2012-11-19

KULDIP - ESTA ES MI CHICA

El Mundo Deportivo, November 29, 1965

Kuldip Rae Singh, or "The kashmirian crooner", or "Cool Dip" (b. Kashmire 1935) is a famous show man, physician, and Bop singer with a long story before he came to Spain. According to an interview in Saratoga Herald Tribune (Apr. 11, 1958) wanted to be a physician in UCLA and to be "responsible for the education of would-be doctor in Cashmire". In November 1956, he appeared in quiz shows. The goal was "earn enough money to be able to help exchange students" from his country. 
November 1956 at George Gobel Show
The name "Cool Dip" came from an unrehearsed chorus of "woman in love" on Groucho Marx's "You Bet Your Life" TV Show. Kuldip was limited to the confines of a shower stall, and he pronounced "cool-dip", literally was signed overnight to records song for RCA Victor. Since then, Kuldip traded his medical dictionaries for TV scripts including numerous guest shots in two "Matinee Theater" productions. On April 18, 1958 Kuldip portrayed Aladdin's son in the Shirley Temple's storybook spectacular for NBC TV, "The Land of Green Ginger". Kuldip is a 14th generation descendant of Guru Nanak Shah Bedi, Hindu prophet. The "Kashmir krooner" also was able to arrange for his family, including 3 sisters and a brother to come to the US from the British West Indies where his father was inthe import-export business. Althoug born in Kashmire, Kuldip was schooled in the Dominican Republic, and in San Juan of Puerto Rico. He attended medical college at the University of Santo Domingo for three years before coming to the US in 1954. In The Dispacht journal (Feb 24, 1958) we can read that he sang at the Silver Slipper in Las Vegas, and was a regular on the Ray Anthony TV Show.
Here goes the tranlation of Kuldip's story appeared in a Spanish compilation:

Throughout the history of popular music has been many cases of artists who, for one reason or another, have been known very little. An aura of mystery, sought or found, wrapped his movements, his life and career, and with the passing of his fame has become even denser. Maybe that's harder to forget, to escape its fascination, Robert Johnson, the you-say-bluesman sold his soul to the devil and composed songs barely twenty, has been a myth for generations of rock musicians. Or eden abnez, who wrote songs like "Nature Boy" before disappearing like a bum and did not allow his name to be written in capital letters because that only God deserved. Or more recently Peter Green, the first leader of Fleetwood Mac, who once felt a kind of light and got rid of all their worldly goods, including guitars, before renouncing music. And of course, our hero today, the mysterious singer Kuldip Singh, also known as 'The Prince of Light' ... "Born in the Valley of Kashmir, between India and Pakistan. Very child still haunts the main capitals of America, Asia and Europe with his father, a lawyer of international prestige. They travel very fast but they are instilling in children an open mind and optimistic. When he returns to his native began his primary education in Sind Hyabrabad (Lahore). At age nine, he travels to America, where he remains boarding school until seventeen, when he graduated from the University of California. He studied medicine and music grows, for whom he feels a special inclination. Her passion is singing. At that time, Groucho Marx had a popular television contest. Kuldip goes to the program and the lot will choose to participate. It answers many questions and asked to sing. It is at this point that success begins.Thousands of letters are received. Everyone wants to return you to listen. All interested in the young singer came from far, poetic and mysterious India. Contracts and propositions occur multiply. Signature with Twentieth Century Fox Life magazine published an extensive report on the young singer. NBC hired him as an actor and participates in the fabulous TV shows with (Tennessee) Ernie Ford, Bob Crosby, Ed Sullivan and Perry Como represents important roles in operettas famous U.S. and around the main cities in the United States ... already a star ...At this important moment in the artistic life of Kuldip, the call to parental obedience, so sacred in India, reminds abandoned his college career. It is time for the big decision. Must complete a medical career. In late summer of 1964 resolved to come to Spain in the strictest incognito and continue his studies.In Spain is happy. You like our environment. It is a fervent admirer of our customs, but miss your home and misses his great triumphs in America. She decides to find an outlet and decided to combine their studies with music. He wants to sing. It is then signed his exclusive contract with Hispavox. The album that we present today, the first recorded in Spain, is the result of this new stage in the life of Kuldip and his great passion for music. From the Far East came to the new world and won, representing the latest generation of India. Now awaiting final consecration in the new continent. " The above is a brief biography that accompanied the first EP by Kuldip in our country, edited by Hispavox. An album that began to draw attention to the character and in which no one seemed to be who I really was; arrangements, for example, signed Frank Ferran, who was none other than the 'totemic' conductor and arranger of Waldo Rivers, already considered a genius on both sides of the Atlantic in which he spoke Castilian but his fame far from popular seventies. And Kuldip history could not be more challenging in a time when it seemed the world's largest and some of its farthest corners, and a character like him could not go unnoticed ... Although it was almost impossible to know for sure who was beyond what counted. And in an extensive interview he did shortly after the then neophyte Paco Umbral put even more mystery in the story: "To his thousands of subjects is Kuldip Prince. To his thousands of fans, simply Kuldip. To each other is the 'Prince of Light', a title he inherited from his ancestors. From remote founder Guru Nanak Sikh religion. Kuldip has traveled and studied throughout the world. Hollywood gave him the song.Currently, in Madrid, studied medicine and burn discs for a major house music. We are in his apartment in Madrid.

