The Box Bass

The Box Bass

Something special and unique that I remember from the 1950's is a Music Box-bass that we used as accompaniment to our singing sessions as teenagers. This box, which is shown in the foreground on the left of this drawing, was made by one of our pioneering and innovative leaders of our childhood, Mickey, as he was fondly called. The box-bass was simple in its construction and easy to make. It consisted of 15 x 15 inches tea chest from the local Mapusa market. It consisted of a thick twine pulled through the top centre of the box and tied to the top of a wooden or bamboo pole held upright in any corner. One had to play this 'instrument' by ear in the real sense by placing one's right foot on the corner of the box diagonally opposite to the pole, and plucking on the string with the right hand just like one would do on a double bass. The pitch, which was 'more or less' or near enough, could be obtained by adjusting the pressure on the pole with the left hand. One side of the box had a sound port-hole. Clever invention. Isn't it? It even had the bass and treble clef painted on its sides to give the additional visual effect by Michael. Wow!

First Portable Reel to Reel Tape Recorder at Cumbiem Morod.

First Portable Reel to Reel

Tape Recorder at Cumbiem Morod

              The first portable reel-to-reel tape recorder ever to make an appearance in our village of Cumbiem Morod during the early 1960's in Guirim, Bardez, Goa, happened to be in our humble abode - a house built by my father Diniz Fernandes. But how could a humble abode afford a reel-to-reel tape-recorder?

              During that era, this awesome invention was far ahead of its time to match our humble home. However, poor as we were though, my older brother had the good fortune to work in Beirut, Lebanon, in the early 1960's. On his first annual home leave, he had brought a Philips portable transistor radio, and on his second, a Philips portable tape-recorder - a replica of the one in the picture above. 

               This machine was very simple to operate. It had an external microphone for recording, playback, fast-forward and rewind buttons, recording meter, and volume control. It was powered by standard size 'D' batteries. As time went by, I put aside some coins in my piggy bank to save money towards buying batteries that did not come cheap.

               The first person ever to have her voice recorded on this wonderful and incredible gadget was young Martha Fernandes (wife of Joseph Fernandes). Her voice was recorded when she sang 'Whispering Hope' and also 'How much is that doggie in the window'. Martha well deserved to have her voice recorded - because, not only did she have a nice voice, but she also knew all the lyrics to the songs as well.

              We had a lot of fun with this great machine in the village, recording and playing back songs that we sang. However, we were allowed to do that only during school holidays. The recorder was kept under lock and key at other times - in the big wooden double-door 'almirah with a mirror'. The following were my folks' strict instructions to me at the time: "Study first, then record and play". As they would say in Konkani: 'Poilo iskolak voch, lissaum kor ani maguir taping kor.' 

              The advantage with this splendid invention was that it could be taken anywhere. Once I had recorded 'Laudainha' being sung by our folks in our village chapel. But we could record only a small portion of it to be replayed later - after the full Litany had ended. The length of the tape was far too short to survive the entire length of our long Laudainh! I had only 2 tapes, each with half an hour of play-time on each side. Hence I couldn't record much. Unfortunately, sometimes we had to erase previous tapings by recording over old tracks. I had once surprised a roving group of youngsters - door-to-door singers during the pre-Lent 3-day Carnival time in front of our 'balcão' - by playing back instantly what they had sung just a few minutes before.

              Many years later, however, another invention called the cassette tape-recorder appeared everywhere on the scene, long after I boarded the famous B.I. Steamship 'Sirdhana' on a 5-day journey to work in Dubai - a decision that changed my life.

'Memories are Made of This'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv9PSkNkUfs

Ode to ABBA

ODE TO ABBA

(A Garland of ABBA Songs)

(by TōnFerns)

When I first met her,
She was a Nina,

Pretty Ballerina,

a Chiquitita, a Dancing Queen,
with Angel Eyes,
I sure thought she was
'My Kind of Girl'

She said ‘Take A Chance On Me’
'Gimme, gimme, gimme'

And I wondered:
'Why Did It Have To Be Me?'

'Knowing Me,

Knowing You'

‘Does Your Mother Know’ ‘I asked

She said, no, 'It’s The Name Of The Game’

‘I’m a One Man, One Woman’ you know? I replied,

She said, 'I Have A Dream' Tony 'Fernando'

‘Lay All Your Love On Me’ she added

I’ve a dream too,
And some also call me Felicio I confided.

