In the article "The Fabulous Echoes" Leaks
" released last year, Mr. Bert Sagum of The Fabulous Echoes said he couldn't remember who brought up the idea to team up Mr Tang Kee Chan (鄧寄塵) to record "Speedy
Gonzales 墨西哥女郎" with the band, but in "Hong Kong Story" (a documentary about Hong Kong Pop music scene of the 60's) produced by Radio Television Hong Kong, Uncle Ray (Ray Cordero) memorized that the collaboration was brought up by the manager of Diamond Records (even though his name was not mentioned in the documentary, it is confirmed Mr. Lal Dayaram is the manager in question), after listened to Pat Boone's "Speedy Gonzales", he thought it was an interesting idea to invite Mr. Tang Kee Chan to record this song with the Fabulous Echoes. Uncle Ray also mentioned the The Fabulous Echoes was originated from a group of young Philippines musicians named P.I. Rock and Rollers (P.I.is the initials of Philippines Island).
Uncle Ray (Ray Cordero)
When asking Mr. Bert Sagum about P.I. Rock and Rollers' information, he said that P.I. Rock and Rollers " was never been a formal name of the band, the name was "Blue Echo" as stated in "The Fabulous Echoes" Leaks ", then it was change to "The Fabulous Echoes", and now the Society of Seven. The following is the reply from Mr. Bert Sagum：
P.I.
Rock and Rollers was never officially use by the fabulous echoes. Blue
Echo was the original name then we change it to The Fabulous Echoes.
Now The Society of Seven. Only 2 original member alive and well and
still performing. T-Mobile. America’s First Nationwide 4G Network
From Mr. Sagum's reply, it is believed "P.I. Rock and Rollers" is a group of young Philippines' music lover, joined together jamming music, so they were named as P.I. Rock and Rollers, and is not an officially organized group. It was until Mr. Sagum joined Tony and
Danny Ruivivar's band , "The Fabulous Echoes" was officially born。
Talking about Speedy Gonzales (Buddy Kaye, Ethel Lee, David Ness @ David Hill) , Pat Boone's version is also a covered one, the original was released by David Dante (pseudo name of composer of this song David Ness) in 1961, Pat Boone's version was released one year later and charted in Billboard Hot 100 at No. 6.
Pat Boone - Speedy Gonzales (1962)
David Dante - Speedy Gonzales (1961)
After releasing "The Fabulous Echoes" Leaks
", DVD, my friend wanted to know more about the collaboration of Kong Ling and The Fabulous Echoes, and I would also like Mr.
Sagum to supply more information about the Fabulous Echoes, so I emailed him in October, 2011 and March 2012, eventually received his reply on 5th March 2012, the content are as follows:
Email to Mr. Bert Sagum on 22 Oct 2011(sent again in March 2012)
Mr. Sagum
Thanks
for your reply on 24 Aug 2011, I have posted a new article based on
your reply, please click the following link to see it.
This is the link showing "Dancing on the moon" as appeared in the awarded winning movie "Echoes of the rainbow" (link's been removed due to copyright)
After
posting the article, one of my blog mate wants me to ask some
questions, I should be grateful if you can entertain me once again.
1. The Fabulous Echoes had teamed up with Kong Ling and put out two albums, how did this collaboration start?
2. Did Kong Ling perform together with The Fabulous Echoes live at Sunya or Paramount?
3.
In the song "South Pacific Twist" by Kong Ling, she sang some verses in
Cantonese, who came up with the idea to sing this Cantonese verse ?
4.
The song "Sunshine" was composed by Frances Silva Kirk and Vic
Critobal, can you ask Fannie about the creation and collaboration with
Vic in composing this song?
5.
You have mentioned Mr. Tony Ruivivar's father was the band leader of
Peninsula Hotel, I should be grateful if you can tell me his father's
name in full?
Third reply from Mr.Bert Sagum, dated 5 March 2012
Hi Stan, Thanks for posting footage of the movie.
Ok
question no.1.I think Frances Kirk who manage and produce our recording
was responsible for the collaboration .Since she was the top female recording artist and the Fabuluos Echoes are up coming Artist she thought It would be a great idea. No.2. We only did few TV guest appearances, never in Sunya or Paramount. No.3 Fran Kirk came up with idea to add Cantonese verse.
