a better tomorrow (uk)

A BETTER TOMORROW

THE ROLE OF SINGER-SONGWRITERS IN THE DEFINITION OF CHINESE POPULAR MUSIC:THE CRUCIAL DECADE (1975 ~ 1985)

NG SHYUE-WEN, SHERMANBA (HONS) POPULAR MUSIC

LASALLE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS2008

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 3

Chapter 1: Evolution ~ C-Pop Steps Out of China ~ 5

i. Shidaiqu: From Shanghai to Hong Kong

ii. Eastern Effect: The Taiwanese Invasion

iii. The 70s: Crossroad of Change

Chapter 2: Lo Tayu ~ College Folk Plugs In ~ 11

i. The Folk Producer

ii. The Black Era

iii. The Saint of Love Ballads

Chapter 3: Samuel Hui ~ The Craft of Canto-pop ~ 17

i. The Gwaima Era

ii. The Popular Philosopher

iii. The Sentimental Lover

Chapter 4: Liang Wern Fook ~ Founding Xinyao ~ 23

i. The Student Songwriter

ii. The Door Era

iii. The Pop Literati

Chapter 5: Legacy ~ Working for a Better Tomorrow ~ 29

i. Artistic Marriage: Music and Literature in One Voice

ii. Modern Heritage: The Shaping of Identity

iii. Global Positioning: Effects of the Definitive Decade

Conclusion 33

Acknowledgments 35

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References 37

i. Books and Print Sources

ii. Electronic Sources

iii. Picture Credits

iv. Discography

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Introduction

Unlike the development of other Asian Popular Musics and Markets such as Japan and Thailand, the creation, consumption and influence of Chinese Popular Music is not limited to the Chinese mainland. Chi-nese from other territories such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, along with those from overseas regions with large Chinese communities, such as Singapore and Malaysia, had, and are still playing a significant role in defining the trends of C-Pop today. Although China had (and still has) the advantage of a huge land area and population, at different stages of C-Pop History, the recognition of the pop music cultural capital was never restricted to cities found within the Chinese mainland.1 This could be viewed as the Chinese parallel to the British Invasion in Western Popular Music.2

Why C-Pop eventually walked out of China and continued its evolution in other Chinese territories could be attributed to the formation of a communist China. The communist governments condemnation of C-Pop then had resulted in the need for the cultural base of this form of music to be shifted elsewhere. Sub-sequently, the migration of these musicians to Hong Kong, and the proliferation of Mandarin education in Taiwan, where the nationalist-led Republic of China had then retreated to, had ensured that the flame of C-Pop continue to burn, away from the Chinese mainland which was to steep into decades of revolutionary songs.3

I n t r o d u c t i o n 3

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1 An article in China Daily (2003, para 46), had acknowledged that Taiwan and Hong Kong have led the pop music in-dustry in Asia.

2 A historical milestone in Western Popular Music, the mid-1960s saw an influx of British musicians, such as the Beatles, heavily influencing the popular music trends of a larger U.S English pop market.

3 Chinese Popular Music researcher, Professor Sun Rui () (2004, p. 4) had stated that popular music was non-existent in the Chinese Mainland for thirty years beginning from 1949. Instead, in their place was the widespread of revolution-ary songs approved by the communist government.

However, it was the events of 1975, and the ten years which followed, that would change the way C-Pop was created and consumed in not only amongst these various Chinese communities but also in the Chi-nese mainland today. This revolutionary spirit that was abound in the C-Pop scene then was fueled by the enthusiasm of a new breed of musicians, sprouting unanimously from the various Chinese communities in Asia, all of whom were eager to compose and perform songs that could belong to the people of their genera-tion. Who were some of the most important singer-songwriters of that era? What were some of their signifi-cant compositions? Exactly how important were they in determining the evolution of C-Pop then, and how had their contributions created a strong foundation for C-Pop to continue its growth and maintain its auton-omy in the globalised world of the 21st century, at the same time, ensured that a liberated China has no creative dominance over the C-Pop music scene today? This research is a retrospect into the works of these forefathers who were crucial in that decade of C-Pop History.

4 A B e t t e r To m o r r o w

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Chapter 1:Evolution

~ C-Pop Steps Out of China ~

How Chinese Pop was to flourish in territories away from Main-land China, and eventually, led to the appearance of the singer-songwriters in the mid 1970s had much to do with the political climate of the times. As the population began to grow in China at the turn of the previous century, Chinese immigrants began to settle down in other parts of Asia. This enabled the need for C-Pop to be disseminated out of the Chinese mainland for the consumption of a wider audience, which included these overseas Chinese, and also, not forgetting, those who resided in other Chinese-based territories, such as Taiwan and Hong Kong, which were then under colonial rule. It was in this condition that C-Pop was born and sustained in the then Culture Capital of Shanghai4.

However, after the communist takeover, the new governments stance against C-Pop5 had led to the migration of the cultural capital away from the mainland. The economic and political stability of the nearby British colony of Hong Kong made it the natural choice for this relocation. Why then, is this view of cultural shift generally accepted by Chinese living in Hong Kong, Taiwan and other overseas Chinese com-munities?

i. Shidaiqu: From Shanghai to Hong Kong

Early C-Pop music was largely referred to as Shanhainese Pop, but a more appropriate name would be Shidaiqu (), otherwise known as song(s) of the times. When the production of Shidaiqu could no

longer function in a communist China, this tradition of composition was continued amongst the Shang-hainese musicians whom had migrated to Hong Kong.

Shidaiqu was heavily influenced by the sounds of western popular music and followed its trend closely. For instance, its earlier model referenced to the standards set by the Swing Era in the U.S. Later, it

E v o l u t i o n - C - P o p S t e p s O u t o f C h i n a 5

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4 The period between 1937-1945 was agreed by Professor Sun to be the First-ever Pinnacle in the development of C-Pop (2004, p. 45). At this height, the hub for its growth was the bustling city of Shanghai.

5 The communist government then imposed a ban on C-pop, referring to it as being decadent music (Sun, 2004, p. 5)

After the southern migration of the Shanghainese musicians,

Shidaiqu was able to prosper in

their new capital of Hong Kong into the 1960s, building an im-

pressive line-up of mostly female superstars who excelled in both

the music and film industries

also drew in elements from Rock and Roll, which was popular amongst the C-Pop audience during the 1950s.

