Wilson David, aka the Elvis Presley of Singapore, recorded his first EP with The Jets. The four tracks included I'll Never Be Mad At You, I Love To Be By Your Side, Yours and Jezebel. The first two tracks were composed by Alan Poh of The Jets. Wilson also recorded an SP with The Moonglows, Cold And Lonely and That's Amore.
2008/07/24
Wilson David
Wilson David, aka the Elvis Presley of Singapore, recorded his first EP with The Jets. The four tracks included I'll Never Be Mad At You, I Love To Be By Your Side, Yours and Jezebel. The first two tracks were composed by Alan Poh of The Jets. Wilson also recorded an SP with The Moonglows, Cold And Lonely and That's Amore.
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4 comments:
The biggest name in the history of pop and rock music has to be Elvis Presley. Even super pop icons such as Sir Cliff Richard and The Beatles have publicly acknowledged that Elvis was the one singer who inspired them to be what they became.
Wilson David was dubbed the Elvis Presley of Singapore.
One thing that I still remember from my early primary schooldays in Singapore during the late 50's and early 60's was the principal sternly warning the kids not to come to school with their hair combed back to look like Tony Curtis and Elvis Presley. I remember some upper-level schoolkids getting called up on stage in school assemblies and getting caned by the principal for breaking the hair rule.
Elvis Presley in the late 50's was the personification of rebelliousness and ultra-cool in Singapore, and that image carried on into the early 60's. I am sure that some of you must remember the Cliff Richard camp vs. the Elvis Presley camp back then. Cliff was the good choir boy, of course, and Elvis was the wild rebel you would never allow your sister or your daughter to go out with.
Not that Wilson David really gave a hoot about what you or your mom and dad thought. He was born to be Elvis, and that's the way it was.
I only have a few precious images of Singapore 60's pop stars performing on television, yet these few images have been seared deeply into my brain cells since I left the island in 1968. I remember The Crescendos, The Sundowners, The Quests, The Trailers, Naomi and The Boys, The Thunderbirds, The Cyclones and The Jets. And also Wilson David.
I close my eyes, and I can see Wilson David singing "That's Amore" on black and white Singapore television in 1965. He was wearing a plaid jacket, dark pants, white shirt and a dark tie, and he was Elvis that evening. The Elvis Presley of Singapore did a most memorable take, singing the song much more uptempo than Dean Martin's slower, seemingly martini-slurred, singalong hit version with an Italian twist from 1953. Hide all the girls, Wilson David's on fire!
Looking back, I totally understand why Wilson David was called the Elvis Presley of Singapore back then. Not only did he cultivate his Elvis Presley look, with Elvis eyes and pompadour and sneer and all, but he also did a credible job of impersonating Elvis' deep, rich, sexually charged up voice. There were plenty of Elvis impersonators in Singapore during that era, but to me Wilson David was the best one of them all.
Let me close my eyes again, let me see Wilson David performing as Elvis:
"When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie,
That's amore
When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine
That's amore…"
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Wilson David":
Dear Vernon,
This EP is quite interesting because of the two originals by bass player Alan Poh. We had enough good songwriters in our midst but our publishing industry was not well developed then for these budding songwriters could have placed their songs with other singers and thus earn them a living.
Joseph.C.Pereira
I remember watching Wilson David preform at the Arundul Room at the Goodwood Park Hotell, around 1964
Does he still perform?
I am looking for an Elvis impersonator for a company event.
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