Music For Sunny Place, vol. XXIX

Johnny Meijer was a Dutch accordionist, among the greatest virtuosos on the instrument. He was born Jan Cornelis Meijer in Amsterdam on October 1, 12. Meijer was a world champion accordionist in 53—54. He played a wide variety of music including folk, pop, jazz, swing, Romanian music, and classical pieces. Meijer was especially known as a jazz accordionist. A documentary film simply titled "Johnny Meijer" was made about him in 93 by director John Appel.

Torquato y los 4 was part of the early rock scene in Spain in the 60s. "Torquato" was a nickname for double bass. They released a few singles and EPs showcasing their early rock sounds.

Lidija Klement was a talented Soviet singer in the 60s who gained national fame for her performances of popular songs, but sadly passed away at a young age due to cancer. She was born Lidia Richardovna Klement on July 8, 37 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and died on June 16, 64 at the age of 26. Klement was involved in music from a young age, studying piano and singing in a choir. She later sang with the Naum Tyomkin Variety Orchestra and the Leningrad Comedy Theater ensemble. She became well-known across the Soviet Union for her performances of songs like "Karelia", "Rain on the Neva", and "Is All This for Me Alone?". Klement frequently appeared on popular TV shows like "Goluboy Ogonyok".

Vanni Catellani leads the musical group Vanni Catellani e la sua Orchestra (Vanni Catellani and his Orchestra). He was a trumpet player, was still very active through the 70s.

Progresiştii orchestra is a Romanian folk and dance music ensemble that has released recordings and performed live concerts showcasing traditional Romanian music styles. They have performed concerts alongside other notable Romanian folk music groups, such as the National Folk Music Orchestra "Lautarii".

Helena Majdaniec was a pioneering Polish big beat singer and actress who left a lasting impact on the Polisg music scene in the 60s and 70s through her recordings and performances. She was known for her energetic performances and was considered the "queen of Polish Twist" for popularizing that dance style in Poland.

Brita Borg was a versatile and acclaimed Swedish entertainer who left a lasting mark on the country's music and theater scene over her decades-long career. She was born Brita Kerstin Gunvor Borg on June 10, 26 in Stockholm, began her career in the 40s as part of the variety show group "Vårat gäng" ("Our Gang"). She later formed the quartet "Flickery Flies" with Allan Johansson, whom she later married. She had a long collaboration with famous Swedish variety performer and writer Povel Ramel, appearing in his radio programs and variety shows. Borg was known for her energetic and humorous performances, often playing characters like an "African-American jazz/gospel singer in blackface" or a "seductive Gypsy girl".

The core members of the Gus Brendel Group included Gus Brendel, Armin Rusch, Charly Antolini, Jeff Wohlgenannt, and Mladen Franko. They released at least one album titled "Die Große Teenager-Party" in 1967, which featured the Gus Brendel Group performing alongside the band The Crazy Horses.

Het Cocktail Trio was a Dutch group that recorded EPs and singles in the 1960s in collaboration with the bands De Krekels and De Merels, releasing their music on the Omega label.

Werner Müller was a highly versatile and prolific German musician who left a lasting mark on both classical and popular music through his extensive discography and collaborations with other pop artists. Collaborations with renowned artists like singer Caterina Valente and trumpeter Horst Fischer, releasing joint albums together.

That's all, folks. See you soon.

Johnny Meijer met zijn Swing accordeon Doedelzak Boogie (Netherlands, 69)
Torquato y Los 4 Baby In “Blue Jeans” (Spain, 60)
Lidija Klement My prihodim v novij dom (Russia, 63)
Orchestra Vanni Catellani Samoa (Italy, 196?)
Vokalni Kvartet Predraga Ivanovića Pod sjajem zvezda (Serbia, 61)
Helena Majdaniec Jedziemy autostopem (Poland, 64)
Progresiştii Fetite dulci ca-n Bucureşti (Romania, 6?)
Brita Borg Fat Mammy Brown (Sweden, 57)
Hazy Osterwald-Sextett The Laughing Hussar (Switzerland, 65)
Gus Brendel Group Take a Shake (Western Germany, 63)
Het Cocktail Trio met de Krekels Wie heeft de sleutel van de jukebox gezien? (Go 'Way Christina) (Netherlands, 65)
Werner Müller mit Dem RIAS Tanzorchester Rumba Anna (El negro zumbon) (Western Germany, 58)

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Music For Sunny Place, vol. XXIV

Hello everybody, hi all! This is Karel and Radio Manzerock is on the air.

