Matthew Tan is a
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
an musician and bandleader. He has led
Matthew and the Mandarins in its various forms since the 1960s. He is also the co-composer of the hit songs "
Singapore Cowboy
"Singapore Cowboy" is a song by Singaporean country band Matthew and the Mandarins, released in 1978.
Background
Following Matthew Tan's move to Nashville, Tennessee in 1975, he composed "Singapore Cowboy" there. He returned to Singapore in 1977 ...
" and "
Let's Put The Sing In Singapore".
Background
Tan leads the band
Matthew and the Mandarins, formed in 1961.
Tan was the first Asian to ever perform at the
Grand Ole Opry
The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...
.
['' Today'', 18 January 2013 ]
"Celebrating Matthew Tan and Singapore Country", by Christopher Toh
/ref>
Career
1960s to 1970s
By the mid-1960s his band was playing in hotels.[Mothership.sg, December 22, 2014 ]
"8 Pop acts you boogied to if you were alive in the 60s", by Joshua Lee
/ref>
In 1975, Tan flew to Nashville, Tennessee, United States, where the country and western action was. There, he performed at the Grand Ole Opry and did a duet with Skeeter Davis.EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
Singapore in 1978, his band performed in Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and the United States.
Along with Bristow Hopper, he co-wrote "Singapore Cowboy".[Discogs ]
Matthew & The Mandarins – Matthew And The Mandarins
/ref> The song became a number 1 hit in Singapore. It was featured on the ''Matthew And The Mandarins'' 1978 album.
Later years
Tan became the subject of a 2012 documentary titled ''Singapore Country''. The filmmaker, Wee Li Lin
Wee Li Lin (born 1973) is a Singaporean director known for directing the feature films ''Gone Shopping'' and ''Forever'', as well as several short films, such as '' Centrepoint KidZ''.
Early life and education
When she was young, she would "trawl ...
, paid tribute to "Singapore Cowboy" as well as Tan.
On November 8, 2013, Tan was the musical director of a concert which featured Jimmy Chan, Gina Vadham, Henry Suriya, Hillary Francis, Mel and Joe, and Frank and Robyn. His band, The Mandarins was also the house band for the event.
In 2014, Tan played at the Canberra Country Blues & Roots Festival. He was one of two artists to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, the Asia-Pacific Lifetime Achievement Award.[''The Straits Times'', Nov 15, 2014 ]
"Singapore Cowboy Matthew Tan riding high" - Phoebe Low
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Matthew
Living people
Singaporean guitarists
Singaporean musicians
Singaporean composers
Asian country singers
20th-century Singaporean male singers
1945 births