Even so, whether in Shanghai or Hong Kong, Shidaiqu singer-songwriters were not common then. Although some composers occasionally performed their own compositions, they were usually limited to mostly duets with female stars. The repertoire of Shidaiqu Epoch, Mr Yao Ming () should illustrate this

phenomena clearly. Although starting out as a singer-songwriter, works in which he was featured as a singer were very much fewer than that of the Shanghainese Divas6, and certainly much less after his migration to Hong Kong7.

The notion of popular music as a commercial product was evident then in the way songs were com-posed by songwriters employed to write them, and performed by singers whom were groomed by recording companies to croon them. Of course the kinds of songs that were to become popular were also subjected to the taste of the audience who were to consume them, with record sales being a sort of proof. With a line-up of outstanding female stars8 and the experience of composer Yao Ming, along with other migrant songwrit-ers from Shanghai, the Mando-Pop music industry was, for a while, operating smoothly in its new found capital of Hong Kong.

ii. Eastern Effect: The Taiwanese Invasion

Professor Sun Rui (2004, p. 167), when describing the fall of Hong Kong as the C-pop capital, wrote that a decline occurring after a prolonged period of prosperity is a necessary phenomena in the laws of evo-lution. What then, were the conditions that enabled the Taiwanese to take over the mantle of Mando-Pop?

Mandarin had always been the official dialect throughout the Chinese mainland. When Shidaiqu be-gan in Shanghai, Mandarin was the natural dialect of choice. This tradition continued even with C-Pops cultural shift to Hong Kong. The people of Taiwan, on the other hand, were mostly conversant in the Minnan dialect. Therefore, most popular music composed in Taiwan before the Republic of Chinas retreat into the island were sung in this dialect.9 With the relocation of the Nationalist government to Taiwan, Mandarin was chosen as the national language there. When policies were adopted to suppress the use of the Minnan dia-


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6 Although different sources have featured different line-ups, the consistent artistes who were crowned as the Shang-hainese Divas of early Shidaiqu were: Chou Hsuan (), Lee Hsiang Lan (), Yao Lee () and Bai Guang ()

7 After resettling in Hong Kong, Yao took a backstage role, focusing more on songwriting.8 The 1950s saw the rise of many female Mando-pop artistes in the then cultural capital of Hong Kong. As their coming coincided with the vibrant Chinese film industry then, many of them also doubled as actresses. This enormous exposure ensured their popularity as the Superstars of that era.

9 A premier in the research of the Taiwanese society, Professor Tzeng Huoy-Jia () (1998, p. 51) had stated that Minnan-pop was already at its golden age before 1945.

lect10, more musicians began to adopt Mandarin as their dialect of choice in the performance and composi-tion of their music. The Mando-pop industry of the new ROC Taiwan was, thus, able to expand in the 1960s.

While the adoption of Mandarin in Taiwan had led to many musicians interest in the Shidaiqu repertoire, the Taiwanese had very different musical influences from that of their Hong Kong counterpart. In Taiwan, the Japanese influence was strong and covers of popular Japanese tunes were not uncommon then11. Naturally, when Taiwanese songwriters and vocalists imported Japanese popular music techniques into their songs, the resulting style would be very different from the Shidaiqu melodies that were dominating the C-Pop scene during that time.

When these Taiwanese works were finally introduced to the Hong Kong audience, it came like a breath of fresh air, provid-ing an alternative to the local Shidaiqu mainstream. Several scholars had referred to this cultural invasion as the start of the Yao Shurong Era () for it was her famous number Staying

Late Tonight () that had opened the floodgates of Taiwan-

ese artistes entering into and dominating the C-pop scene in Hong Kong (Sun, 2004, p. 168). Amongst them, was the then young C-Pop Dame Teresa Teng (), who was to start an almost three-

decade long career that was to influence Chinese communities all around the world.12

Much as the Hong Kong musicians tried to resist the Taiwanese Invasion, this change seemed emi-nent with the death of Yao Ming in 1967. Ever since Shidaiqu found its base Hong Kong, there had been a lack of able composers to provide songs for the excessive line-up of pop stars. On one hand, Mandarin, as a main-land dialect, was not as common as Cantonese, which was (and still is) the dialect of choice for the Hong


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10 Section Four of the Standards of Television Broadcast () (announced in 1959) stated that the broadcast of dialect programmes by television stations should not occupy more than 40% of the total airtime (Tzeng, 1998, p. 130). This was one of the first in a series of implementations by the Taiwanese ROC government to suppress the broadcast, and subsequently, the proliferation of dialects in Taiwan.

11 Some popular Japanese covers then included Farewell in Starlight () (1966) and Lemon Moon () (1969)

12 In an article commemorating the tenth anniversary of Teresa Tengs death, China Daily (2005, para 1) wrote of the magnitude of influence the Diva had in C-pop, quoting that her songs and delicate appearance remain vividly for mil-lions of Chinese around the world.

Although the Taiwanese had other musical influences, they were also drawn to the Shidaiqu repertoire.

This album cover displays clearly the title track Picking Water-Chestnuts,

a famous Shidaiqu number, covered by the young Teresa Teng.

Kong public. Also, as a British colony, western popular music was quick to find their way into the tastes of the Hong Kong youths, swaying them away from the mandarin ballads. Gradually, there remained few songwriters who could continue, with any interest, to compose in the Shidaiqu tradition.

Hence, when Hong Kong crooner Jing Ting () covered the Taiwanese pop number Dont Desert

Me (), it seemed to signal the end of the Hong Kong Shidaiqu Era, and the rise of Taiwan as a major

cultural force in C-Pop (Sun, 2004, p. 169). Within a span of less than two decades, Chinese all around the world had witnessed two shifts of the C-Pop capital, none of which was a relocation to a city in the PRC-governed Chinese mainland, which was then experiencing the Cultural Revolution.13

iii. The 70s: Crossroad of Change

Eventually, the highlight of this research is the pivotal era of C-pop Music that had its roots in the mid 1970s. Perhaps the foremost in-quiry should be: How has this decade enabled the necessity and motiva-tion for such a change?

The 70s was ushered into by a series of questions left over from the previous decade: The Vietnam War Protest Marches, The Feminist Movement, and the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict that was to lead to the 1973 Oil Crisis were but a few of the periodic landmarks. Although the centrestage of these unrests were usually elsewhere, the various Chinese communities were not spared from the social and eco-nomic impacts of these events. Concurrently, the cultural imports that continued to pour in from the West ensured that the aesthetic preferences of the post-war baby boomers14, who were reaching or had reached adulthood, remained Western-based.