I've received many letters regarding music of Eastern Europe. Here I tried to make a whole Eastern programm.

All of the countries below were parts of the former USSR. I think it's interesting to make a journey through some rare sounds of these partly unknkown music scenes.

Not many informarion of this tracks, I even didn't put years of recordings as I'm not sure what years they were recorded. But I'm sure they're from the 1950s-1970s.

If you have interest in certain performes I'll try to answer in the comments.

Have a nice weekend!

Aino Bāliņa Slezinki (Estonia/Latvia)
Zhan Tatlyan Gitarovo (Armenia)
L'ensemble Samotsvety Molodo-Zeleno (Russia)
L'ensemble vocal Narochanka Ekspromt (Belorussia)
L'ensemble Norok Deti Solntsa (Moldova)
L'ensemble Alma-Altinskii Electron Poyushaya Gitara (Kazakhstan)
Polad Bul Bul Ogly Sheik (Azerbajdzhan)
Batyr Zakirov Ty Daleko (Uzbekistan)
L'ensemble Orera Ty Mne Verish Ili Net (Georgia)
Nemuno Žiburiai Elegija (Lithuania)
L'ensemble Kobza Progulka (Ukrania)
ER Meeskvartett Romantika (Estonia)

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Music For Sunny Place, vol. XXI

Hello everybody, hi all! This is Karel and radio Manzerock is on the air. Since last time I’ve received lot of requests regarding certain songs and performes. Today, I’ll try to satisfy some of you :) Also, I have a chance to make this programm is 192 Kbps.

Well, the first song in today’s programme was recorded by Children’s choir and orchestra of Yugoslavian Radio Zagreb in the year of 1954.

Nikolay Istratov was Russian double-bass player and accomponiator. He played with different dance ensembles and accomponiated to different singers during the 1950—1960’s. This instrumental track written by Domenico Modugno was recorded by Nikolay Istratov own ensemble in the early 1960’s. The original title, as you might know, is “Nel Blu di Pinto di Blu”!

Instrumental number “Kogda Prihodit Vecher” (“When Evening Comes”) was composed by Armenian composer Aleksander Arutunjan (b. 1920) and was recorded by Armenian Radio sextet in the 1950’s. Arutunjan successfully mixed ethnic tunes with modern music tendencies in his theatre works. And this jazzy record is an example of his innovation.

Vocal duo Butterflies were two brothers: Luc and Godert van Colmjon from Amersfoort, Holland. They formed the duo in 1956 when they were 13 and 17 y.o. and became very popular with their cover-songs and Dutch ones. Song “Dixieland” was their big hit in 1957!

Not much known about the next performer — mystery James Award orchestra. French guy whoops, who originally digitalised this record, said that it was a pseudonym of more or less known French conductor: "since all the tracks he has recorded are credited to A. L. Prevost, i believe that this is his real name". I suppose, this would let him to record on a small label and accomponiate to many singers. However, James Award recordings are worth to mention.

German organ player Klaus Wunderlich (b. 1931), a son of a police-inspector, got his first piano at the age of 7, and became a performer at the age of 16. He always preferred dance music to classical, so he arranged music for orchestras and formed his own band in 1951 where he played piano and accordion. In 1955 the guitarist of his band had rented a new Hammond organ and the new sound of the band was born. “The organ is my life!", Klaus stated later.

I’ve aired Italian trumpet player Gastone Parigi before, and here I go again. This song “Donna” is from his early repertoire. It was written by Ovale Testoni and recorded by Gastone Parigi quintet in 59. Vocal by Gastone.

