By Arthur B.W. Yong B App Sc JP
Many people listen to music for relaxation. Most of us love music: listening, singing, playing musical instruments and dancing to the music. Throughout history, famous writers have said that singing and dancing improves health and wellbeing.
Singing and dancing is always with us and you don’t have to be a famous singer, musician or dancer to get in the swing. Chinese and western people play music at birthday and farewell parties, engagement and wedding receptions and funerals. Children learn to sing songs and play musical instruments. We have even learnt how to sing happy birthday and Christmas carols (Silent Night, Jingle bells, O Christmas Tree) in English and Chinese.
When I was a young child in Penang Malaysia, my parents paid an annual subscription to a radio broadcasting station. We listened to Chinese and English music and songs, news and stories. During festivals, you could hear Malaysians singing in temples, churches and mosques.
I tried to learn to play musical instruments, such as the flute, harmonica, drum, trumpet, guitar and xylophone. Naturally, we were all taught how to sing National Anthem in the Malay language. It was compulsory for all students.
My uncle’s family and my family lived in the same house in Penang. We shared a piano and learnt how to play music. A best friend of my grandfather, who was a schoolteacher, visited us frequently and entertained us by playing Chinese songs on the piano. We shared a record player and got the latest records from the local music store.
Malaya was a British colony until 1957 and to this day still has Australian military bases. During the Vietnam War, many American and Australian soldiers took their holidays in George Town in Penang. Many coffee shops and restaurants had Jukeboxes and we lived next to a hotel where the Jukebox constantly played western songs of the 50’s and 60’s. Some of these songs were: Oh Carol, Moon River, The Twist, Limbo Rock, Tell Laura I Love Her, All I Have To Do Is Dream, Poetry In Motion, I Will Follow Him, Sukiyaki, She Loves You, Green Green Grass of Home, Last Waltz, Love Is Blue, Listen People, Satisfaction, AS Time Goes By, I’m A Believer, These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ and San Francisco.
There were many good memorable songs and music in movies. I saw movies Summer Holiday, Hatari, Dr Zhivago, The Inn of Sixth Happiness, Jailhouse Rock, G. I. Blue, Fleming Star, Help, Yellow Submarine, A Hard Day’s Night, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, The Bridge On The River Kwai, The Great Escape, Lawrence of Arabia, The Good, The Bad and Ugly, Gold Finger, To Sir With Love.
During the Chinese New Year celebrations we watched the colourful, noisy and entertaining Lion Dance and Drum performances. My grandfather, father and my uncle took me to see a few performances of Chinese operas. The performances were associated with stories of ancient Chinese warlords. During celebrations of Chinese festivals, I watched many street Chinese puppet shows.
I studied music as one of subjects at school in Penang. Unfortunately, I listened to too many jokes so my music teacher failed me. This teacher was in charge of the school band. My school friend, Lim Choon Kooi was captain of the band. In 1967, I joined The St John Ambulance Association as a volunteer and my friends and I began practising marching music. I wanted to join the school band but because of my low mark in music, I wasn’t allowed to join and learn how to play the drum properly.
People heard many US and UK top hits on the radio and in the coffee shops, restaurants, nightclubs and school fun fairs. The songs of Chubby Checker, the Drifters, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Shadow, Cliff Richard, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Rolling Stones, Animals, The Monkees, Manfred Mann and Herman Hermits were very popular in Penang. Young people formed four piece (three electric guitarists and a drummer) bands. There were concerts of local groups and even competitions organised for the bands. Many English educated Malaysians watched American Bandstand at home on TV.
The school had recreational clubs after classroom hours, such as a wireless society and harmonica club. I joined the wireless club and learnt how to make a simple transistor radio. I did not join the harmonica club but memorised the tunes of the music and words of western and Chinese songs. I played different sized harmonicas for relaxation.
My family liked to organise dancing parties. We learnt to dance the Foxtrot, Waltz, Rock and Roll, Twist, Cha Cha, Rumba, Samba and Tango. One of my family played electric guitar in a band so we organised his band to play music at our house for birthday parties.
I left Penang in 1969 and I took my transistor radio, given to me by my father, and a number of LP musical records. I attended Thornbury High School and rented a room from an Irish woman Mrs Anne Keane, in Preston. I usually turned radio music on while I studied. There were other Malaysian students and Australians living in the house. We all liked music. We listened to the songs of Peter, Paul and Mary, Simon and Garfunkel, Everly Brothers and Mamas and Papas. In 1969, songs like Bridge Over Troubled Water were very popular. I recalled that my English teacher taught us the words of Sounds of Silence during class.
When I was a student in the 70’s, many Asian students came here from Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore for their further education. Some of my friends were involved in bands, playing electric guitars and drums. We went to birthday parties at different venues whenever we could. We went to dances around Melbourne University on Saturday nights. We had a brush with fame when, in 1969 Johnny Farnham sang at Thornbury High School for the senior students. Naturally, he sang his chart toppers Sadie The Cleaning Lady and Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.
Between 1969 and 1975, I was involved with the Chung Ling Old Boys’ Association Melbourne (now known as Chung Ling Alumni Melbourne). We got together with other Asian Students’ Associations and organised the Combined Asian Ball (Mid Autumn Festival) to raise funds for the various Asian associations. We had a few dances and festivals at St Kilda Town Hall where bands played and sang all the popular songs of the period.
In 1988, Chung Ling Old Boys’ Association organised Global Chung Ling Old Boys’ Meeting in Melbourne (for the First Time outside Asia) at the St Kilda Town Hall. The organising committee hired two bands for the dinner dance. Old boys came from many different countries in the world for this gathering, including my brother-in-law and first cousin-in-law from Malaysia and Singapore. We danced the Foxtrot, Waltz, Rock and Roll, Twist, Cha Cha, Rumba, Samba, Disco and Tango
My passion for music included collecting LPs and CDs of Aussie and Western singers and groups. I enjoyed listening to songs of Seekers, Olivia Newton-John, Australian Crawl, Skyhooks, Little River Band, Sherbet, John Farnham, Daryl Braithwaite, Brian Cadd, Renee Geyer, Midnight Oil, Tina Arena, Russell Morris, Bee Gees, The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Herman Hermits, Cliff Richard, Michael Jackson, Phil Collins and Fleetwood Mac. I watched Countdown Australian series on TV. In the past, I have attended a few free pop music concerts and Carols by Candlelight at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
The Chinese community in Darebin and Whittlesea has organised many cultural performances at Chinese festivals and community events. The organisers have invited performers from other cultures to celebrate their special occasions and promote cultural diversity, cross-cultural interactions, better health and wellbeing. I had an opportunity to sing a Mandarin song Green Island Serenade with another Chinese friend at a karaoke competition. The judges gave me a score of 70 out of 100……not bad.