Protecting a total western cultural takeover were two phenome-nas. In the C-Pop musical capital of Taiwan, the Melodrama Wave15 began its sweep across the island. Their films, and the popular theme songs that came with them, further solidified Taiwanese dominance over Mando-


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13 The height of the Cultural Revolution lay between 1966-1971. It was a time which saw the killing and purging of many art practitioners.

14 Properly titled Post World War II Baby Boomers, this term was used to refer to the people born during the post war era after 1946, a time which saw a global hike in birth rates.

15 The romantic novels of Taiwanese literary giant Chiung Yao () had been a favourite among Chinese readers since her debut in 1963. Her popularity soared in the early 1970s when her works were adapted for films. Likewise, the theme songs that followed these melodramas became a trend amongst C-pop listeners during that time.

Chiung Yaos romantic novels were a hit among the Chinese readers from the mid-60s and

even until the mid-70s. When they were adapted for films,

her fan base further increased. The theme songs for these

melodramas were then able to

reach out to a wider audience. I am a Cloud was one of her

many masterpieces.

pop. Not desiring to challenge this rule, Hong Kongers bathed in an era of martial arts cinema and television serials. Likewise, the cantonese theme songs to these dramas were to find their resonance among the audi-ence.

But even with their popularity, these ballads and heart-thumping martial arts theme songs could only provide a temporary cultural escape to the eventual problem the non-mainland Chinese population had to face in this decade: Identity. One of the biggest wake-up calls had to be the passing of Resolution 275816. With that, the ROC would no longer be the recognised China in the UN General Assembly. This, however, was not solely a Taiwanese problem: sooner or later, Chinese all around the world had to come to terms with the United Nations recognition of the communist PRC on the world stage.

This new global reorganisation, in turn, laid the foundation for the Chinese youths in the popular music arena to ask these questions: Who are we? Are we Chinese? If so, are we still Taiwanese, Hong Kon-gers or Singaporeans? In seeking their heritage, these new literati of C-pop unknowingly built a foundation which ensured the survival of Chinese Popular Music into the generations after them. Amongst the many pioneers whom had shaped the era, three singer-songwriters were widely acknowledged to have been the Godfathers of their respective genres of C-pop. The following three chapters will be a showcase of how their repertoires defined the musical landscape of their era.


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16 Adopted on October 25, 1971, the Resolution replaced the Nationalist Republic of China (Taiwan ROC) with the Com-munist Peoples Republic of China (PRC) as the sole representative of China in the United Nations.


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Chapter 2:Lo Tayu

~ College Folk Plugs In ~

The influence of Western Popular Music was never solely on Commonwealth territories such as Hong Kong and Singapore. However, Taiwans ties with the U.S then would imply a stronger American presence in the makeup of their foreign musical im-ports. What this meant was that, instead of enthusing in the songs of the British Invasion, the Taiwanese were bathing in Country Music and songs from the American Folk Music Re-vival17. The American presence in Asia during the Vietnam War was also a major cause in the sprouting of pubs whose musicians would play pop songs from the U.S, accommodating to the taste of the soldiers stationed in Taiwan (Tzeng, 1998, p. 141). How-ever, the prolonged Vietnam War also brought in knowledge of the protest songs raving on American streets. Coupled with the earlier conditioning of modern folkists such as Bob Dylan him-self, the spirit of revolution was building amongst the Taiwanese youths. Finally, the ROCs awkward global position, which came at the lost of the UN seat, became the final ingredient to what would cumulate into the College Folk Movement ().

The Godfather of Taiwanese Popular Music, Mr Lo Tayu (), was a product of this era in which

the Taiwanese teens began their search for identity through music written by oneself. Although he was but one of the many local singer-songwriters who had emerged during that colourful decade, the calibre of his works and his outstanding personality had, however, placed him on the top of influential C-pop charts.18 What then, had made this sombre-looking artist stand out from so many talented musicians of that time? The answer can be found in his thoughtful tunes and provocative lyrics.

L o Ta y u - C o l l e g e F o l k P l u g s I n 11

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17 A phenomenon that took place in American popular music during the 1950s till the mid 1960s. The aesthetics of the acoustic music made popular by the repertoire of that era were to influence songwriting styles throughout the world.

18 GateChina (2004, para 5) was one of many websites which had reflected a similar line-up of 100 albums chosen by Taiwanese popular music scholars and practitioners then to be the most significant works released between 1975 - 1993. Los first two solo albums were placed within the top 10s, with Literary Jargon () topping the list.

i. The Folk Producer

Many characteristics of Los earlier repertoire were based on the College Folk model of that time. In truth, when his first single The Glorious Days () was debuted by teen idol Liu Wenzheng (),

the College Folk Movement was only beginning to enter into a commercial phase, reaping on the founda-tions laid by early folkists such as Yang Hsien and Lee Shwang Tze19. This implied that as College Folk was seeping into mainstream tastes, its musical and literary form was beginning to standardise. From his earlier works, it was clear that Lo, like many of his peers, was agreeing to this prototype that would be identified as a model of later mainstream College Folk.

This minimal arrangement of the College Folk numbers was popular for it highlighted the simple but memorable structure (usually verse-verse-chorus) and the plain but powerful lyrics that rode on these tunes. But even though he readily adopted this sound into his first major project as a producer for the bud-ding Sylvia Chang (), beneath the strong College Folk flavoured Sylvia Changs Childhood (),

Lo was eager to hasten the development of both his personal musical growth and the taste of the mainstream C-pop audience. Along with his exploration of other structures, away from his favoured AABA (as exempli-fied by Glorious), his rock tendencies, which would be magnified in his personal albums, were also tested here in the form of the closing track Hope/Views of Spring ().20 More significantly, the track listing had a

smooth, but still interesting, flow throughout, almost resembling that of a concept album. Although the in-


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19 Two events were instrumental to the birth of the College Folk Movement: the first ever Taiwanese Student Concert of Self-composed Folk motivated by Yang, and the notorious Tamkang Incident () which saw Lee asking a per-former during a western folk concert how it felt to sing a tune in a foreign language (Tzeng, 1998., p. 153).

