio books, animations and short films produced by the institute.
In 1972, Kimiai asked Monfaredzadeh to compose the soundtrack to the film Baluch / موزیک متن – their fifth film working together – which is the single posted above. All four songs have the same title: “Effect” / “اثر”.
In 1973, he was sentenced to prison for his social and political ideas. However, after his release he would not remain silent and with his film and music, he accompanied and supported people in the upcoming revolution.
Monfaredzadeh is still active as of this posting. You can find out more about him as well as his film and music at his website (which is all in Farsi) here: https://www.monfaredzadehmusic.com/
Catalog number Catalog number ۰۰۱۹۰۵/۹۰۲۰۴۲ on Disco record of Iran. Released 1972.
Filed under: Ethiopia
♬ Marewa
The only thing I can tell you about Assegdeetch Kassa is that she was from Ethiopia and that this is her only recording. Also, she should not to be confused with Assegdetch Asfaw – who recorded two singles with Belaynesh Wubante. But beyond that? Nothing.
But the backing band for this records was Lèmma Dèmissèw & Group. Dèmissèw was a pianist, singer, composer and band leader originally from Waliso. He was an army commander as all as the leader of the Armed Forces band.
If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.
Catalog number PH 7 – 142 on Philips. Released 1972.
Radiodiffusion Internasionaal Annexe 