Speaking of pseudonims, Danish singer Gustav Winckler (b. 1925) was also known as Gunnar Winkler in Germany and Sam Payne in England. In his teens he studied painting together with his brother, but soon decided to become a singer. In 1948 he won a singers contest in Copenhagen and his crazy popularity has begun. Wikipedia states, that “he participated in Eurovision Song Contest 1957 where he sung "Skibet Skal Sejle i Nat" ("The Ship Is Leaving Tonight") with Birthe Wilke. They ranked number 3, and stunned television audiences with a 32-second long kiss at the end of their performance”. Wow! Here he sings the song "Patricia" in English language. It is from a rare 78 R.P.M. record.

Vico Torriani is one of my fav singers. He sings “Siebenmal in der Woche” here – the song that was written by Austrian composer and band leader Erwin Halletz together with German songwriter Hans Bradtke. This danceable tune was released in 1957 and reached #1 in all three countries that have been involved in its birth: Switzerland, Austria and Germany.

Cherry Wainer arrived in London in the middle 1950’s from South Africa, where she was born.
Cherry’s talents as a dancer and organ player made her a star within a very short time – rare thing in showbusiness! I chose this tune because one of my mates asked me, if I know who is playing on his old tape. I listened – and that was her! This recording has stood the test of time for sure!

Iceland is presented by a song performed by singer Egill Ólafsson (b. 1953) who is also a composer and lyricist by himself. Anyway, this popular tune “Anna Maja” wasn’t written by him, but by composer Henni Rasmus and songwriter Tómas Guðmundsson.

And last, but not least, Anni-Frid Lyngstad — Frida of the late ABBA fame! Before she met her band mates, she won a prize as a singer and was given a chance to make a record. This song from 1967 could be translated as “Weekend” or “A Day Off”. It was written by composer B. de Filippi and Swedish lyricist Bengt Sten. The tune was scored by Marcus Österdahls orkester.

See you next time, dudes!

Dječji Zbor Radio Zagreba Pjesma o Tati (Yugoslavia, 1954)
L'ensemble de Nikolay Istratov Volare (Russia, 1960?)
Le Sextet du Radio de Armenia Kogda Prihodit Vecher (Armenia, 1960?)
The Butterflies Dixieland (Muskrat Ramble) (Netherlands, 1957)
James Award et Son Orchestre Atout Surf (France, 1963?)
Klaus Wunderlich Teufelstanz (Germany, 1964)
Gastone Parigi e Il Suo Quintetto Donna (Italy, 1959)
Gustav Winckler Patricia (Denmark, 1956?)
Vico Torriani Siebenmal in der Woche (Switzerland, 1957)
Cherry Wainer More (UK, 1964)
Egill Ólafsson Anna Maja (Iceland, 1973?)
Anni-Frid Lyngstad En Ledig Dag (Sweden, 1967)

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Music For Sunny Place, vol. XX

Hello everybody, hi all! This is Karel and radio "Manzerock" is on the air. Today's programm contains:

Optimistid Boogie (Estonia)
Hana Zagorová Svatej Kluk (Czechoslovakia)
Klan Wait and See (Bulgaria)
Paul Würges Olympic Nights (West Germany)
Caterina Caselli Sono Qui Con Voi (Italy)
Eskos Habitat 736 (Portugal)
Eglutes Dainą apie Kauną (Lithuania)
ZZ en de Maskers Beat Girl (Netherlands)
Koncz Zsuzsa Rohan az Idő (Hungary)
Gamblers Little Girl (Austria)
Forminx Jenka Beat (Greece)
Phoenix Vremuri (Romania)

I'll write notes someday!

Link to download

Happy listening and see you next time!

Music For Sunny Place, vol. XIX

And another one, with Best Wishes :)

Orchester Max Greger Maxi-Rock (Deutchland)
Latin Combo East of the Sun (Spain)
Barbro Skinnar Ingen Tvist om Twist (Sweden)
Cristian Popescu Liliana (Romania)
The Freedom Riders Pizzicato Twist (Belgium)
Aspalathos Brass Sjecanje Na Granadu (Yugoslavia)
Tony de Matos Vocês Sabem Lá (Portugal)
Fred Frohberg und die Babsis Die Sterne der Heimat (DDR)
Mieczysław Wojnicki Jabłuszko Pełne Snu (Poland)
Karin Kent Loop Nou Niet Weg (Netherlands)
Janice Peters A Girl Likes (UK)
Öijwind’s Creole Jazz (Sweden)

Downloading

Music For Sunny Place, vol. XVIII

Hello!