20 The chinese character (wng) could mean: i. hope(s), or ii. view(s)

I shall sing a song for youAn ancient rhyme, an ancient tuneI shall sing it gently,And you will join in slowly.

Do you remember?The dreams of long ago.The days that were so sparklingAnd we were full of hopes.

For those dreams of oursWe had seen so many hurdles.We had left behind so many tears,And we have had so many cheers.

Thus, should you remember,Hope you'll always remember,You and I, we did once thrivedOn The Glorious Days of our lives.

- The Glorious Days, 1977

Los debut as a producer was for the now classic album by Sylvia Chang, who

was to become a Diva in the Chinese

entertainment industry

tended hit singles could easily be identified, it seemed that every song was unique, and their placements at particular points in the album were carefully considered.

Rarely had any songwriter in the history of C-pop before Lo succeed in both musical and lyrical ex-cellence, the closest probably being Liew Chia Chang ()21, whom was still a popular singer-songwriter

at that time. This talent was Los edge over his peers. His uniqueness, however, could only be fully mani-fested in his debut album, as a singer-songwriting force to be reckoned with.

ii. The Black Era

Professor Tzeng (1998, p. 214) had indicated that the early albums of Lo belonged to his Black Era. This blackness was per-sonified by Los ambiguous appearance (dark shades and black jack-ets) throughout his album covers and even his public appearances. While this persona had given him a mysterious outlook, the sub-stance behind the blackness still, actually, lay in his music.

Three years prior to the release of Los debut album, the Ten Major Construction Projects22 had been completed. With these enhancements to the Taiwanese infrastructure came the reduction of the rural indus-tries and communities. This yearning for the lost simplicity of rustic life (Lo, 2002, p. 116) became the inspi-ration behind the rebellious Town of Lugang ().

However, the screeching guitars and the heavy drum beats which opened Lugang was more than a defiance against the milder mainstream C-pop at that time; it was a reminder of the folk music tradition to voice messages that could speak to the audience. When the economic success of Taiwan was ensured into this decade, its people began to turn their inquiry into socio-politcal reforms that called for more democra-cy23. When this cry of self determination led to the infamous Formosa Incident of 1979, which saw the arrests


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21 A prolific songwriter, singer, producer and film director, the talented Liew had penned many popular songs, most of them belonging to the era of the Melodrama Wave.

22 Ten Major Construction Projects () refers to the ten major building projects proposed by Premier (later Presi-dent) Chiang Ching-kuo () to upgrade the infrastructure and industries of Taiwan.

23 Even with its progress until then, Taiwan was still ruled under a one-party government headed by the Nationalist party.

Taipei is not my home,My hometown is free of neon lights,The morning air, the setting sun,All rest in the civilised town of Lugang

- Town of Lugang, 1979

Dubbed as the Black Hurricane, therelease of Literary Jargon was a mile-

stone in determining the progression of C-

pop after the College Folk Movement

of many activists whom had participated in one of the biggest demonstrations against the government, Tai-wanese all around the world were injected with the political consciousness of their homeland. Knowing how the effect of a strong censorship upon the people would result in these protests, Lo was clever enough to de-duce that the times were welcoming the arrival of he and his peers.24 Lugang would be the first in many narratives to speak of this transitional phase of the Taiwanese society in his phenomenal Literary Jargon (

) album.

Being the frontier for this electrified sound, the exciting new arrangement, which challenged the passive tastes of the average C-pop listeners during that time, provided the perfect backdrop for his con-cerns to be voiced. The title track for Future Leaders of the State () also rode on this trademark rock

sound, albeit being slower and having a more disturbing content,

While he was adept at writing minor-sounding and sombre social critiques, Lo began opting for other ways to present his commentaries. A light hearted tribute to the ROCs 72nd Anniversary, the merry sounding Situational Changes 72 proved that Lo was not necessarily a harsh musical rebel indignant to the contributions laid by the authorities. Nonetheless, the major-sounding journal can be regarded as a forerun-ner of this new type of work, which had proven to be very effective in delivering ironical content.


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24 Lo (2002, p. 115-116) mentioned in his autobiography that the slogan of Sing the Song that belongs to Us Chinese was rife then, and that he and his peers were enthusiastically rolling up their sleeves to answer to the call of the era.

Seeing, as high as the skyscrapers can rise;Only to see how low our charity can dive.My friends can only get friendlier;Only because we are seeing less of one another.Nonetheless, apple prices are getting cheaper;Only perhaps their tastes are not getting any better.Its like the dazzling tv set, now with more colours;But in discerning black and white,We are not getting any smarter.

- Situational Changes 72, 1983

Do not underestimate our youths,Thinking that they know little.I hear their speechless protestEven in their deepest slumber.We do not want a skyPolluted by your scientific gamesWe do want your inventionsTo turn us into robotic slaves

- Future Leaders of the State, 1983

iii. The Saint of Love Ballads

In the field of social commentaries, Lo had no equal in the mando-pop capital of Taiwan. Likewise, being labelled as the Saint of Love Ballads () (Lianhe Zaobao, 2005, para 4) reflected much

on his fluency in delivering this popular song type, which was crucial for any songwriter who warrants a place in C-pop history. Like many of his contemporaries, which would have to include master singer-songwriters such as Liang Hong-Chi () and Jonathan Lee (

), Los influence on the aesthetics of the C-ballad would make the

Taiwanese model a worthy reference for later C-pop composers to build upon.

Probably the most well-known was his Romance series,25 which won the hearts of Chinese audiences all around the world, even those from the Chinese mainland who were, by then, gradually experiencing the fruits of the Chinese Economic reforms.26 Romance 1980 was the earliest of this lot.

Los low vocal timbre and range should prove effective in the delivery of College Folk songs, proba-bly owing to their recitative nature. This was also particularly effective in highly charged commentaries such as Future and Lugang. When his wailings were utilised in his more sentimental ballads, these desperate strains hinted at the helpless nature of love relationships. But the distinguishing factor he had from his peers was that his focus was not the mere romantic notions of love scenes and desires, but instead, the philoso-phies of love itself: its impermanence, its self-sacrificing nature and the true joy behind this emotion. The Admonition of Love () immortalised these ideals,


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25 Refers to his three ballads: Romance 1980, Romance 1990, and Romance 2000,26 Beginning in 1978, the series of economic changes helmed by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping saw a gradual relaxation in the import of foreign cultural products, allowing the limited exposure towards the popular music of other Chinese territories.

