Spirit of Baguio’s SING OUT! 1966: Protest Folk Songs by PPM The “SING Out!” Folk Songs Festival staged by the Baguio International Club in May 1966 had more than half a dozen groups of varied nationalities singing songs from varied countries, and a good number of those groups interpreted numbers popularized by the phenomenal American trio, Peter, Paul and Mary, also known as the P.P.M.
To share with you just how the songs more or less sounded like, we now invite you to check out the click here links to youtube uploads after the song titles mentioned here, This would expectedly raise some nostalgic feelings for us in the show (I was part of it not really as a singer but as the volunteer curtain-raiser) and all the others who have liked the folk music protest songs of that period from that summer, on.
I no longer remember which of the songs were sung by the groups during the concert itself and which ones they were singing many times after that show, in a long train that followed, keeping to the Spirit of Sing Out! ’66. (I rely on memory as I write this whole thing.)
The two-member Beachfolks tandem of Sonny Joaquin and Dado Pascua did two folk song numbers that added to the international flavor, keeping to the nature of the organizers: Awi-mawe click here (African) and Tzena-Tzena click here (Hebrew), but they were also well-remembered for Scratch Me Back click here (English, Latin style); If I Had My Way click here; The First Time I ever I Saw Your Face. and Frisco Bay Blues click here (both American, PPM). They also led in popularizing among us the song Amen click here, with lyrics fully composed of the word “Amen” repeated five times per line, which became the Sing-Out! Promo song after we substituted the words "Sing" and "Out" for the two syllables of "Amen." We’re now thinking of doing that again with the full title of the current project, “Sing Out – Our Love – Peace and Joy – Sing Out! – Sing Out!” for every repetition of the word “Amen.”
The “Sangurvolks” trio of Mars Agana, Ray Comilang and Rey Paraan (who was replacing Gilbert Joven from the original Folksingers Three) had an almost-purely-PPM repertoire, with 500 Hundred Miles click here; For Lovin’ Me click here; Morning Train; and the Ballad of Spring Hill click here. The Reyes Family Singers (Buddy, Mila, Surf and Marie Reyes, four of the eight family members who had performed in a Dinner-Dance at Aristocrat-Cubao, in Quezon City the year before) also had PPM songs (Go, Tell it on the Mountain click here; Man Come into Egypt click here; Come Go With Me to that Land click here;) along with others (What’s That I Hear Now click here; and Rock My Soul click here).
The Triad of sisters Lennie and Lulu Abellera with Carol Brady sang Four Strong Winds click here; and Lily of the West. Soloist American Chris Francone sang Where Have All the Flowers Gone? click here; and Cruel War click here; and an American male duet (Mike Bentley and another guy) were memorable for their ultra-protest song Eve of Destruction click here.
Guest performers who came from Manila were the Paredes Singers, namely sisters Meiling and Lory, and their brother Jim who later figured in the popular Apo Hiking Society. They sang PPM’s Betty and Dupree click here and Freight Train click here, among their many songs. Other performers included the Mountain Maids of the Good Shepherd convent in Baguio with their Ilocano and Tagalog numbers; the Golden Axes who were Thai students from the city’s Brent school; and Steve Comilang, who was a hit with his song about “The Rooster,” aside from being the emcee of the show. Unofficial but effective cheerleders for performers and crew alike were Amerasian (Fil-Am) sisters Alice and Becky Cariño.
It was a year later, at another concert (Sing, Folks, Sing!), that the RFS adopted Because All Men Are Brothers click here (PPM/Pete Seeger) as its “anthem,” the finale piece for the full group of eight members (with teenaged Lito and Ding duet singing Fleetwoods and Lettermen selections and the grade-schoolers Tony, Jimmy and Rose as a trio with PPM songs, like Puff, the Magic Dragon click here and Autumn to May click here.).
With protest folk songs, mainly from PPM, virtually becoming the centerpiece of Sing Out in 1966, the folk songs mood changed a bit in the run-up towards the three-day Woodstock in the U.S. in 1969, also the year the 5th Dimension Singers happily sang to welcome the historic dawning of The Age of Aquarius click here. It was also in 1969 that the theme of peace was highlighted in John Lennon's Imagine click here and All We Are Saying is Give Peace a Chance click here. Over the decades, the peace theme was enriched by that of love and harmony, with I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing click here; We are the World click here; and also Paul MacCartney’s Ebony and Harmony click here, which he sang with Stevie Wonder .Without indulging in illusions of the work to be done being easy, the songs have strengthened our Human determination to make significant contributions to the Love-Peace-Joy consciousness and popular music of 2011 and succeeding years..
We have really come a long way from the Sing Out Folk Songs Festival in 1966 to the Sing Out our Love, Peace, Joy in 2011, just a span of five years short of half a century. And for the latter we encourage the world's many family and friendship groups to create, gather, share and sing songs together for the Love, Peace and Joy that most Humans openly desire and are getting about ready to materialize in earnest on our planet.
Humankind marches faster and firmer, against all difficulties, towards the state of “synergy from conscious oneness” well within the spiritual enlightenment age, the Age of Aquarius that was just dawning some 45 years ago.
(Please e-mail all comments, corrections, inquiries and suggestions, including contributed original song lyrics and melody to
singout.lovepeacejoy2011@yahoo.com
Please help us spread the word about this far and wide, by sending this message or its link to at least five to ten people anywhere in the Philippines and in the world and asking them to do the same.)
Thank you very much!
-- Ding Reyes, lead initiator, "SING OUT our LOVE. PEACE, JOY! 2011" Project
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