It was just like 'Head Over Heels'

And we both then said 
"I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"

'Super Trouper', she went on,

‘Andante, Andante’ she cried,
And with no hesitation, I complied.

I sent her an 'S.O.S.'

'The Way Old Friends Do'

I said 'When All Is Said And Done'

'I Let The Music Speak'.

And then we both

joined in chorus

and sang 'Mamma Mia

here I go again'

'My my, just how much I've missed ya'.

And then came 'Our Last Summer'
I was like a 'Man in the Middle'
In the end the Winner Took It All

She Thanked Me For The Music

Saying Honey Honey,
Taking all my Money, Money, Money,

Hasta Mañana until then.

Tony Fernandes

But Now We Hardly Talk Anymore

TALKING TERMS

When I was a 'Bachelor Boy'

 living among 'The Young Ones'

I often went on a 'Summer Holiday'
'Travelling Light'.

I thought 'Constantly' that

 she was like a 'Living Doll'

with 'Lucky Lips' -
a perfect 'Theme For a Dream'
'A Human Work of Art'.

When she sang
she sounded like
'A Voice in the Wilderness'
She sure was
'Wired for Sound'

When we met,
We were like 'Silhouettes'
in ' Spanish Harlem'
But when I asked her
'Do You Wanna Dance'
She replied: 'Move it'
See you 'The Next Time'.

'I'm your Puppet' I said
'My Heart is an Open Book' I pleaded'It was all in the Game', she said
but I still 'Miss You Nights'
with love "Ocean Deep' she added.

But now
it's like 'The Twelfth of Never';
like 'When Two Hearts Drift Apart'
and 'Nine times out of Ten'
'We Don't Talk Anymore'!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htZir_Taizg

MUSIC OF MY TEENAGE YEARS

R.I.P.

 Phil Everly

 of the fabulous EVERLY BOTHERS

 One of the finest legendary duos

 of harmonizing singers of our time.

 One half of the great duo

- Phil Everly - 

 - of the EVERLY BROTHERS -

passed away yesterday,

3rd January 2014, at age 74.

To listen to one of Phil Everly's songs
please click on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ouz0Nnht9ks

Who's To Be The One Phil Everly demo

            In the song above Phil Everly's voice sounds remarkably very clear and as one of a very young person's tone. It no wonder, that is so, because it was recorded in 1960, and Phil was only 21 years old at the time.

            Sometimes coincidences happen, and strangely and remarkably so. In fact just two days ago my daughter sent me a link to 'Why Worry' and saying that this Art Garfunkel Mark Knofler written classic will always remind her of me, quoting the lyrics: "There should be laughter after pain. There should be sunshine after rain. These things have always been the same. So Why Worry, now?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_03uXQiz6eY

 Then, in the same breath my daughter said that she likes the same song sung by the Everly Brothers as well. So I sent her the Everly Brothers version which I have on CD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk_wuF5xYcU

            I was fortunate to hear the Everly Brothers with my children, live at the Air Canada Center in Toronto, along with Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel, a few years ago, courtesy tickets a la my daughters as a gift.

            I'm happy that my children enjoy the music that I played at home when they were young and remember those days.

            I remember my friends Adolf & Jerry singing in voices just like the Everly Brothers in Bombay in the 1960's. They were called 'Amin's Aspirations'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrlydPDW7UQ

and had cut a 45 RPM vinyl record. I was in college then, when they were very popular and also known as the Everly Brothers of Bombay. Many years later in the early 1970's) as my good fortune and privilege would have it, I met Adolf and Hetty in Dubai and later Jerry. They sang an apt song 'Devoted to You' beautifully for our wedding in 1975. Last night my wife Edna and I remembered all of them. Those were the days, and the music of our times.

           I remember when we sang and played all the Everly Brothers songs with our friends in the days gone by in Goa, Bombay and the United Arab Emirates, for parties, picnics, dances and weddings. Unforgettable.

           Phil Everly, I'm sure you'll continue singing up there in heaven, while your music here on earth lives on. Rest in Peace.

Hasta Mañana at Khan Creek, Sharjah, UAE

HASTA  MANANA

Where is the spring and the summer

 that once was yours and mine?

