Cliff Foenander is Sri Lanka's first ever international musician who conquered the world of popular music in South East Asia and in Las Vegas. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island The Las Vegas Strip (also known as The Strip) is an approximately 4 mile (6 He was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Colombo ( Sinhala:, ˈkoləmbə Tamil: கொழும்பு is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka.
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Early Years in Colombo
Cliff grew up in Colombo. The 1950s was pivotal to his decision to become a musician. Ceylon was buzzing to the sounds of Bill Haley, Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard. This article is specifically about the singer For detailed information about his rock and roll group see Bill Haley & His Comets. Sir Cliff Richard, OBE, (born Harry Roger Webb on 14 October 1940 is an English Singer, Actor and Businessman. Cliff wanted to emulate his musical heroes. He started playing in clubs and sang at dances all over Ceylon. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island He had a strong voice and he certainly was determined to become a success. The Ceylonese audiences took to his music and his charismatic performing style. Cliff Foenander was a star performer in the world of show business.
Radio Ceylon plays Cliff's music
An early break happened when South Asia's oldest radio station, Radio Ceylon (now the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation) gave him valuable exposure, making Cliff Foenander a household name in 1950s and 1960s Ceylon. Radio Ceylon is the oldest Radio station in Asia. Broadcasting was started on an experimental basis in Ceylon by the Telegraph Department The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC came into existence on January 5th 1967 when Radio Ceylon became a public corporation Cliff soon became very popular not only in Ceylon but right across South Asia via Radio Ceylon's South Asia beam, particularly to India. Legendary broadcasters Vernon Corea, Jimmy Bharucha and Tim Horshington played his songs time and time again and interviewed him on their radio shows, which were listened to by millions. Vernon Corea ( 11 September 1927 - 23 September 2002) was a pioneer radio broadcaster with 45 years of public service broadcasting both in Jimmy Bharucha, called a 'colossus in Sri Lanka 's broadcasting world' died in Colombo in June 2005 Timothy Navaratnam Horshington was a pioneering broadcaster of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia Cliff Foenander became a runaway success on the airwaves of Radio Ceylon.
The Fabulous Echoes
Cliff Foenander's big break came when he joined a Hong Kong based group 'The Fabulous Echoes. ' They took South East Asia by storm, building a huge fan base in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and even Japan. Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and Singapore The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Cliff was now a huge star in South East Asia and South Asia. Radio Ceylon continued to play all his hits with The Fabulous Echoes. Radio stations in Hong Kong, Philippines and Singapore continued to play the records released by The Fabulous Echoes and it helped build a massive fan base and positive reviews in the South East Asian media. People in South East Asia still recall the impact The Fabulous Echoes had in the world of popular culture.
Las Vegas
The Fabulous Echoes became international stars when they played Las Vegas in the United States of America. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the They performed with the rat pack - Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr, with Ella Fitzgerald and the great 'Satchmo,' Louis Armstrong. Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (December 12 1915 &ndash May 14 1998 was an American singer and actor Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7 1917 &ndash December 25 1995 was an American Singer, Film Actor, television personality Samuel George “Sammy” Davis Jr (8 December 1925 &ndash 16 May 1990 was an American Entertainer. Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25 1917 &ndash June 15 1996 also known as " Lady Ella " and the "First Lady of Song" is considered one of the most influential Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter Cliff Foenander and The Fabulous Echoes always performed a tight set and were very much a part of the Las Vegas cabaret act.
The Fabulous Echoes were invited to perform on the Ed Sullivan Show after he saw them in action in the Thunderbird Lounge. The Ed Sullivan Show was an American television Variety show that ran from June 20, 1948 to June 6,
Cliff Foenander continued his music career after The Fabulous Echoes. He decided to settle down in Melbourne, Australia. Foenander passed away in Australia on the 21st of November 2000. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.
The Foenander Legacy
Even though Cliff Foenander is no more, his musical legacy lives on in Australia. Cliff's nephew, Robin Foenander is a rising star in Australia and has released several CDs and a hit country music song 'Further Down The Road' with the folk music legend Keith Potger, who was a founder member of the Seekers and the New Seekers. Robin Foenander is an Australian musician and broadcaster He was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka Keith Potger (born March 21 1941 at Colombo in Sri Lanka, is one of the founder members of the Australian pop-folk group The Seekers, in which The Seekers, or Legatine-Arians as they were sometimes known were a Protestant dissenting group that emerged around the 1620s probably inspired by the preaching of three The New Seekers were a British / German / Australian pop group, formed in 1969 by Keith Potger after the
See also
External links
- World Music Central: Robin Foenander and Keith Potger release Further Down The Road in Australia
- Top40-charts.com Further Down The Road with Rob Foenander and Keith Potger
- J.R.Ransom's taomusic.com: Robin Foenander and Keith Potger Further Down The Road
References to the Fabulous Echoes on You Tube
You Tube, The Fabulous Echoes - The Early Years Part 1 of 3, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWhOvRF_Njg>. The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC came into existence on January 5th 1967 when Radio Ceylon became a public corporation Radio Ceylon is the oldest Radio station in Asia. Broadcasting was started on an experimental basis in Ceylon by the Telegraph Department Vernon Corea ( 11 September 1927 - 23 September 2002) was a pioneer radio broadcaster with 45 years of public service broadcasting both in This is a list of musicians from the country of Sri Lanka which is located south of India. Retrieved on 29 October 2007