No.4
Vic wrote the music (Sunshine) and he ask Frannie if she can help him write the
lyric. Vic also does a lot of music arrangement for Frannies other
artist.
I
hope these can be helpful to your friend. I will email you Fran Kirk
email address in case you wanna know more. Aloha . Bert Sagum. Sent from my iPad
Copyright
: All contents and information of this article are proprietary to the
writer and are subjected to copyright protection. Republication,
redistribution or unauthorized use of any content or information
contained in this article is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of the writer.
In gathering information for the article "Echoes of the Rainbow brings back the Fabulous Echoes"
efforts were made to contact the surviving members of The Fabulous
Echoes to ascertain the correctness of the information gathered.
Eventually, Mr. Bert Sagum, the percussionist and wind instrumentalist
of the band was reached. The following are the answers to the questions I
put to Mr. Sagum ：
First reply from Mr. Bert Sagum, dated 14 May 2011
Thank you so much for that article. I am going to print and frame it. As for your questions...
1. When did Mr. Tony Ruivivar and you come to Hong Kong and why?
Tony
was ahead of me (he was already in Hong Kong) I came to Hong Kong to
join my uncle Barry Yaneza's band (he was the Harry James (note 1) of Hong Kong)
in approximately 1959. I hooked up with Tony and Danny sometime around
1962 or 1963.
2. When was the Fabulous Echoes formed?
When I met Tony and Danny they were the Blue Echoes and I joined and we became The Fabulous Echoes.
3. The name of the members when first formed? Tony Ruivivar, Danny Ruivivar, Bert Sagum, Terry Lucido, Stan Robertson, and our lead singer from Sri Lanka, Cliff Foenander.
Thanks! Bert
Second reply from Mr. Bert Sagum, dated 24 August 2011
1. When did Mr. Tony Ruivivar came to Hong Kong and WHY?
He
went to Hong Kong roughly in 1957 or 1958 to join his parents because
his father was working as a band leader in the Peninsula Hotel.
2. Before the "Blue Echoes", did he work as a session musician or played at any venue?
No
3. When performing at Rediffusion's live show "Rumpus
Time" hosted by Ray Cordero, Mr. Tony and Danny Ruivivar were still
"The Blue Echoes", am I correct? Because I can't find you (Mr. Sagum)
in the photo.
No they were already the Fabulous Echoes.The picture you have is of the Blue Echoes. I guess we both did Rediffusion.
4. Who thought of naming the band as "The Fabulous Echoes"?
I have no idea. I can't remember.
5. Before managing by Frances Silva-Kirk, which venue did the band play at?
Sunya night club and Paramount night club alternating with Gian Carlo and his Italian band.
Sunya night club (the building with neon sign of red characters on blue backgroud)
Paramount Nightclub (the building on the right of the above photo)
6. Who produced the recordings for The Fabulous Echoes?
Frances Kirk
7. Who did the arrangement for the songs, especially "A little bit of soap" and "Dancing on the moon"?
Hmm I will have to find out that one.
8. Who selected which song to be recorded?
All of us with Frannie Kirk(note 2)
9. The song "Speedy Gonzales" had the vocal of Cantonese Artist Mr. Tang Kee Chan, was the song recorded simultaneously with Mr. Tang in the studio or he dubbed his vocal at a later stage?
I don't know sorry.
10. From who's idea to partner Mr. Tang to make a record? Probably Frannie (note 2)
11. Who
is the singer impersonating Louis Armstrong in "Hello Dolly/Bill
Bailey"? And from who's idea to make this song a medley with Bill
Bailey?
That was Danny Ruivivar (Hello Dolly) and Cliff Foenander (Bill Bailey). It was a collaboration from the whole group.
12. After leaving Hong Kong, The Fabulous Echoes based in Las Vegas, what made The Fabulous Echoes moved to Hawaii？
After
three years contract with the Del Webb Corp. who own Thunderbird and
Sahara Hotels we decided to move to Hawaii because we had an opportunity to open a showroom with Don Ho(note 3)
Don Ho
13. Have Mr. Tony Ruivivar and you ever returned to Hong Kong after all these years?
We did visit but we would love to go back and play again.
It's been 3 months between his two replies to me, I am still waiting for Mr. Sagum's reply to questions that he does not give a definite answer, in the mean time, I just share the available information to you all.