Thanks everybody for keeping in touch with me and for your interest! Hope in the next year there'll be more music here :)

I'll write notes someday!

Until than, Happy New Year and all the best,

Sincerely,
Karel :)

Vocal quartet Accord Princess Of The City (USSR)
Jan og Kjeld When Irish Eyes Are Smiling (Denmark)
Anita Hegerland Hutte-tutte-tei (Sweden)
Irma Sokhadze Orange Song (Georgia)
Dalida Le Petit Gonzales (France)
Lille Eris Jeg vil ha en liten hund (Norway)
Kovács Eszti A pancsoló kisgyerek (Hungary)
Diny Snijders De Rock School (Netherlands)
Jiří Strnad, Dana Pustinová Motýl kosmonaut (Czechoslovakia)
Alicia Alicia es así (Spain)
Vladislav Lynkovskij Me & Kinder Garden (Latvia)
Danuta Rinn i Bogdan Czyżewski To est taka gra (Poland)

Downloading

Music For Sunny Place, vol. XIV

Jumping Jewels Darktown Strutter's Ball (Holland, 62)
Adriano Celentano Il tuo bacio é come un rock (Italy, 59)
Orchester Erwin Halletz Der Puls von St. Pauli (Austria, 67)
Freddy Sunder Calling Car Boogie (Belgium, 72)
Gitte Hænning Basin Street Blues (Denmark, 60)
Tercet Florida Singing the Blues (Yugoslavia, 59)
Les Quatre de Paris Daisy (France, 57)
Alice Babs After You've Gone (Sweden, 63)
Caterina Valente Cherokee (West Germany, 64)
Zespół instrumentalny Andrzeja Kurylewicza Wieczorem po Marszałkowskiej (Poland, 64)
Allanovy Sestry Dej si říct (Sail Away) (Czechoslovakia, 53)
Orchester Max Greger Chattanooga Choo Choo (E. Germany, 67)

Have a nice day!

Music For Sunny Place, vol. XIII

Romanian vocal duo Fratii Mentzel with an opening tracks called "Curcubeul". In fact, it is a cover version of the song called "Over The Rainbow". And intro is taken from Ted Heath's record "Skin Deep". Quite outstanding, eh??

I'll write full notes someday!

Have a nice weekend!

Fratii Mentzel Curcubeul (Romania)
Vocal quartet Gaya Geyran (Azerbaijan)
Kjell Öhman I Saw Her Standing There (Sweden)
Milady's Guantanamera (France)
Kvartet 4 M Buona Sera, Signorina (Yugoslavia)
Filipinki Mr. Wonderful (Poland)
Karel Štědrý a Inkognito kvartet Bonbon (Czechoslovakia)
Melody Sisters with Black & White Sh-boom (Holland)
Quartetto Cetra Aveva un Bavero (Italy)
Oktáv vokálegyüttes Tánczenei Randevú (Hungary)
Vocal quartet Akkord Dancing Teens (USSR)
Orchester Hugo Strasser Tintarella di Luna (West Germany)

Music For Sunny Place, vol. XI

Hi, friends, this is Karel and radio Manzerock is on the air. Today we will tour all over Europe.

Grass skirts and leis, hula-dancing babes with fire in their eyes, tropical nights under the palms... that was how Hawaii appeared to Europeans in the first place. Dozens of bands saluted the islands in music and song.

The Waikikis spearheaded this movement. Behind the scenes, producer Horst Fuchs promoted the band's career and pulled the strings. Composers such as Hans Blum and Michael Thomas created their repertoire. The Waikikis - all of them Belgian studio musicians - sold their colorful island reveries by the millions, and some of the instrumentals made their way into the charts in several countries.

Peter Hinnen was a popular Swiss singer & yoddler. He sang pop songs, country and offcourse he did some pretty rock'n'roll tunes.
"Moonlight-Kss" is a nice version of Douglas Cornell's "Hey, Cool" from 58 (written by Beverly Ross and Julius Dixon). This version has got German lyrics.

