The Swing Song That Started It All

How can one forget the song that started it all in 1979 - Souvenirs by Voyage. I just completed my freshman year of high school and by the time Souvenirs hit the radio waves that summer, my social life was in full swing. Soirees have become a weekend staple during the second half of the school year. Get together's at Nolet Soliven, Milet Landicho and Frances
Cruel's homes were the thing to do to learn the latest dance steps and swing maneuvers.

I returned to Hong Kong that summer to visit my cousins Rhett, Gigi and Dennis Eala. The big mission that summer was to acquire the first copy of the Voyage's Fly Away LP album before it reaches the stores in  Manila. After searching through music stores in Kowloon, Rhett and I discovered the album in Causeway Bay. I came home to Manila, proud like a first time father, with the LP on hand. That album reaffirmed my "coolness" status (at least in my eyes) with the barkada (closest group of friends).

It was also the first album, to my recollection, where all the songs were mixed to make up one heck of an extended album. Side A blasted off the bat with Souvenirs then Kechak Fantasy, Eastern Tahiti and Tahiti, Tahiti. My other favorite Voyage song, Let's Fly Away started Side B followed by Golden Eldorado and finally Gone with the Music. Every song on this album made the top of the disco charts in 1979 and the disco scene in Manila was right there to help crown the the best disco album ever.

I cannot recall of a more cherished summer in my life than those swinging days in 1979.