Note 1： Harry James, famous big band leader of the 40's. Note 2 : "A little bit of soap" and "Speedy Gonzales" were picked by Mr. Lal Dayaram , it was his idea to team up the Fabulous Echoes with Mr. Tang Kee Chan
Note 3： Don Ho , well known entertainer, owner of restaurant and night club in Hawaii.
Copyright : All contents and information of this article are proprietary
to the writer and are subjected to copyright protection. Republication,
redistribution or unauthorized use of any content or information
contained in this article is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of the writer.
The movie 歲月神偷 Echoes of the Rainbow
(note 1) brought us back to the sixties (the storyline of the movie is
the epitome of the events and culture of Hong Kong back then). The
opening song of the movie "Dancing on the moon" by the Fabulous Echoes,
is a masterpiece of Hong Kong's Pop music of the 60's, released and
produced by Hong Kong's Diamond Records (note 2). The director aimed to manifest Hong Kong's mixed culture where east and west meets through this signature song.
Formed
in the early 60's, The Fabulous Echoes consisted of 6 members, Tony
Ruivivar (the founder and guitarist), Danny Ruivivar (drums), Terry
Lucido Jr. (keyboard), and Bert Sagum (percussion and wind instruments)
from Philippines, Cliff Foenander (lead singer) from Sri Lanka and
Stanley Robertson (bass) from Scotland. By their superb technique in
music, they began attracting the attention and support from people of
Hong Kong.
In "Uncle Ray 101 Hong Kong"
6 CDs' collection released in 2010, Hong Kong's renowned Disc Jockey
Ray Cordero mentioned that The Fabulous Echoes caught his attention in
early sixties, he invited them to perform live in Rediffusion's
weekly program "Rumpus Time". In the photo below, the two in the front row on the far right is Tony Ruivivar and
Danny Ruivivar, Uncle Ray (wearing glasses) stood right behind Danny who was holding an ukulele.
After watching The
Fabulous Echoes' performance, Frances Silva Kirk (married to John Kirk),
daughter of Diamond Records' boss Ren Da Silva, realized that the band had
potentials in show business, so she offered herself to be their
manager. Under her management, The Fabulous Echoes also signed a
recording contract with Diamond Records thus starting their fabulous
journey in Hong Kong's music scene. Under Frances Silva
Kirk's management, The Fabulous Echoes started performing along side
with the hottest band, "Giancarlo and his Italian Combo" in Hong Kong's
top entertainment venue "Paramount Nightclub", and their fame started to
spread across South East Asia and to the down under, Australia.
Paramount Nightclub 會總夜門樂百
"Dancing on the moon"(Ed. E
Miller/B. Carroll) from "Those Fabulous Echoes", the first album by The
Fabulous Echoes, was a remake of We'll be dancing on the moon by Trade Martin (Thanks "DVD"(blogger) for supplying the information of the original singer of this song). The first single " A little bit of soap" from this album became the No.1 song in Hong Kong's Pop Chart in Jan 1963.
"Sunshine
"(click to see video), the flip side of "Dancing on the moon" and the
first track on Side A of the album, is an incredible love song composed
by Frances Silva-Kirk and Vic Cristobal (click to see his information), is the sole original composition in the album and one
of the earliest local masterpiece. No indication in this single was
made to show which song is the A-side song, the only information is FE-4
and FE-5 which was shown in the 45 r.p.m record's label, revealed that
the Diamond's executives had great faith in the potential of both
songs.
The Fabulous Echoes had put out four albums under Diamond Records :
1. those fabulous echoes
2. ZOOM!! With the fabulous echoes
3. LOVIN' FEELING
4. In action!
Other
than their own albums, The Fabulous Echoes also participated in
recording sessions of other Diamond Records' artists, and had put out
two albums with female vocalist Kong Ling, nick named "Hong Kong Sweet
Heart":
1. KONG LING + THE FABULOUS ECHOES + VIC CRISTOBAL = DYNAMITE! 江玲與回音樂隊
The Fabulous Echoes also recorded Pat Boone's "Speedy Gonzalez", with Cantonese verse sung by Hong Kong's renowned comedy star Tang Kei Chan, and is one of the most well-known English-Cantonese cross-over song in Hong Kong.