Where did it go?

I just don't know.

AL KHAN CREEK - Sharjah, 1974 - United Arab Emirates
Water colour painting by Tony Fernandes
Size 20" x 16 "

Warm summer evening, humidity is in the air. As usual on such days, our friends meet us the creek there. Swimming or just relaxing on the beach, watching the sunset. Talking, catching up on things. We carried our portable radio with us and tuned in to Dubai FM. 'Hasta Manana' turned out to be yet another hit for 'ABBA' among other songs of that era that got a lot of air time. 

The late evening scene, just like my water colour painting above, was warm, still, serene. Beautiful and sleepy little ancient village of Al Khan at sunset. Then in the twilight, towards the east glowed dimly the lights of Sharjah town, and in the distance, west by south-west, glimmered the lights of Dubai, and their hopes and dreams of becoming modern and beautiful cities.

Click on the link below to give a listen, just for old times’ sake,
to that wonderful old classic of 40 years ago. 

......Hasta Manana 'til we meet again,
my good old friends.
Don't know where, don't know when.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xonWnxQcmNE

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

MOTHER OF MINE

Dubai 1972 – Airwaves around the world are abuzz with Jimmy Osmond’s ‘Mother of Mine’ and the UAE is no exception. The song turns out to be a huge hit for Jimmy, the youngest of nine children in the Osmond clan, who at the time was only nine years old. I thought about my Mum in Goa every time I heard it, and constantly hummed the tune or sang the lyrics under my breath. Two years later I lost my mother. She was my best friend who I miss up to this day. She taught me all that I know and set an example living her own simple life and made my own worth living. Not a single day goes by without thoughts of her good values. She died young. I have outlived her so far by five years.

Forty-three years after the song ‘Mother of Mine’ first captured the air-waves, I rededicate my favourite song to mothers everywhere. Hope it’s your favourite too.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

MALAIKA - Life in the Emirates

When everyone sang 'Malaika'

'Dubai Creek 1970'

Oil painting by Tony Fernandes

Size 3ft x 2ft

View of Bur Dubai across the Creek from Ras Deira
Dubai - United Arab Emirates

MALAIKA

Grand New Year’s Eve Ball, Intercon Dubai. Circa 1976. After a short break, the dance band on stage strikes up a few distinct initial bars of a familiar song. It is quite evident what the song choice has been. It is a slow piece. Couples rise and gently walk to the floor and begin dancing as the lights dim. The band’s crooner sings the song – none other than the famous Kenyan singer/composer Fadhili William’s  famous Swahili song ‘Malaika’ popularized by Miriam Makeba, Harry Belafonte, Boney M and Sal Davis. The couples on the dance floor appear to lip-sync “Malaika, nakupenda Malaika…Nashindwa na mali sina we…”.

Everybody seemed to know the lyrics even if they did not speak Swahili! Wow! All I knew was the meaning of the song 'Malaika' which means 'Angel'. I remember watching an English version sung by Sal Davis from Kenya on Dubai TV. He also sang "Back in Dubai' when he visited Dubai.

No dance gala was ever complete then, nor is complete even now without ‘Malaika’ at any Goan function held across the world. A great song indeed and a beautiful catchy tune.

Please click on the link below to listen to a beautiful rendition in a duet arrangement by Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba. Malaika is a Swahili song written by Tanzanian musician Adam Salim in 1945. This song is possibly the most famous of all Swahili love songs in Tanzania, Kenya and the entire East Africa, as well as being one of the most widely known of all Swahili songs in the world. 

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8jxALtWGVQ

THOSE WERE THE DAYS MY FRIEND!

DUBAI CREEK

1967

Line Artwork Drawing

by Tony Fernandes 

THOSE WERE THE DAYS

Before the days of FM Radio Transmission in the UAE, the pionering expatriate folks who worked and lived there relied on western music reception from the ARAMCO oilfields base in Saudi Arabia. The definitive 3 FM radio stations were Light Music on 100, Classical on 96 and Popular on 88 MHz. The only other radio program that broadcast on FM radio was station in Sharjah which began in the early 1970's after the British Royal Air Force Base closed down its programs of western music on Medium Wave radio.