As the successor to his breakthrough album, Future Leaders of the State

featured more provocative commentaries

balanced with sentimental ballads.You once told me, youd love me foreverI know this thing called love, but whats eternityLady, do not weep, for we are still togetherThe joy of this day would tomorrow be our sweet memories - Romance 1980, 1981

Ive brought my true heart to you, and left sadness to myselfIve brought my youth to you, and left the years to myselfIve brought life to you, and left loneliness to myselfIve brought Spring to you, and left the Winter to myself

The absence of the vi(mi) chords in Admonition was made more obvious with the substituted VIma chords in their place. This was most probably due to the composers intention to synchronise his music with meaningful lyrical content (probably implying his attempt to resist the melancholy behind loves admoni-tion?). In any case, it was clear proof of Los tenacious nature not only in his choice of words, but also in the other elements of his songs. Ultimately, all these considerations served as a reminder to both his peers and musicians of the later generation to deliver meaningful content, even in writing a simple love ballad.


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Los third album came before his temporary break from the music industry. Simply titled Home, its lighter acoustics contrasted his two earlier albums, while still

maintaining his provocative personality through its sentimental but ironical content.

Love is what no one would understandLove is an enduring melodyLove is the process where pearly tears fallLove once belonged to you and me

Ive brought Spring to you, and left the Winter to myselfIm left with your back facing me, but have given myself to thee.

- The Admonition of Love, 1983

Chapter 3:Samuel Hui

~ The Craft of Canto-pop ~

With the double effects of the British and Taiwanese inva-sion, the imported Shidaiqu model made famous by the Shang-hainese school of musicians could no longer monopolise the popu-lar music scene of 1960s Hong Kong. On one hand, the popularity of the Taiwanese artistes signaled the rise of Taiwan as the new C-Pop capital, while Hong Kong-based Shidaiqu artistes gradually faded from the limelight. At the same time, the embracement of western popular music trends by the post-war youths ushered the First Pop Band Wave27 into the territorys musical history. In be-tween these two strong cultural imports was the growing Canton-ese Popular Music scene.

Cantonese, being the official dialect of the Hong Kong Chinese, should have been a natural choice for the popular music of the local people. Yet against its Mando-pop counterpart, she was labelled as less-refined and sometimes vulgar.28 This was so until the 1970s when an influx of drama seri-als saw many songwriters switching to compose in the local dialect. Although the melodic and lyrical capa-bilities of these composers were instrumental in refining the voice of canto-pop, it seemed that she was still searching for a missing link between her new found elegance to the voice of the common people. Then came a superstar who was to find a balance between the different tastes of the Hong Kong public, giving Canto-pop the foundation needed to sustain their unique identity into decades to come. This Godfather of Canto-pop, as agreed by critics and musicians alike, unanimously refers to the legendary Samuel Hui ().29

S a m H u i - T h e C r a f t o f C a n t o - p o p 17

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27 A well-known Hong Kong-based researcher of humanitarian studies, Professor Stephen Chu () (2001, p. 455)

had stated that the first of two Pop Band Waves in Hong Kongs musical history took place in the 1960s. Unlike the first wave, only the second coming, which would take place two decades later in the mid-1980s, was Canto-pop based, featur-ing influential bands such as RAIDAS and Beyond.

28 Veteran Cantonese Popular Music critic Wong chi-wah () (2000, p. 70) recalled a Canto-pop cover to Cant Buy

Me Love during the mid-1960s which was very much abhorred by the younger Beatles-loving generation then.

29 Legendary lyricist James Wong () was one of many musicians who acknowledged the contributions laid by

Samuel, quoting that another peer, lyricist Lo Kwok Chim (), had advised that if anyone was to pen a history of

Canto-pop, may Samuel Hui be placed at the top of the Heroes table (2003, p. 115).

i. The Gwaima30 Era

As the author for Huis biography, Professor Ng Chun-hung (2007, p. 7) had indicated that Samuels musical path was not a lonely one, but one filled with many innovators, working together to shape the Hong Kong music scene of the mid 1970s. Like his con-temporaries, Samuel had both the support of the practitioners and the audience of the industry. Unlike them, however, Samuel was a singer-songwriting force unto a single individual, able to excel in both these aspects, allowing him to charm the hearts of canto-pop listeners all around the world.

A strong aid behind his rise to superstardom had to be his equally impressive filmography. At the earlier stages of his career, he was fortunate to partake in projects masterminded by elder brother, Michael Hui (). Michaels memorable comedies portrayed the

misadventures of the common folk. The huge box-office successes certified their popularity amongst the mass. Aside from his constant appearances in these influential films, Samuel was often accorded the task of penning the soundtracks for them.

The term Gwaima, was initially used to refer to this genre of films pioneered by the Hui Brothers31. However, it should also refer to the type of songs penned by Samuel to accompany these films. Fusing west-ern pop musics with witty lyrics written exclusively in Cantonese, this approach enabled his tunes to reach out to both the early canto-pop listeners and the western-inclined youths. As Samuel quoted, the success of Gwaima Ballad (), a theme song for Michaels directorial debut Games Gamblers Play, was pivotal in

giving him the confidence he needed to continue composing in Cantonese (Wong, C. W., 2000, p. 86). Un-doubtedly, this opened a string of hits written in a similar fashion, a repertoire which would characterise the formative years of Canto-pop.

This does not mean that Samuel was simply superimposing a foreign cultural export with the lan-guage of the locals. On the musical side, The Genius and the Retard32 (co-written with Louis Sit () fea-

tured probably the first rap ever in canto-pop . On the literary front, his contents were able to find resonance among the the local audience. The pinnacle of his Gwaima series had to be Half a Catty of One, and Eight Taels of the Other (). Any discussion about Samuel Hui should not be done in the absence of this work.


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30 Gwaima (), a term of cantonese origin, meaning humourously witty31 Samuel and his three elder brothers were prominent figures in the Hong Kong entertainment scene.32 () (Tin coi yu pak chi) literally means The Genius and the Retard. However, the official English title to the film

of the same name was stated as The Last Message

Released together with the eponymous film, Games Gamblers Play was

Samuels first album in his what was to

be a productive musical career

Mr Wong Chi-wah (2003, para 46) had stated that, de-spite the hard rock cover, Half featured several chinese oper-atic compositional techniques. Although decent analysis of these technicalities would expand beyond the scope of this essay, this was sufficient evidence of Samuels respect for his cultural influences and heritage. While Half featured Samuels characteristic lyrical progression, he did not rush into exposing the reality bite at the chorus, but instead, continued to echo the common mans complaints before switching to the com-posers perspective to point out the irony of these frustrations.