As
the popularity of the band grew, The Fabulous Echoes became the hottest
band in Hong Kong, tourists came to see their performance including the
wife of Thailand's Prime Minister. After watching their performance,
she invited them to perform in Bangkok which opened the gate for The
Fabulous Echoes to perform overseas.
In
1965, The Fabulous Echoes was invited by The Thunderbird Lounge of Las
Vegas to perform for a period of 4 weeks. At one of the show
performance, Ed Sullivan (note 3), the host of The Ed Sullivan Show
together with Mrs. Sullivan were in the audience, Cliff Foenander
dedicated a song to Mrs. Sullivan without knowing her status.
After the show, Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan led
by the General Manager of the hotel, visited The Fabulous Echoes in
the backstage room, they were praised for their performance. Mrs.
Sullivan immediately suggested
signing The Fabulous Echoes to perform two shows in The Ed Sullivan
Show. This unexpected encounter thus change the fate of the band.
Prior to their appearance in "The Ed Sullivan Show"( click to see video),
The Echoes, a Canadian Band informed the producer of the show that they
would instigate legal action against The Fabulous Echoes as there was
an infringement of the name of the band, the suit would be settled if
they could perform in the show. Mr. Sullivan was not pleased by the
threat, so when The Fabulous Echoes performed as scheduled, he
introduced them as "The Fabulous Kids from Hong Kong" to 4.5 million US
audience to avoid The Echoes' claim.
After the performance in Ed
Sullivan Show, The Fabulous Echoes continued their appearance in the
U.S. media including The Mike Douglas Show and Shindig . From
now on this band from Hong Kong had made it's way to the American's
show business and got another three-year contract with the Thunderbird
Lounge.
As The Fabulous
Echoes focused their development in the U.S.A., it started fading out
from Hong Kong's entertainment and pop scene. Back in the U.S.A. when
performing at Sahara-Tahoe Hotel, lead singer Cliff Foenander got into
trouble and received death threat, he was in love with a gangster's girl
friend. Because of this affair, the hotel management also received bomb
threat on one occasion and the staffs had to be evacuated. In order to
settle this matter, the hotel management suggested Frances Silva-Kirk to
replace Cliff Foenander, if not the contract with the band would be
cancelled. For the sake of the band, Cliff Foenander left and The
Fabulous Echoes continued to perform there without a lead singer. After this dramatic change in the line-up, Don Gay, an American joined the band. During this period The Fabulous Echoes auditioned for record companies including "Liberty Records" and "Warner Brothers" finally resulted in the release of the 1967 Warner Brother Records' BREAKIN' IT UP AT DUKES! RECORDED 'LIVE', their only album released in the US.
In 1968, The Fabulous Echoes moved to Hawaii and changed its name to Society of Seven. From 1969 to 2009, they performed at the Outrigger Waikiki Hotel (click this "Society of Seven" link to see the article on Society of Seven 40th Anniversary),
continued their entertainment business for 40 years. In 2007, Society
of Seven was awarded the "Lifetime achievement award" by the Hawaii
Academy of Recording Arts. The original members of The
Fabulous member Cliff Foenander, Terry Lucido, Jr. and Danny Ruivivar
had passed away, left only with Tony Ruivivar and Bert Sagum still
active in the entertainment business as the members of the Society of
Seven. In 2010, Society of Seven returned to Outrigger Hawaii after a
long stay in Las Vegas. This is the clip (click to see) showing Mr. Tony Ruivivar and Mr. Bert Sagum appeared on KITV talking about the return. JoeWuSeattle has uploaded a
TV special re the founding of the Fabulous Echoes on YouTube (some of
the information in this article are gathered from this special) :
Note 1 : "Echoes of the rainbow" is a Hong Kong film which won the Crystal Bear Award in the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.
Note
2 : Diamond Music Company (registered as limited company with the name
Diamond-Mercury Record Co. Ltd) was established in the 50's,
purchased by Germany's "Polydor record" in the 70's. After several merging and
reorganization, Polydor becomes the Universal Music Group.
Note 3 : Ed Sullivan, renowned TV host of The Ed
Sullivan Show, which The Beatles also appeared and performed when
visiting US in 1964. As mentioned by Mr. Tony Ruivivar in the YouTube
TV Clips (The Fabulous Echoes - Early History Part 3), since The Ed
Sullivan Show was not shown in Hong Kong's television back then, Mr.
Sullivan was not recognized when the group first met him in Las Vegas.
