Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Music Column – The Breakfast Show Extra – 1960s Hits – Special Guest Jane Risdon

Over the last four weeks we have been featuring the hits in the charts of 1960-1962. We have also included some of the notable events in those years for the up and coming stars who were centre stage at the time. You can find these posts:The Breakfast Show with hosts William Price King and Sally Cronin

We will be sharing the music of the 1960s until the end of May before moving on to the 1970s. Participate in the spin-off shows and share your memories of the music of the 60s. An opportunity to share your work and here are the details:The Breakfast Show 2021

The special guest today is Jane Risdon who shares her music memories of the 1960s

I look back on the 1960s and the music of that era with great affection. Music has been my life and being married to a musician has been wonderful because we have shared our love for music throughout the decades. The 1960s when we met was and is a special time for us.

I’ve been trying to recall the first single I brought, but I cannot. There were so many favourite bands back then. I used to save my paper-round money to spend on a couple of singles each month. Albums (long playing records) didn’t join my collection until I lived in Germany in 1968 when I had the pleasure of shopping at the Canadian NAAFI where all the latest American and British music was on sale.

I owned several inherited 78s which my youngest sister smashed one Saturday when I was at school. Alma Cogan’s albums were among them “Never Tango with an Eskimo,” was one!

Rather than concentrate on the obvious choice I could make, such as The Beatles, I thought I’d share a song I loved in 1961. It evokes such emotion whenever I hear it performed by the singer.

“Sukiyaki,” was sung by 20-year-old Japanese, Kyu Sakamoto, who died in 1985 in a horrific Japanese plane crash, but whose song sold 13 million copies in 1961 the world over. It has since been covered by dozens of artists in English, and has been used in movies. I love it. He sings with such ‘feel,’ in his voice.

It was originally entitled, “Ue o Muite Arukō.“ Translation: “I Look Up as I Walk”, but record executives decided to call it “Sukiyaki,” after the Japanese dish.

I hope you listen to this wonderful singer and his performance. It is magic.

 

My thanks to Jane for reminding of this very successful track from the early 60s which certainly deserves to be showcased.

Books by Jane Risdon

One of the recent reviews for Only One Woman

Trekker Girl 4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating insight into the 1960s  Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 December 2020

Written from the the diaries of two young women who are in love with the same man, this is an interesting collaboration between these two authors. Seamlessly moving from one perspective to the other, this book kept me interested and intrigued by the possible outcomes.

I loved the 60s setting with music, fashion and culture references that rang true to that era and the age of the two girls.

A blast back to the swinging 60s and a fun read which I thoroughly enjoyed and I will be searching out other titles from both of these authors.

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon UK – And: Amazon US– Blog:Jane Risdon WordPress – Goodreads:Jane Risdon Goodread – Twitter: @Jane_Risdon

About Jane Risdon

Jane Risdon began writing following her successful career in the International Music Industry which has taken her all over the world working, including North America, Europe, Singapore, and Taiwan. She and her musician husband have worked with everything from Rock, Thrash Metal, and R&B/Pop to Chinese Opera.

She’s been involved in Artiste Management, Music Production, Music Publishing, and the facilitation of music for TV and Movie Soundtracks.

In December 2020 Jane signed with Linda Langton of Langtons International Literary Agency, based in New York, NY.

In 2014 Jane signed a publishing contract with Headline Accent part of the Hachette group.

Her co-written novel with best-selling, award-winning author Christina Jones is entitled ‘Only One Woman,’ and is published by Headline Accent. Christina and Jane enjoy a life-long friendship, and their shared experiences and love of the 1960s and the music scene, are the inspiration for their fictional novel about two girls and a lead guitarist whose band is touring and recording in England and Europe when they all meet. It is garnering rave 5* reviews from men and women. It is more than a love story, it is a social comment about the lives of those living through an era of social upheaval and huge world events.

 

Thanks for joining us today and as always we would love your feedback..you can all the Tuesday Breakfast Shows so far in the directory Here

We would love you to participate with your own memories of the decades we share and if you have a favourite track from the 1960s then please check out this post. The Breakfast Show 2021