"I Was Only 19" The Herd feat. Redgum (2005)

In 1983, there was a major hit record in Australia nobody in America has ever heard at that time.

But one they should have. Sadly, it didn't get any American radio airplay or distribution.

The song was called "I Was Only 19 (A Walk In The Light Green)" by Redgum, an Australian folk group that described the Australian experience in the Vietnam War and it's aftermath in a way any American veteran of that war could easily relate.

The early '80s seemed to be filled with songs about the Vietnam War. From "Still In Saigon" The Charlie Daniels Band, "Goodnight Saigon" Billy Joel, the ubiquitous "Born In The USA" Bruce Springsteen (among many he wrote.) The Clash also recorded several songs about the Vietnam War. And of course, there was the just plain dopey "19" Paul Hardcastle.

Time warp to 2005.

Australian hip-hop group The Herd (no relation to Peter Frampton's late '60s band, of course) remakes "I Was Only 19". Their version included John Schumann, Redgum's lead vocalist in the song's bridge and, most surprisingly, in the song's final rap. He is also highlighted in the song's video.


The Herd's remake became another major hit in Australia. Their version went to #18 on Triple J Radio's Hottest 100 countdown of 2005 and got regular airplay on the network.

Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock-N-Roll

Back in the '60s and early '70s, in a tiny kingdom in Southeast Asia very few Americans had ever known of and rarely even heard the name of up to then, a rock 'n roll revolution was happening.

Cambodia was a pretty Westernized nation at the time and it's capitol, Phnom Penh was surprisingly modern and trendsetting compared to most of Asia during those years. Many rock and roll bands were formed during the Vietnam war, taking rock and roll music that was brought to Cambodia by American soldiers stationed there and blending it with traditional Cambodian music to create probably one of the most unique sub-genres of '60s rock ever heard, one that could have easily held it's own along with the American and British rock that influenced it, even in if it was sung mostly in Cambodian.

But the kingdom became destabilized with the Vietnam war raging at it's border. The Khmer Rouge and it's leader Pol Pot had taken over Cambodia in 1975 and began the most bloody genocide and torture the world had ever seen since Hitler's Germany. Over two million Cambodians, one third of it's ENTIRE population were slaughtered in what became infamously known as The Killing Fields.

Virtually all musicians, artists and intellectuals were sent to work in forced labor camps, many were worked, starved or in the case of many women, also beaten and raped to death. Many people merely in possession of these Cambodian artist's records or tapes were killed or sent to camps to suffer the same fates and the records/tapes were destroyed. Very few original studio master tapes survived. However, a handful of songs have survived on 2nd or 3rd generation cassette tapes and vinyl discs that were smuggled out of Cambodia or hidden, from which came a few compilations released in the '90s, one which I found in 1998 and my own interest in this lost music began.

There is a forthcoming movie that chronicles this lost era just before the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia called Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock & Roll.

Here is the trailer for it:

 
Here's one of the biggest Cambodian rock hits.  "I'm 16" Ros Sereysothea

The movie has been in production for nearly seven years, but it is due in 2013. Check it out....It's an eye opener into rock n' roll's most tragic mystery....

Website: http://www.dtifcambodia.com

UPDATE: 1/11/14  - Don't Think I've Forgotten premiered in Phnom Penh. It's US release is still unknown. But here's a recent article about the film and some of the artists:

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/7days/long-awaited-film-tells-tale-cambodia%E2%80%99s-musical-%E2%80%98golden-age%E2%80%99 

UPDATE: 3/8/15 - The movie is currently being screened at selected film festivals across America. It's unclear if there will ever be a Netflix showing or Blu-Ray or DVD release of the film.