Koes Plus

Koes Plus

Koes Plus, formerly Koes Bersaudara, is an Indonesian musical group that enjoyed success in the 1960s and 1970s. Known as one of Indonesia's classic musical acts, the band peaked in popularity in the days far before the advent of private television companies, delivering stripped-down pop and rock songs at the then-only TV station, TVRI.
In 2007, Rolling Stone Indonesia magazine placed 6 of the band's studio albums on their "150 Greatest Indonesian Albums of All Time" list. Those are Dheg Dheg Plas at #4, To The So Called The Guilties (1967) at #6, Koes Bersaudara (1964) at #14, Koes Plus Volume 2 (1970) at #21, Koes Plus Volume 4 (1971) at #30 and Koes Plus Volume 5 (1971) at #38.
In addition, Rolling Stone put 10 of the band's songs on the "150 Greatest Indonesian Songs of All Time" list. The songs are "Bis Sekolah" at #4, "Kembali Ke Jakarta" (1969) at #6, "Nusantara I" (1971) at #19, "Kolam Susu" (1973) at #31, "Bunga Di Tepi Jalan" (1971) at #80, "Kelelawar" (1969) at #83, "Manis dan Sayang" (1969) at #88, "Pelangi" (1972) at #92, "Jemu" (1975) at #100 and "Di Dalam Bui" (1967) at #126.
Hailing from the Bojonegoro-Tuban area in East Java, the band started out as Koes Bersaudara, consisting entirely of the Koeswoyo siblings. Its antics of pioneering Beatles-influenced rock 'n' roll subculture in Indonesia proved to be controversial. Such subcultures had been banned by President Sukarno in the early 1960s, and in 1965 the brothers were arrested by the Highest Operation Commando (KOTI) for performing covers of Beatles songs. They were eventually released just the day preceding the nation's coup d'xtat, on 29 September. This experience resulted in their song Di Dalam Bui.
When drummer Nomo quit in 1969, Murry was invited to fill the niche, but the decision caused an internal uproar as the band was initially projected as a family act. The feud was resolved by rebaptizing the band as Koes Plus. It consisted of the Koeswoyos plus an outsider; hence the name. Music historians have hypothesized that it was Murry's heavy drumming which led to the band incorporating rock tunes within their generally ballad-heavy albums.
Koes Plus' early days were rugged, as record companies insisted on rejecting them. Murray became frustrated at some point and temporarily quit the band, distributing their records freely as well as joining several other acts. Not until their songs were played on the state radio network did they gain considerable fame.
Koes Plus never owned any legal rights pertaining to their works; they received only flat payment of approximately three million rupiahs for each album they recorded. While this meant that their record label was willing to produce a huge number of albums by Koes Plus due to the small investment involved, it also meant that the band never enjoyed any form of royalties whenever their works are being reproduced. As such, they rely upon their continuing live performances for their income. Their only English song, "Why Do You Love Me?" was a number one hit in Australia.

Related Sites for Koes Plus

• Koes Plus â€" Free listening, concerts, stats, & pictures at Last.fm read Koes Plus
• KapanLagi.com: Lirik Lagu Koes Plus read Koes Plus