As it was a sole Samuel effort in the creative aspect, Half had to be the best representation of his Gwaima repertoire. His subsequent title tracks such as Life Deed () (1978) and Security Unlimited (

) (1981) followed a similar compositional rein, but written with the help of longtime collaborator Peter Lai

(). Their mastery of Gwaima pieces notwithstanding, the span of their partnership had also seen the rise

of another category works, which could be classified as the Philosophical Ballads.

ii. The Popular Philosopher

Professor Chu (2001, p. 61) outlined that Samuels success in his songs lay in his ability to capture the voice of the common folk, echoing their frustrations, while inserting, with great charisma (usually at the chorus), a little drop of wisdom. This insight, usually being the songwriters calm outlook on the realities of life, provided a conflicting voice against the cry of the average man (2001, p. 62). This effective formula can be easily found in both his Gwaima works and the philosophical ballads. However, as ballads, their slower pace allowed the listener to absorb and more easily reflect upon the lyrical content (and be affected by them).


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Half a catty of one, and eight taels of the other,So what if you had done it better,Half a catty of one, and eight taels of the other,How could a wet firecracker ever sizzle,Half a catty of one, and eight taels of the other,If you had guts, its yours for the tackle.

Giving me half a catty,and you want eight taels in returnEveryone is struggling to feed themselves,Wither is there such an ideal banter

- Half a Catty of One, and Eight Taels of the Other, 1976 Probably the most representativeportfolio in his early repertoire, Half a

Catty of One, and Eight Taels of the

Other has an adequate balance of Gwaima numbers and philosophical bal-

Each of Michaels films would feature at least one of Samuels philosophical ballads. This trend be-gan from Genius in 1975 and continued throughout Samuels musical career. Probably not surprisingly, one of the crme de la crme of these commentaries was found in the Half series of works.

The bulk of outstanding Canto-pop lyrics during the mid 70s came from either the Wong-Lo-Cheng trio33 or Samuel Hui himself. Although lacking the polished linguistics of the three masters, the honesty of his raw contents should easily inspire the audience from the average working class. Like the other East Asian Tigers34, these workers made up the majority of the population in Hong Kong then, and their acceptance of Samuels songs would guarantee the works deserved popularity.

Towards the 80s, his commentaries moved into the expression of the Hong Kong identity. By then, the invincible songwriting team of Joseph Koo () and James Wong had already set the standards with

classics such as the propaganda-sounding Below the Lion Rock ()35. Likewise, Samuel adopted the

same tone in his renditions with works like Bauhinia Blakeana ()36. However, it was in his first person

narratives that he was able to shine. Songs like Goodbye! Hong Kong! (! !), were able to tug the heart-

strings of the locals, whose nationality had always been shrouded in doubt even before the passing of the


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33 Refers to the three major Canto-pop lyricists: James Wong, Lo Kwok Chim, and Cheng Kwok Kong ()

34 Refers to the four fastest growing Asian economies of the 1960s-90s. They include Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore.35 A famous hill in Hong Kong, Lion Rock became the symbol of a TV series showcasing the lives of the Hong Kong citi-zens.36 A breed of orchid trees. The Blakena variety is also otherwise known as the Hong Kong orchid tree

Hard to discern it is, truth and liesDeceitful faces are all aroundHow many would eventually share their splendorDroplets falling from the eaves are no different.

The ignorant frog in the wellRaises his voice to announce his prominenceIllusory satisfaction and blank stares,Who knows, golden houses can crumbleInto broken bricks in an instant.

What life can provide, you shall even eventually haveWhat life cannot provide, you shouldnt demand

- The Wanderers Yearning, 1976

British Nationality Act in 1981.37 Here, Samuel was able to depict Hong Kong not as a colony or a territory, but as as a homeland to her people.

iii. The Sentimental Lover

Most of Samuels earlier love songs sounded overly heart-wrenching.

These earlier works sounded distinctly Chinese, or more appropriately, Cantonese. Even so, adopting this form then had made love songs like Love Past () accessible to audiences taste

during that transitional period38. Gradually, Samuels love songs began to shed away these melodramatic portrayals, leaning to-wards a new found modern sentimentality. Impression () was a

departure from the earlier overly poetic form.

With the flowering of many talented artistes and songwriters in the early 80s, Canto-pop began to enter into its commercial phase. From then onwards, mastery of love ballads was crucial in determining a musicians popularity. Nonetheless, Samuel was still able to retain his stature in the Canto-pop music scene he had helped to form. In fact, his 1983 debut at the Hong Kong Coliseum () was a first for any


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37 Since the passing of Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1962, not all residents in British Colonies (including Hong Hong) had the Right of Adobe in the U.K. This 1981 Act only served to reinforced this.

38 Mr Wong Chi-wah (2000, p. 278) had indicated the presence of a Pre-Samuel Hui Era, underlining the difference in musical tastes of the Hong Kong public before and after the appearance of this Godfather of Canto-pop.

The glittering sun shimmered at the horizon,Abruptly leaving, the tears are dry.Contemplating, the white cloud floated by,Covering the mountains, hiding them from my eyes,Dear Hongkong, Goodbye. - Goodbye! Hong Kong! 1980

Heartbreaking farewell, Regretful departureAt the dawn, Fate was cruelly discardedLove Past, yet to cease,Sobs and moans of how ruthless heaven had been - Love Past, 1975

Who was that had filled me with floating melodiesTugging the romance brewery of my heartstringsDispelling my melancholy, retrieving its lost jubileeWho was that had given the taste of first love back to me - Impression, 1981

Although Security Unlimited featured a listing similar to his earlier repertoire,

Samuel displayed his new-found

musical aesthetics in his love songs.

Chinese artist, setting the arena as a holy ground for the Hong Kong popular music scene (Ng, 2007, p. 120). Musically, Samuel was ever evolving. In ballads such as Writing a New Love Song Once More (), he was daring enough to employ modu-

lation even in between verses. This maneuver was, at least, rare in Canto-pop. Lyrically, his songs had moved another step for-ward, resembling the expression of the layman.

