Da 'Chinese Sinatra' From Kapa'a
Nichi Bei Times, June 2003
Jus' like da kine time machine, music can take you back to one different time an' place. Well, dis one goin' take you back… way back. Even befo' small keed time fo' us Two Japanee Bruddahs.
From the 1930s through the '50s, Chinatown's legendary Forbidden City nightclub was one of the hottest spots in San Francisco, frequented by Hollywood celebrities like Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and John Wayne. Ey, you remembah da nightclub in Flower Drum Song? Dats whea dey wen get da idea.
More significantly, the Forbidden City was to Asian Americans what Harlem's Cotton Club was to the African American community. The club showcased the premier Asian American performers of the time. Entertainers who were often billed as novelty acts by mainstream venues were appreciated for their true talents at the Forbidden City.
While most of the performers were Chinese American, a number of Japanese Americans were among the featured acts. Dorothy Takahashi, who started as a jazz singer in Los Angeles, took the name Dorothy Toy and teamed with Paul Wing to form the renowned Toy and Wing dance team, often referred to as the "Chinese Astaire and Rogers."
Long before portraying nightclub owner Sammy Fong in Flower Drum Song and Detective Nick Yemana (wot kine Japanee name is dat?) in TV's Barney Miller, Oakland native Goro Suzuki, more commonly known as Jack Soo, was a vocalist and emcee at the Forbidden City. In its later years, comedian Pat Morita and Hawai'i's Jimmy Borges, the only singer ever granted full access to Frank Sinatra's personal musical arrangements, also played the club.
Through the years, however, one of the best known Forbidden City entertainers was Larry Ching. A Kauai boy, born in Kapa'a, Ching found his way to San Francisco in 1938 after serving with the Merchant Marines. He began his entertainment career as the popular singing bartender at the Chinese Village, earning $40 a week.
In an interview with writer JoAnn Yuen, Ching recalled, "I did not really need the job. I accepted the offer because I was tired of doing the same old thing in the engine room of a ship and being ordered around by the engineer. Besides, I enjoyed singing and meeting new friends." When the bar's owner, Charlie Low, opened his new Forbidden City club, he took Ching with him, billing him as the "Chinese Sinatra."
"It is not that easy to be in the entertainment business," said Ching, who did three shows a night, six nights a week. "We had to rehearse for a new show every four months, and the themes were either Chinese, Spanish-Mexican, Hawaiian, or the Gay '90s. Our rewards? Well, Charlie Low spent lots of money on race horses and sometimes could not afford to pay our salaries. I had to pay out of my own pocket for the tuxedoes I had to wear during a performance."
Ching also had to deal with the racism of the day. "Several times I lost control of my temper when some drunken customers called me 'Chinaman,'" he recalled. "I stopped singing, jumped off the stage, and started a fight. When someone called the cops, I had to slip away from behind the stage." Most of the time, he says, he had to restrain himself. "I just had to take it."
A half-century later, Ching, now 82, has just released his first recording. Till the End of Time, a collection of 12 newly recorded standards and four long-lost cuts recorded in the '40s was produced by music journalist and broadcaster Ben Fong-Torres. Fong-Torres met Ching when the former Rolling Stone editor and writer co-hosted the world premiere of Arthur Dong's documentary, Forbidden City U.S.A., in San Francisco in 1989.
According to Fong-Torres, "Larry sang at the premiere. He has such a gorgeous voice, and his style is a mix of the great crooners of the Thirties and Forties, and Hawaiian music." They met again a few years later, at a wedding reception, where Ching sang several songs. Fong-Torres, emcee of the reception, suggested recording Ching, and the singer was willing.
"But jobs, books, different things got in the way," said Fong-Torres. "It just wasn't the right time." Late last year, the two met again, at an event at San Francisco State University to celebrate the DVD release of the documentary. Again, Ching sang, Fong-Torres emceed, and they talked about going into the recording studios. This time, however, it actually happened.
The session was recorded at the San Francisco State University studios in February. Ching is accompanied on piano by a familiar Japantown figure and another bruddah from Hawai'i, George Yamasaki. Veteran jazz bassist Dean Reilly and drummer Jim Zimmerman round out the group.Songs include perennials such as "I'm In the Mood For Love," "Embraceable You" and "Ke Kali Nei Au" (Hawaiian Wedding Song). It's interesting to contrast the newly recorded cuts with the four numbers recorded in the 1940s. Ho, da smooth - Uncle can still sing!
The CD is available at Nikkei Traditions - San Francisco, and also online, at www.asianconnections.com, www.cdbaby.com and at www.amazon.com.
Keith Kamisugi and Kyle Tatsumoto are the Two Japanee Bruddahs. Email them at wot@twojapaneebruddahs.com.
Larry
Ching, da "Chinese Sinatra"
George
Yamamoto, Ching, Ben Fong-Torres