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~~~~

Whispering Pines

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Whispering Pines was written by Johnny Horton in  late 1950′.  John Gale “Johnny” Horton (April 30, 1925 – November 5, 1960) was an American country music and rockabilly singer most famous for his semi-folk, so-called “saga songs” which began the “historical ballad” craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s. With them, he had several major successes, most notably in 1959 with the song “The Battle of New Orleans” (written by Jimmy Driftwood), which was awarded the 1960 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. The song was awarded the Grammy Hall of Fame Award, and in 2001 ranked No. 333 of the Recording Industry Association of America’s “Songs of the Century”. Continue reading →

Where Have All the Flowers Gone ?

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“Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” (1961) is a folk song. The first three verses were written by Pete Seeger in 1955, and published in Sing Out! magazine. Additional verses were added by Joe Hickerson in May 1960, who turned it into a circular song. Its rhetorical “where?” and meditation on death place the song in the ubi sunt tradition.In 2010, the New Statesman listed it as one of the “Top 20 Political Songs”. Continue reading →

When the Saints Go Marching In

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“When the Saints Go Marching In”, often referred to as “The Saints”, is an American gospel hymn that has taken on certain aspects of folk music. The precise origins of the song are not known. Though it originated as a spiritual, today people are more likely to hear it played by a jazz band. The song is sometimes confused with a similarly titled composition “When the Saints are Marching In” from 1896 by Katharine Purvis (lyrics) and James Milton Black (music). Continue reading →

Vaya Con Dios (Go with God)

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Vaya con Dios是西班牙語願神同行，祝福一帆風順之意(translated as “Go with God”) is a popular song written by Larry Russell, Inez James, and Buddy Pepper, and published in 1953.  The most popular version of the song was recorded by Les Paul and Mary Ford. This recording was released by Capitol Records. It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on June 13, 1953 and lasted thirty-one weeks on the chart, reaching number one on August 8 and remaining at number one for a total of nine weeks. The song also reached number one on the Cash Box chart. In 1966, a recording was made of the song by The McGuire Sisters. Continue reading →