If his Gwaima numbers and philosophical ballads were to be his early masterpieces (1974-1980), then the love songs would have to be the representative works in his middle period (1981-1985) (Chu, 2000, p. 71).


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Could we unlock the barriers of our hearts togetherWorking hand in hand from the very beginning Forgiving and understanding, not to err like before,Together, writing a new love song once more

- Writing a New Love Song Once More, 1984

After switching to a new record label, Samuels ballads reflected a different aesthetic from those written in the Hui

Brothers Comedy Era. You Are Most Liked is a treasure house for these more

modern-sounding 80s love songs.

Chapter 4:Liang Wern Fook

~ Founding Xinyao ~

Since gaining her independence in 1965, Singapore has been the only country outside China with a majority Chinese population. Nonetheless, C-pop was not a clear mainstream here, in a country also populated by other races such as Malays, Indians and Eurasians among others. Complicating this cultural variety is her previous status as a British colony and the adop-tion of English as the lingua franca, which could account for a strong presence of western popular music. Even amongst the Chinese speaking population then, there lay a divide between the English-speaking Chinese against the Chinese-educated. For a while, the Golden Era of Bands in the 1960s had seen a surge in the popularity of English Pop. During the early years of nation building however, the Great Concern About Drugs (Chen, A. & Ismahil, M. (ed.), 1996, p. 14) had resulted in many venues rejecting rock bands, significantly reducing the performance of this genre of music.

While the English Rock scene went into a hibernation phase39, C-pop listeners were drawn to the latest musical trends from Taiwan.40 With the arrival of the College Folk Movement, the simple approach of performing self-made tunes, coupled with the poetically refreshing lyrics, quickly caught on with the stu-dents of that generation. As this trend began to develop into a movement, this new batch of singers and songwriters would develop a genre of music that is unique to the island nation. Later on, these pioneers would, in turn, be the motivators for the strong Singaporean presence in C-pop. Probably one of the most reliable witness and participant to these progressions is Dr Liang Wern Fook (), which many would

agree to be the Godfather of Xinyao41.

L i a n g We r n F o o k - F o u n d i n g X i n y a o 23

2 0 0 8 . S h e r m a n N g

39 After the Great Concern About Drugs, it was not until the late 1980s when the English Rock scene started to show hopes of a turnaround with a slew of indie releases.

40 As the broadcast of non-mandarin dialects was restricted, more so with the implementation of the Speak Mandarin Campaign in 1979, Canto-pop could not achieve its deserved popularity in Singapore then, making mandarin-based Taiwan the cultural leader for the C-pop audience in Singapore.

41 In a poll conducted by the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (otherwise known as COMPASS) (Liang (ed.), 2004, p. 144) Liang was voted as the most representative Xinyao figurehead

i. The Student Songwriter

Strictly speaking, Dr Liangs most productive musical period spanned from 1984 -1992. This was, not surprisingly, in line with the most active period of the Xinyao Movement. The foundations for Xinyao to take root as modern folk music composed by the Singaporean youth was however, actually laid even earlier. According to Dr Liang (personal communication, October 30, 2007), besides the the College Folk Movement, Xinyao also saw influences from Shiyue (), an earlier genre of modern Singaporean folk music which had

originated from the students of Nayang University.42

Shiyue could be seen as the Singaporean version of Taiwanese College Folk Music. Knowing the C-Pop trend of that period, it would not be difficult to comprehend Shiyues popularity amongst the then younger C-pop listening Singaporean youths. However, as the student songwriters began to graduate into the workforce, the output of Shiyue almost came to a standstill, hence, its popularity began to wane (Liang (ed.), 2004, p. 15).

In early 1982, the Creative Composition and Translation Society () which was

based in the Aljunied Community Centre had organised an exhibition, titled Facing our Literary Heritage (). While this event marked one of the final performances of Shiyue, sharing the spotlight

was the young Dawn Gan (), performing a ballad which read as follows,

The Ballad of Water () was aesthetically different from its

College Folk and Shiyue predecessors. In the first recording, the piano was the obvious leader in accompanying the vocals, contrasting with College Folk model of Guitar-flute-strings. In the case of Water, Liang also had creative control over both lyrics and music. Although this is


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42 Nayang University () was one of two universities in Singapore before its closure in 1978. It was revived in 1981 as an institute before regaining university status in 1992 as Nayang Technological University (NTU)

I am the Rill, born in the mountains,Murmuring as I drifted across the lush greens

Stretching to the sea, to the company of birdsUrged by the morning light, wispily ascending

A floating cloud, drifting East West North & SouthNo one knows of my whereabouts.

Gently transforming, misty drizzlingFaintly falling, onto your heartstrings - The Ballad of Water, 1982

Although premiered even before the official definition of Xinyao, The Ballad of Water only re-

ceived its well-deserved record-ing two years later in the Xinyao

Compilation Pursuits of the Ocean Butterflies.

not a necessary defining factor of Xinyao, it, nonetheless, indicated a difference in practice against Shiyue and early College Folk. In their cases, the composers would set music to already crafted poems. Xinyao also need not be deeply poetic. An earlier example by Liang, Writing a Song for Thee () was a mere journal

of the songwriters (and singers) desire to pen a song. The simplicity of its contents and structure contrasted the literary inclinations of its Shiyue forerunner. Liang would continue to use this approach in his first show-case of compositions.

ii. The Door Era

Liangs debut, simply titled Door (), was not the first Xinyao album. Before him, three compila-

tions, along with a handful of Xinyao performances, had already opened the local C-pop listeners to what would become the next wave in Singapore Chinese Popular Music. Also, when it was released in 1986, sev-eral other Xinyao pioneers were already making headlines in the music scene. Amongst them, prominent singer-songwriter Eric Moo () would release his fourth album that year, not counting his earlier reper-

toire with his previous ensemble, The Subways ().

However, Liang was, certainly, not a latecomer. In fact, most of what would cumulate into his first portfolio was formed 2 years before its release. Beginning in the summer of 1984, Liang had begun to com-pile what would be a humble but honest mixture of observations towards life. Although deceptively simple in content, the Door album was a treasure of many personal commentaries. The first of these jewels, was a series of proclamations,

Our Songs, Where Art Thee () was a leap from his earlier sentimental ballads, drawing

Liang gradually to his eventual mastery of the social commentaries that would fill his repertoire. Performed by pioneering Xinyao trio, The Straws (), each member was to perform an individual part before

coming together to post the fundamental question of Our songs, where art thee?. When sung collectively,


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I do not believe,That without joy there could only be sadness.I do not believe,That life only holds a single meaning.I do not believe,That there should only be a single kind of song we should sing.I do not believe,That history should only be of melancholic sighings.