One of my favourite hit songs of that era was 'Those were the days' sung by Welsh singer Mary Hopkin which was aired on a regular basis by these radio stations of another era. As I reminisce today those were the days indeed. Please click on the link below to listen to a fabulous song of those days. Those days, which were the days then, are the days even now!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KODZtjOIPg

GENTLEMAN JIM

In the 1960's and 1970's, many people in the Indian Sub-continent owned gadgets what were known as 'Radiograms' that played LP Records, 78's and 45's in addition to receiving radio programs on Short Wave and Medium Wave Radio. Walk into any well-to-do Goan home in Bombay, from Colaba to Bandra, Byculla to Dhobitalo, or Mahim to Worli, you would invariably hear Jim Reeves playing in their home. Ricky Nelson, Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, Engelbert Humperdinck or Billy Vaughn and Bill Black Combo were also popular among many record collections of those days.

Incidentally, the radiogram was considered a luxury by any standard, and consisted as a piece of high-class furniture in many well-appointed living rooms of homes and music salons of that era.

In Goa, during the Portuguese regime, in the 1950's and 1960's the radiograms were less common, perhaps an entire village having just one or two of these prized possessions and other top-notch luxuries of that time. Just owning a radiogram was not enough. This sort of enjoyment was expensive and came with an extra price tag, as one had to keep up with the times by adding and collecting more LP's that were costly. 

Although during the time when I lived and worked in Dubai in late 1960's and 1970's, Jim Reeves' records, being an RCA label, were then not available in the Trucial States of Oman (now U.A.E.), folks who travelled to India on their annual vacation, often purchased them there. Jim Reeves' LPs were pressed in Dum Dum, India. Jim Reeves' Christmas Carols Album was very popular then, and is popular even now. 

Please relax and listen to this great number by Gentleman Jim, one among his other great hits, "He'll have to go" that he was famous for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smlaq1ezQRM

WHEN EVERYBODY WENT 'PATA PATA'

WHEN EVERYBODY WENT 'Pata Pata'

Dubai - September 1967. A very popular song by South African singer Miriam Makeba. The song - a signature song for her - became an instant hit all over the world, and almost everybody in Dubai too, was going 'Pata Pata'. Dubai did not have an English language radio station then. However there was a British Royal Air Force Base Radio Station that transmitted on Medium Wave from Sharjah until 1971. The song, a favourite among the expatriate community was covered by most bands in Dubai nightclubs and hotels. The only department store was 'Jashanmal' where one could buy records - LP's and 45's and 8-track cartridges. Those were the days. Dubai, a British protectorate, was one of the sheikhdoms that formed Trucial States of Oman until 1971, when it was independent and the seven sheikhdoms came to be known as the United Arab Emirates, one of the fastest growing and modernized nations in the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrbw1A0pLw

LIFE IN THE EMIRATES - HALA MARHABA

'LIFE IN THE EMIRATES'

A popular song in the expatriate community, 'Life in the Emirates', is a warm tribute to life in the United Arab Emirates. The song was written and recorded in 1979 by two Irish men Patrick Terence Brady and Michael Kiely. It proved to be an instant hit. It was provided airplay by Capitol Radio in Abu Dhabi and by FM 92 Radio in Dubai.

It has been sung in numerous hotels and other events throughout the U.A.E. It is the most famous song in English about the UAE, and it still strikes a sentimental chord even after the first batch of adventurers have left the country on completion  of their tenure.

I still have fond and cherished memories of this song along with the wonderful and memorable years that I spent in this great country. The song is still played by music groups who originally made their debut in Dubai at the time, and who perhaps share similar sentiments in their hearts.

"LIFE IN THE EMIRATES" is a sincere yet light-hearted song of praise to the wonderful country - the United Arab Emirates. The words speak for themselves.

Please click on the link below to watch the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjYGl3coO6g

Hemant Rao The Musician

HEMANT RAO 

R.I.P.

                  Hemant Rao - a great lead guitarist and one of the original band members of The Savages - a prominent Rock & Roll group of the "Beat Show Generation' of the 1960's - passed away recently.

                 Those were the days when we used to go to hear the great beat groups in Bombay like the Jets, Lone Trojan - the famous 'Biddu', Beat 4, Reaction, Mike and Darryl Kirby, The Tornados (with my friends Adolf and Jerry Creado as band members) 
and other rock bands at the Shanmukananda Hall and at numerous other places and at college events. Beat Shows - as they were commonly called - were the 'in' thing then. We have lost a great musician of our era and of our youth.

