Today, I would like to focus my thoughts on songs. Here is a music-themed story that reflects on one of the most recognized aspects of music - its uniqueness. The same song could be heard and sung by professional artists in various countries and sound different. This story attempts to see behind the musical hype and highlights how certain songs just seem to jive with certain singers and not so much for others.
It was a quiet January morning and one of my friends was listening to a classic ballad song on the radio called "Release Me" sung by Engelbert Humperdinck. As soon as Engelbert started singing at the beginning of the song, my friend stood up with a pen in his hand and started lip-syncing to the words. I enjoyed the slow and melancholy tones. As for my friend, it was clear that he was really passionate about the song. Every change in the stanza would evoke a different facial and bodily expression.
After the song finished, my friend offered me a challenge. I was to find the name of a singer around the world who sang with nearly the same power, tone, and quality as Engelbert. This singer was supposed to be around during the same time period where Engelbert was at his peak performing years. He said that I could seek help from others and use the 'world's greatest resource' - the internet. Once he said this, I accepted the challenge and began looking through the internet for the most popular (and obscure) singers that had covered this particular song.
It was no small task. I soon began finding myself digging through old files, notes, and CDs trying to find any singer that met my friend's criteria. I was on the verge of giving up when an idea entered my mind. I remembered I had another distant friend whose parents had toured other countries between the 1960s and 1970s. During their trips, they would collect and preserve some of the most iconic and popular records in each country that they passed.
Photo by Robin McPherson from Pexels
I visited this friend and told her that I was only searching for the name of the singer so that I could simply search it up on YouTube. At first, she was a bit skeptical about why I would just randomly turn up at her door and ask her for this information. When I immediately told her about the challenge that I had accepted from one of my friends, she thanked me for being frank about why I was asking and proceeded to go to the attic where her parent's records were stored.
The search for this 'special' singer ended up taking several hours because there were boxes upon boxes of records. Each box had a hundred records with a medley of artists and songs. Every time she lifted a record, there was so much dust that both of us sneezed every time she read the label.
"Born Free by Matt Monro. Oh..uh"
"ACHOO!...ACHIU!"
"The Girl from Ipanema by Carlos Jobim...ah uh"
"YEAHCHOO!...Whew, goodness."
"Oh, I found it! The name of the artist is AK-CHOO!...by...EH EH-CHIEU!"
Afterward, she found a tissue and began clearing her nose. I was also in the corner of the room clearing my own nose. It was really stuffy and the portable heater in the room was making the air a lot drier and stuffier. Eventually, she and I quickly went into the living room to check out the record she found. I copied the name on the label, thanked her, and drove home.
When I reached my driveway, I was so excited that I didn't even bother turning off the engine. I rushed inside the house and searched the singer on YouTube. Part of me thought I was going to reach a blank search page, but to my amazement, it was there!
I ran back to my car with a copy of the YouTube link which I printed out just in case I couldn't find the video again. I headed for my friend's house which was about a couple of minutes drive. All the while, I was still in disbelief that a singer from that same era had the courage, drive, and motivation to match such a legendary singer!
When I arrived at my friend's house it was mid-afternoon. He opened the door holding a ham and cheese sandwich with part of an ice-cream cone sticking out of his mouth. He motioned me in and I politely guested that he finish his food first before trying to talk to me.
When he was finished with his meal, he said, "So! Did you find it?"
I nodded and he immediately guested for me to use his laptop which was sitting on the living room table. I went on his laptop, found the song, and started playing it. After one minute of listening, I looked at my friend. His eyes were wide open and his jaw dropped wide open. It was clear that he couldn't believe his ears.
"By golly! I didn't know that a singer could nearly copy Engelbert! Who is this...Victor Wood?", he asked curiously.
"Based on the biographical information that was given to me by one of my friends, he was a well-known singer in the Philippines back in the 1970s. His vocal tonality and phrasing sound very close to many English songs of the day", I replied.
"Wow! He's very close to the original, indeed! Ok! You win the challenge!", he said with a smile.
"Thank you! It took me a lot of work!", I replied happily.
"But, there's something a little off", he said.
"What do you mean?", I asked inquisitively.
"I can't describe it, but there's a lack of 'feel' for the deeper meaning of the song. I mean, it sounds great - don't get me wrong. It's as if the singer was so focused on the precision of the tone and phrasing that he overlooked the 'feel' - if you know what I mean", my friend said.
At that moment, it was obvious that my friend's girlfriend who had been listening to our conversation wanted to give her own thoughts. She was a very thoughtful and intelligent person with a keen eye for detail. Some of the people she knew called her a modern-day "philosopher of life".
"The source is based on the location and the enculturation of the individual", she said quietly.
"Enculturation", my friend and I asked simultaneously.
"The Philippines has a very different set of cultural values when compared to other places like India or the U.K. These values will reflect outwardly when a person sings. It's inevitable", she said calmly.
"Can you elaborate further and give us an example?", I asked.
"Sure! If you listen carefully to both versions of the song, you will see that both singers will emphasize certain words. In Victor's version of the song, you will notice that he seems a bit 'uncomfortable' singing certain words of the song. This is because he may have never experienced the reason why a certain word is so important in Western culture. Here is a real-life analogy to clarify this explanation. If you live in a cold place and rarely get out and it suddenly becomes warm, you might decide to get out. And because you were placed in isolation so long - you might immediately form close relationships with nearly any nice individual you initially meet because of this deprivation. Whereas, in tropical climates where people regularly mill about, people have more relaxed and casual relationships with one another. They don't 'desperately' need each other because they essentially see all of their neighbors every day. That's why when Victor says the word 'love', it just seems and feels different to when Engelbert says it", she said.
"Interesting explanation", I commented despite my mind still trying to wrap around what she said.
My friend smiled from ear to ear and said, "Yes, indeed! And I sure am lucky to have her as my girlfriend."