I have a brain that stores a playlist – retrieving songs I’ve heard since my childhood. I start singing the moment I get out of bed. “Why are you always so happy?”, my work colleagues would say. They missed the point. I sing not because I am happy, I sing because it MAKES me happy!

My Mum Paula, her sisters Gertie, Poppy, Margaret and Honey, and brothers Maurie and Sass, could all sing or play an instrument. Aunt Gertie’s voice was the most beautiful – a very rich, full-bodied contralto. As a child I was always excited to see her: the first thing she would do was to pick me up and sing ‘Exactly Like You’.

My mother’s lullabies were ‘Black Hills of Dakota’ and ‘You Are My Sunshine’. Granny Azizah – speaking Arabic and some English – could neither read nor write but could sing in English. Carole King’s ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?’ and ‘Our Day Will Come’ were her favourites. We’d laugh so much when she forgot the lyrics and put in her own words instead! How could I ever forget those moments and memories? 

Sadly, my family’s talent for the most part, always remained a hobby. But it was Poppy and Margaret who blazed the trail for us.

Poppy learnt to play lead guitar at age 13; Margaret, then 9, became her harmonising vocal partner and learned rhythm guitar. During the Japanese occupation of Singapore, they would sit on the steps of their Kirk Terrace home and practise. The Cathay Cinema building next door became headquarters for the Japanese army. But the family lived in constant fear for their lives. Mother Azizah, widowed at 35, had 7 children and 5 stepchildren. Women were being raped and men tortured. How would they survive? 

Whether through Providence, fate or coincidence, a high-ranking Japanese officer walked past their home one day and heard Poppy and Margaret singing. Their voices took him by surprise – and he asked if he could meet their mother. Seeing him entering their home, Gran thought the worst. He didn’t harm them. Instead, he nailed a sign outside their door forbidding all Japanese soldiers from entering. They stayed safe in their homes until they were transferred to Sime Road camp for the duration of the War! 

This officer – Hiroshi – traced our address, wrote us letters and came to visit in the early ’50s when we were all living in Stangee Place, Singapore. 

Even though I was barely 5, I remember the moment Hiroshi walked in the door. We clapped as he entered, and then everyone took turns to hug him. Gran and my aunts were crying. We had tea together – and before he left, Poppy and Margaret sang ‘Santa Lucia’ in Japanese for their ‘Hiro’. If only I’d kept my mother’s photos of that day!  

Immediately after the War, Margaret and Poppy were secretaries during the day and a vocal duo at night. “Singapore’s Andrews Sisters” packed the night spots, opening shows for overseas artistes like Xavier Cugat and his Orchestra. Gran and I would listen to them on the radio, and were so proud of them. 

When they made Australia their home from the mid-1960s, the next generation got started. This time, we had cassette recorders! We taped our own weekend jam sessions – guitars, bongos, keyboards, singing in our loungeroom whilst the family played mahjong. 

Fortunately, Margaret came back to Singapore after Poppy married in 1970. This time I was M’s singing partner: the re-formed Manasseh Sisters began another era!

You’ll now hear the soundtrack of our lives – 80 years since it all began – in the video below. We salvaged M’s photos and news cuttings, and transferred old recordings from reel tapes to cassettes, and then to digital. Brother Dave slotted in the slides, and we picked the best recordings done by M and me. But I also had to reach out to my brain’s playlist to tell you the full story through the power of music. Happy times, sad times and crazy times … remembered just by hearing the first few bars of a song. 

My message to you is that the most empowering gift we have is to sing – and I don’t believe anyone when they say they can’t. Sing to your young ones when you take them for a walk, sing in the car, the kitchen, the shower, on your walks, before you sleep and when you get out of bed. Now crank up your speakers (or headphones) – and come join in with us to sing to our music!

PS. If you love the music of the 50s and 60s, you can stream it free on the VintageRadio.SG mobile app, or on your web browser on www.vintageradio.sg – but don’t forget to sync to GMT +8:00 Singapore time!

Full Vocal Tracks