Kilima Hawaiians were founded in 34 by Aris-Jereke Buijsman and his wife Mary Buijsman. The band played a Dutch variant on the exotic Aloha music. Its heyday the band enjoyed in the 50s, also in neighbouring Germany. Until 89 the Kilima Hawaiians performed live concerts.
"A Song of Old Hawaii" was written by Gordon Beecher and Johnny Noble in 37.

Die Optimisten were formed in 52 from Peter Alexander, Erni Bieler and Erwin Halletz. All of them soon became the stars of Austrian pop music. Erwin Halletz was a band-leader, he made many top records with Austrian and German singers.
"Jambalaya" was originally written and recorded by Hank Williams in 51. It means a french fish dish which is very popular in French speaking States of America. German lyrics by Kurt Feltz.

Conny Froboess is a German singer, made her first hit in 51 and never stopped since then. She starried in many teeenage musical films in the 50s and 60s, sang rock'n'roll and pop songs. Here's a 62 hit "Lady Sunshine".

France Gall, a popular singer, was born in Paris. Her father was lyricist. In the early 63 he encouraged his daughter to record some songs and send the demos to a musical publisher. In July she was signed with Philips. After the song "Sacré Charlemagne" whose lyrics were penned by her father, was an enormous hit in 65, selling more than 2 million copies around the world, Gall was then selected to represent Luxembourg for the 65 Eurovision Song Contest. With the song "Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son" she took the Grand Prize. And here's a romantic song from her 66 album.

Four Hawaiians is a Danish quartett with Hawaiian influence. Here's a song "Stop den Lille Kaenguru" ("Stop the Little Kangaroo") wich was recorded in 63 and released on 7" Columbia Records 45-DD 721 (see the picture sleeve).

L'ensemble de Mescherin is unique in its way. Led by the legendary producer Vyacheslav Mescherin, the ensemble made their first record in 57, especially for the 6th International Youth Festival in Moscow.
One interesting thing was that the ensemble played on electric instruments only: electric guiars, organs, hammonds, and other nameless experimental instruments. This made them one of the most original and unique groups on the Rusian music scene.
Vyacheslav Mescherin was like a pioneer when he experimented with the sound, recording process and instruments, many of which established in music forever.
Music of his ensemble still surprises and sounds original even today. Here's an example of his late recordings, the instrumental track called "On the Beach", recorded in 69, jolly number.

Not only Mescherin was experimenting with space age sounds. Some of the other early electronic recording in Europe were produced in the late 50s by Dutch composer/keyboard player Tom Dissevelt and technician Kid Baltran. Their 57 debut album included this composition called "Song of the Second Moon". And in fact, The Electrosonics were Tom Dissevelt and Kid Baltan. Their music was way too experimental in composer way, not very danceable but interesting to listen to.

I like vocal of Anca Agemolu very much. She's from Romania, became popular in the 60s and recorded some great songs on Electrecord label. Here's a song from the late 60s.

Hungarian singer Korda György was born in 39. At the age of 18 he performed at music festival and at the age of 19 started to record songs. His first hit was "Szeretni Kell" in 58.
Here's an example of his early repertoire - a song that was written by composer Deák Tamás. With Deák Tamás ensemble György recorded many songs, including "Nem Vagyok Ideges". It means "I'm not Nervous" in English.

Ticky Show Quintet was a Swedish instrumental band formed in the 60s. Led by guitarist Lennart Carlsson they released some nice records. This popular number "C'est Si Bon" was written by French composer Henri Betti back in 47.

Here's the full track-list:

The Waikikis Tahiti Tamoure (Belgium, 62)
Peter Hinnen Moonlight-Kiss (Switzerland, 62)
Kilima Hawaiians A Song Of Old Hawaii (Holland, 55)
Die Optimisten Jambalaya (Austria, 53)
Conny Froboess Lady Sunshine (West Germany, 62)
France Gall Quand on est ensemble (France, 66)
Four Hawaiians Stop den lille kænguru (Denmark, 63)
The Electrosonics Song Of The Second Moon (Holland, 57)
L'ensemble de Mescherin On The Beach (Russia, 69)
Anca Agemolu De-aş avea un baby (Romania, 67)
Korda György Nem vagyok ideges (Hungary, 63)
Ticky Show Quintet C'est si bon (Sweden, 63)

Have a nice day!