                 May his soul rest in peace.

MEMORIES OF THE GEMINI FOUR

Pyrographic Drawings
on Coconut Keepsake/Snack Serving Bowls

Bowls and Pyrography (Wood-burning Art)
by Tony Fernandes - TonFerns Creations

THE GEMINI FOUR –
The First Beat Group in the U.A.E. It was way back in the early seventies that I heard about a pop music band called Gemini 4 that comprised of 4 young lads. It was the first beat group at a time when the place was known as the Trucial States of Oman.

I worked in Abu Dhabi at that time. Three of my young friends had formed an amateur beat group, and I was a novice in their band being the fourth. But the instruments that we wanted were not available in Abu Dhabi during those days then. So one fine weekend my friends and I decided to travel all the way to Sharjah, one of the seven Sheikhdoms, where we were told to meet an agent called Mr. Carvalho, who directly imported Hofner guitars from Germany. Mr. Carvalho also owned a tailoring shop. Having purchased a Hofner Galaxy rhythm guitar, a Hofner bass guitar and a Hofner amplifer RV50 from Carvalho, we left the equipment at a friend’s house there. At the same time we had also decided to take the opportunity to hear the beat group called Gemini 4 while we were in Sharjah over the weekend.

Having nothing much to do early that evening, my friends and I decided to go for a walk along the narrow road by the Sharjah Creek, pausing to watch the dhows continue to load and unload their cargo until after sunset. It was then that we thought we should go back to our friend’s house and relax for a while before proceeding to hear out this band that everyone in Abu Dhabi spoke so highly about. 

The venue that this beat group played at was then known as ‘Sea Face Hotel’ - a structure that was converted from an imposing old fort with rooms, a sprawling courtyard and a night-club attached. It was located along the wharf, facing the entrance of the Sharjah creek. Having been told that it was not so far away from the place where we were supposed to stay for the night, we decided to walk to this hotel. In our attempt to take a short cut we trudged through the dark lanes in ankle deep sand for about half a kilometer, and finally arrived at the venue nearly exhausted. Taking a deep breath, my friends and I made our way through the gates, and just as we were about to enter the night club, I saw a tall man at the door just to make sure the right type of people were entering the club. We sat at our tables and ordered a round of drinks. After some time the same tall man at the gate approached the stage, picked up a guitar, joined the band and started playing.

The band played the current hits of the time. One song that was a huge and raging hit was ‘Happy Together’ by the Turtles, and it was in this night club at that great splendid evening that I heard the first cover version of the song by the Gemini Four. Other hits included Scot McKenzie’s ‘San Francisco’ (Be sure to wear flowers in your hair), Marmalades’ ‘Ob la di, ob la da’, Booker T & the MGs' Time is Right, Bee Gees’ ‘Don’t Forget to Remember Me’ and the best 'Shadows' and 'Ventures' music ever!

Making the group of four were the lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist/singer, bass guitarist and a drummer.

The new Sea Face Hotel was later opened along the main street called Al Arooba Street where the Gemini Four continued playing in the following years.

In the mid seventies I moved to Dubai, then known as United Arab Emirates, where I heard them play at several shows, like Christmas, New Year, Easter and May Queen Ball, Autumn Ball, Weddings and other events.

That was forty years ago. And I have not "forgotten to remember" this wonderful foursome bunch of musicians of the fabulous days of my youth. Those were indeed the days my friends.
                           *****************
However, having said all this so far, I would like to remember, pay due respect and mention here that the original drummer of the Gemini Four was Victor Albuquerque. Unfortunately, I am sorry to mention as a tribute here that he died in a tragic road accident on 18th April 1969. May his soul rest in eternal peace. His brother Ray replaced him until Ersel joined the band.

                                     *****************

As uncanny as it can get - 'the tall man at the gate' and the tall man who picked the guitar and started playing was the same man -  none other than the lead guitarist Edgar Valentine, who on a visit to Canada 40 years later, came over to our place in Mississauga with our friend Lino, with a guitar and played lead along with a back-up track of 'The Shadows' at our place (which he had brought with him saved on a stick) and played through my DJ Music system.