- I was born in the Kashmir valley. I do not say how many years ago was that because I think the old one and the dates do not matter.

Kuldip is to his subjects and their religion what the young Agha Khan Kharim to yours. These last descendants of the legendary Indian religions are already a completely Western. Kuldip, tall, thin, young, betrays his face, however, the features and the color of their race. He speaks with an Eastern Castilian musicality.

- The Sikhs are warriors. My grandfather (grandparents call all our ancestors) was a reformer of Hinduism.He preached kindness and suppressed the worship of idols. We have ten million subjects. But I think that, of the five hundred million people in India, seventy percent follow our precepts and is inspired by the Bible.
- Are you a direct descendant of this dynasty?
- My father is a descendant in direct line number thirteen. And I am the eldest son. As you have noted, my situation is the same as that of Prince Kharim regarding Islam.- Once he left his country, where he has lived for longer?
- In the United States. In Los Angeles. There was studying when I discovered Groucho Marx. Groucho was a TV show. And looking for new faces, and possibly alien. And found me ...Kuldip smiles. Was to become a famous singer. Facing violent rhythms of Elvis Priestley (sic), he brought a romantic and sentimental song.
- I won a lot of money. I did a movie with Shirley Temple, 'The son of Aladdin'. But then my father came to find out what was happening. My studies were not going well. My father wants to end a medical career to the day when India again and put me in front of our subjects, can be helpful in some way. I suggested to a country where I finished my studies. And after much thought, I decided on Spain. And here I am. About a year ago I live in Spain.- And has come to sing ...
- It was inevitable. I love this country. For his deep spirituality, reminds me of mine. I love the Spanish language. I wrote the lyrics of several songs in Spanish. These are the records. "
Here we make the first paragraph. In the sixties it was really difficult to compare any information and also was a time when somewhat mysterious and exotic origin added 'charme' to any artist, not a few of those episodes added all sorts of fanciful and adventurers to his biography, even in the case of well-known artists. But today we have tools like the Internet, but should not be considered as the calyx of absolute truth, if it is useful to contrast certain information. As for example, Shirley Temple retired from film in 1949, and even recorded some television programs later made ​​no movie to be called "Son of Aladdin". Nor is it clear that Groucho had a program that describes the characteristics of Kuldip, but the memories of television are so forgetful that maybe ... 
On with the stale interview:
"But Kuldip is a good student, despite everything. He goes every morning to the Clinic. The album folder presented with turban headdress. It has a weekly program on Radio Madrid. Composes and writes his own songs. With discs has released a grocery bag full of letters from admirers.

- I get hundreds of letters every week. My secretary answering them. Spanish girls are lovely. Almost all I talk about marriage. I do not know if it'll end up marrying in Spain ...
Kuldip always smiling. Even when I ask about his grades.

- I passed the third full year. Someday I will focus on medicine, no doubt. And back to my country. But I can not give up singing. Now I want to travel around Latin singing.
He is passionate talking about life and the problems of their vast country. Under the exotic character launched by advertising encourages remote descendant of Guru Nanak, the founder of a religion and a dynasty. " Certainly, as we have seen anywhere Sikh Hispanic Network, "the Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539) was the founder of the Sikh religion, spread over the following centuries for another ten teachers or Gurus, the tenth Master, Guru Gobind Singh ended the 'Guruship' personal and proclaimed the 'Guru Granth Sahib', Sacred Scripture of Sikhs, as the eternal Guru forever. The Guru Granth Sahib is surely an aircraft carrying a devout worshiper or the ocean of materialism, thus leading to the human soul to its final destination which is absolute bliss. " What we have not been able to find is any reference to Kuldip Singh, who is like signing his own compositions, but also called himself Singhera-out the legitimate descendant of that tradition.

The mystery Kuldip therefore continues. Maybe it's better this way. We have to refer to their songs, just left 14 subjects in his time in Spain, recorded between 1965 and 1967, but later, in 1969, would release a new single, "I Could Cry", and under the name of Grant Morgan, of which there are not many chronicles. His two biggest hits were the "Spanish eyes" by Al Martino, masterfully covered in Spanish, in a newly acquired Spanish one in 1966 but practically not noticed any Indian accent ... 








1 comment:

Brian Chidester said...

So funny -- the comparison of Kuldip to Eden Ahbez. Kuldip actually recorded one of Ahbez's songs in 1958 when Ahbez was apparently disappearing to become a "bum." It was an original.