A 1967 Radio Weekly article called Sakura a "pint-sized extrovert and livewire". Interestingly, her stage name is actually a literal translation of her Chinese name, 'Ying Hua', (meaning cherry blossom in Mandarin)! Apparently she was given the nickname when she started singing Japanese numbers in Chinese during her stage performances. Sakura's debut EP, featuring the tracks: "Like I Do", "My Bonnie", "Sad Movie" and "Listen People", sold over 25,000 copies when it was released in 1966. The backing band featured in this recording is none other than The Quests (credited as Sounds Anonymous). I think this is such a happy tune, you can almost sense Sakura's fun spirit.
Sakura - Like I Do
Rita Chao seems to get a lot more love here than Sakura. No one commented on the last Sakura post, but I'm assuming it was fab, right? =)
2 comments:
I read that Sakura's daughter, actress Amy Ting, was in the World Trade Center in NYC on 9/11 and escaped uninjured. The experience prompted Amy to join the US Air Force shortly afterward.
I'm curious to know what the careers of Sakura and Rita Chao were like back in the mid-60's. As the catalog numbers are all very close, it appears that EMI/Columbia would release titles from each singer virtually at the same time. They also released a handful of titles where Rita and Sakura joined forces, mainly singing duets in Chinese.
If the term "adult contemporary" has been around back then, it may have described Sakura's style, which appeared more conservative, or perhaps "traditional" than many others. But with occasional surprises such as the fuzzed out "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag," Sakura proved she could rock with the best of them...
Sakura was fabulous, indeed. I particularly enjoy her LP "Sakura Goes Boom-Bool". Keep up posting!
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