For some reason, in the 1950s and 1960s the USA had a morbid fascination with the nations it conquered and exploited. Witness the number of Hawaiian-themed records, souvenirs, and decorations. Native Americans became a popular image to emulate as well, with Tonto and the stereotypical indian Brave. After World War II, Japan was likewise unspared. Or, as the album’s liner notes puts it, “After humiliating surrender, the Japanese people found they had a friend in their conquerer.”
This album (appropriately enough put out by Honolulu Records) boasts the best in rejecting Japanese music’s traditional past. Again, citing the liner notes, “no longer is music tightly compartmentalized, rejecting change and adulteration.” In honor of this, they got women with names like Aiko Bingo and Sparky Iwamoto to sing big band-style songs–in Japanese!
The music itself is super catchy. I have “Tokyo Boogie Woogie” stuck in my head, which to me sounds like “a tokyo boogie oogie a a ookie ookie a zookie zookie wahoo wahooooooo.” I’m not sure what this means, but I’m hoping maybe it’s scat-like nonsense so I don’t sound like a *complete* idiot walking around the house singing it!
So anyway, let this be a lesson to future conquered nations– not only can we colonize your country, but we will assimilate your music as well!
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World Vision Inc., is an organization that gets Americans to ease into their Middle Class White Guilt by sponsoring orphans in other countries. In the early 60’s, they auditioned a bunch of “pensive songbirds” (Korean orphans) to sing their Seouls out (har har). Apparently they had the right idea, as this is the orphans’ 5th album. They also got to be on the Steve Allen Show, Bozo the Clown Show, and perform for “little Caroline Kennedy, daughter of martyred United States President John F. Kennedy.”
Why the boys have to wear little bowties and suits where the girls get to wear traditional-looking bathrobe things is beyond me. Maybe that was part of their fund drive– donate today, and little Soon-Yi can finally get dressed!
Though most of their repretoire is Christian and in English, such as “He Lives” and “We Plow the Fields And Scatter,” they also cover the
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which seems to be on every single album recorded in the 1950s and 60s. No wonder it’s my grandfather’s favorite tune to play on the piano for hours at a time.
Apart from the title, there’s no English on the label or sleeve, anywhere. I couldn’t even tell what year this thing was made. Extensive Googling reveals that this is the soundtrack to a Hong Kong movie, about an elderly man who becomes obsessed with a young woman who looks like his dead daughter, which would explain the creepy stalker imagery. The songs are kind of catchy-poppy, in a disjointed, atonal kind of way (the organ almost sounds as if it were dubbed in after everything else.) In lifelike Stereomono!
Listen:
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