Category Archives: 西洋音樂

小時候住在眷村，隔壁叔叔家中有一台留聲機，在那個時代有台留聲機可非常炫的。隔壁叔叔每天放唱片喧天價響，吵得鄰居雞犬不寧哇哇叫。我倒還好，滿喜歡聽他放的音樂，多數是西洋歌曲，雖然聽不懂，但會跟著曲調和節奏哼唱打拍子。到了初中爸媽上班工作很忙，讓我去住校並送給我一台收音機。記得是正聲廣播電台，每晚有西洋歌曲節目，開始了我聽西洋歌曲的習慣，偶而還會寄張明信卡去點歌。
到了高中，我還是住校，晚上一樣在床上拿著收音機聽熱門音樂，但多了志同道合的同學。不但一起聽西洋歌曲，我們還組了合唱團。高二有一位學長，外號叫恐龍，彈得一手好吉他，另一位同學擔任鼓手，記得他的母親好像是電視製作人。為慶祝學校新建的大禮堂(也是教堂)，我們參加演出，還蠻轟動的。唱了幾首歌已經不記得，但有兩首是Michael row the boat ashore和 Diana
可惜，高二上結束前，校長請家父到學校去，當面告訴家父說，恐怕你兒子畢不了業，最好能先轉學。家父回家後描述當時的景況說：當他點頭同意辦理轉學的時候，他看到校長大大的鬆了一口氣如釋重負。若不然，我或許會與同學繼續第二年的表演；不過，轉到新學校後參加學校樂隊，玩起Auto撒克斯風，也覺得不錯~~~~
服役期間是聽西洋歌曲的黃金時代，當時我在屏東空軍一個飛機維修單位服務，有許多美軍物資，大型高功率真空管，看著士官長留下的線路圖，DIY了好多套超高級HiFi，屏東中正路上有一家唱片行經常有老唱片拍賣，記得是1塊錢2片，每晚用自己組裝的HiFi與音箱，聽著廉價買來的老歌，真是不亦樂乎。
退伍回家時，帶了一千多張黑膠唱片，一直保存到後來錄音帶取代唱片，搬到路口垃圾桶旁準備丟棄。不料，才剛轉頭，立刻有人將之全部搬走。原來，這些絕版的黑膠老唱片，在市場上每片竟然可以賣到數百元!!!
總之，那段時期的西洋歌曲現在依然覺得回味無窮，因此花了一些時間將那段時期常聽的歌曲收錄下來，再補充歌詞和歌曲背景簡介，歡迎一起來欣賞~~~~

There’s a Kind of Hush

Posted on by
Reply

“There’s a Kind of Hush” is a popular song written by Les Reed and Geoff Stephens which was a hit in 1967 for Herman’s Hermits and again in 1976 for the Carpenters.  The first single version of “There’s a Kind of Hush” was recorded in 1966 by Gary and the Hornets, a teen/pre-teen male band from Franklin, Ohio whose version – entitled “A Kind of Hush” produced by Lou Reizner – became a regional success and showed signs of breaking nationally in January 1967; the single would reach #4 in Cincinnati and #3 in Erie PA. Continue reading →

The Wayward Wind

Posted on by
Reply

“The Wayward Wind” is a country song written by Stanley Lebowsky and Herb Newman. In 1956 versions were recorded by Gogi Grant, Tex Ritter, and Jimmy Young, of which Grant’s was the biggest seller in the United States and Ritter’s in the United Kingdom. The song reached #1 on the Cash Box chart, which combined all recorded versions, but must have got most of that popularity from the Gogi Grant version, which reached #1 on the Billboard chart on its own. The song is one of only two songs that were major hits for Grant, the other being “Suddenly There’s a Valley”. Continue reading →

The Hanging Tree吊人樹

Posted on by
Reply

The Hanging Tree is a western ballad from the 1959 movie The Hanging Tree. It was scored by Max Steiner and written by Mack David and Jerry Livingston who received nominations for the Laurel Awards and the Academy Awards in 1960. The text is a short reference to the film’s story. It was also released on the reissue of the album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs (1959) by Marty Robbins who performed this song in the opening credits of this film. A known cover-version is by Frankie Laine who performed this song at the 32nd Academy Awards. Continue reading →

The Great Pretender

Posted on by
Reply

“The Great Pretender” is a popular song recorded by The Platters, with Tony Williams on lead vocals, and released as a single on November 3, 1955. The words and music were created by Buck Ram, the Platters’ manager and producer who was a successful songwriter before moving into producing and management. The Great Pretender reached the number one position on both the R&B and pop charts in 1956.[1] In 2004, the song was voted 351st greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone. Continue reading →