Wanda de Fretes

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Wanda de Fretes
Birth nameElvira Carolina de Fretes
Also known asWanda Aubrey
Born (1946-01-08) 8 January 1946 (age 77)
Ternate, Indonesia
GenresRock' Roll, Indonesian folk, Malayan folk

Wanda de Fretes is a singer and recording artist who was popular in the Netherlands in the 1960s. She is also the daughter of legendary Moluccan steel guitarist George de Fretes and singer Joyce Aubrey. In addition to her solo efforts, she also recorded with her mother as the duo Wanda & Joyce. Besides singing pop and rock'n roll, she also sang traditional Indonesian and Malayan songs.

Contents

Background

Wanda was born in Bandung, Indonesia in 1946 to parents George de Fretes and Joyce Aubrey, both of them musicians. Like her parents, she eventually became a recording artist. [1] [2] By 1952, her parents had divorced and she and her mother had moved to the Netherlands. [3] Around 1958, her father arrived in the Netherlands, after having stowed away on a ship believed to be the MS Johan van Oldenbarnevelt. [4] [5] [6] By 1962 she was living with her mother in the Hague. [7]

She was married to Don Jerome who was a drummer with the band the Fire Devils. She had two daughters with him. [8]

In later years she resided in Los Angeles, California.

Career

In the early 1960s both her and her mother Joyce were becoming quite popular in the Netherlands as singers of Malayan songs. An extended play was released by Fontana Records. It contained the songs "Ajoen", "Patokaan", "Rasa Sajang" and "Koleh". [9] Also in that year under the name Wanda "De Loco-Motion" bw "Sweetie" was released on Decca. [10]

In 1968, she was in Indonesia with her father. Things didn't go too well for them there. Also later in 1968, she and her father toured the United States with Abraham Bueno de Mesquita, The Shepherds and Johnny Jordaan. [11]

Later years

In September 2010, she took a trip from California to the third Chanos International Steel Guitar Festival aka CISGF that was held in Chanos-Curson, France. She was there to receive a posthumous European Steel Guitar Hall of Fame award for her father. While at the festival she did some singing and was backed by René and Nora Ranti from the Netherlands. Playing along with them on a vintage Rickenbacker S8 console steel guitar, was Rod King and on bass guitar, his wife Rosemary. [12]

Discography (Wanda)

Singles

Albums

Various artist compilations

10" LP
12" LP
Compact disc

Discography (Wanda and Joyce)

Singles

Various artist compilations

12" LP

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Coy Pereira (1919-2005) was a Netherlands based guitarist and steel guitarist originally from Batavia in the Dutch East Indies. He was a member of the Kilima Hawaiians and had recorded with the Mena Moeria Minstrels as well as having work released under his own name. He is said to be in the same class of fellow steel guitarists, George de Fretes and Rudi Wairata.

Wanda & Joyce was a 1960s Netherlands based mother and daughter act made up of Wanda de Fretes and her mother Joyce Aubrey.

References

  1. Recollecting Resonances: Indonesian-Dutch Musical Encounters Edited by Bart Barendregt and Els Boegerts Page 286 Chapter twelve, Rein Spoorman
  2. Indo-Rock-Gallery Wanda & Joyce
  3. Eastindonesia.com Wanda & Joyce
  4. The Waikiki Islanders website Rudi Wairata, *1958* *1958*
  5. Brodak, Molly (17 November 2015). "Turn Down for Everything: An Annotated Playlist". The Fanzine. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  6. Bluesharmonica.nl Hawaiian muziek met o.a de Kilima Hawaiians en George de Fretes. In later years, de Fretes moved to the United States where he resided in California, DEEL 2:
  7. Billboard November 10tjh, 1962 Page 58 Holland, Disk Notes
  8. AD.nl Wanda in Yokohama en LA - Casper Postmaa
  9. Billboard November 10tjh, 1962 Page 58 Holland, Disk Notes
  10. Discogs Wanda* – De Loco-Motion / Sweetie
  11. AD.nl Wanda in Yokohama en LA - Casper Postmaa
  12. Pedalpro.co.uk Jan Visser awarded at the CISGF 2010 by Jan Visser and Digby Hardy
  13. NLdiscografie.nl Wanda
  14. Discogs Wanda*, Coy Pereira – Krontjong Herinneringen II
  15. Discogs Wanda de Fretes Discography
  16. Discogs Wanda And Joyce Discography
  17. Discogs Wanda de Fretes Discography