Oh, our songs, where art thee?Oh, our songs, where art thee?

- Our Songs, Where Art Thee, 1984

this inquiry seemed to be targeting at the local audience of the young nation. This was his first work to sug-gest the future strengthening of the C-pop presence amongst the audience of the small but versatile nation.

Liangs social inquiries were not necessarily proclaimed directly. When combined with his clear and concise imageries, these questions were able to stand out upon reaching the chorus. Koh Nam Sheng ()

of The Straws had voiced out the songwriters chain of thoughts,

With its minimal but spacious arrangement, the work was able to achieve its effect as a gentle and personal social commentary of the Singaporean life in the early-80s.43 This title track to his concept album came as a closing to Side A, directly after Our Songs, giving the audi-ence a nostalgic aftertaste to reflect upon the contents of the work. In the remastered edition, an instrumental version was inserted at the closing of the disc, probably to maintain this effect.

Even though he was sharpening his skills in the social commentary arena, Liang was not eager to forsake his love songs. Originally the final song to the cassette edition, Your String of Beads ()

maintained the songwriters demure approach towards crafting his romantic ballads.

Here, Liang was able to apply metaphorical descriptives into a first-person narrative. It could be said that by amalgamating these techniques previously used separately in Water and Writing unto a single work,


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43 Although the early 80s was a period of many achievements, the toll of these rapid developments was still present in the successful island nation. For instance, in a record of the Singaporean suicide rates between 1960-2003 provided by the World Health Organization [WHO] (2003), a steady growth was evident between 1975-1990. This could reflect the social impact that this economic progress had upon the people.

Of how many similar mornings,Opening the door, to face the challenges.Of how many similar evenings,Walking home, locking these exhaustions.During interviews, lightly knocking the door,Knocking to disappointment, or excitement.Going to work, knocking the bus door,If it fails to open, then there will be punishment.

Oh, opening and closing a door,Closing and opening a door,Who has the time, to knock on other doorsAll really successful persons,All really happy persons,Who has the courage, to open the doors of emotions

- Door, 1985

Liangs debut album, Door, was one of the rare local C-Pop albums which featured only a single song-

writer throughout. But while Liang was passionate about voicing his tunes, he

shared his singing duties with The Straws Trio and Peter Ang ().

Beads displayed Liangs tireless evolution in his compositions. He went a step further by keeping the ar-rangement to a simple solo piano, allowing to listeners to seep into the imageries that made up his truthful testimony.

iii. The Pop Literati

While his earlier albums like Door displayed his ease with gentler sounding Xinyao ballads and commentaries, they often masked Liangs ability to write in other styles. Even in his earlier stage, he was able to move out of the sole voice vs lone piano style of writing into bubblegum pop. When asked to write a theme song for a drama serial by the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation44, the product was a cheery number, written from the perspective of a teenage girl.45

Although his imaginative but concise choice of expressions could

only be fully appreciated with a knowledge of the Chinese language, this translated lyrics still displayed the utility of several creative devices. In this section, in particular, his ability to contrast different facets of


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44 Known today as Mediacorp45 The story of the eponymous TV serial centered around the lives of three teenage girls and was a local hit in the mid 80s.

I had also once weavedColourful strains of fantasiesBut I would still cherishAll the memories from realityI was also once stubbornWasting away precious time and youthBut I would never ever forgetTo give a step forward and proceed

- Youth 1, 2, 3, 1985

Xinyao Pioneer Dawn Gan is a favourite female voice for Liangs

compositions. Even in her later

albums such as Heart of Dawn, many of Liangs works were

extensively featured.

Your beautiful string of beads,Stringing the past, their tears a gleaming.Hiding you, letting you embroider memories,A needle by a needle, painfully stabbing at thee.

I lifted your string of beads. lightly,Walking into your loneliness, deeply,Glancing at you, your eyes, so gently,Once more a glowing,With the imageries of your dreams.

- Your String of Beads, 1985

youths, for instance fantasies vs reality, wasting away vs giving a step forward, resulted in a coherently proper but yet, meaningful content, hidden amongst its synthesised and commercial arrangement.

A peak in Liangs songwriting career followed soon after local artiste Thomas Jiang () performed

the most successful of his love ballads. The release of Breather of Romance () was an indication that the

craft of Mando-pop was not the exclusive gift of the Taiwanese. In turn, it was an indication of Liangs com-petency that would reinforce his status as a songwriting maestro worthy of a place in the C-pop arena.

As an interesting contrast to Door, his metaphors would fill the choruses instead of the verses. This swap would prove to be a more suitable approach to his romantic ballads. Of course, like every folk com-poser, Liang had not forgotten to insert the philosophical meat into his love song, which came at the bridge. The bridge was a section which was rare in mainstream C-pop during that time. It, thus, high-lighted the creativity of this passionate artist, disguised as an academic genius.


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Do not tell me again whether or not you could make itIm only asking whether or not you should accept itAh, in your silence do you or do you not know thatEternity is not only found in memories - Breather of Romance, 1986

Of what gentleness,could i use to caress your woundsOf what longing,could i use to dispel your anxiety

Of what embrace,would be the end your lonelinessOf what awaiting,would let you accept me

Your eyes are the fragrant wineCongealing many sorrows from memoriesI am the gentleness yet to be drunkenHaving a sip, I had to give in

Your brows are the woeful harbourFrowning upon many emotions entwining I am the sailor of romanceA little stopover, and I shall not leave

Thomas Jiang was one of the few Xinyao vocalists to be signed on to an international label at that time. His

most successful ballad Breather of Romance was featured in his

second album Reasons for Breakup.

Chapter 5:Legacy

~ Working for a Better Tomorrow ~

When the Western Popular Music World awed the world with a strong and stellar cast churning We are the World at the 1985 American Music Awards, the Chinese Popular Music scene was able to replicate an equally star-studded cast in its own right, but with an even larger line-up, singing with the hopes of A Better Tomorrow (). The massive gathering to perform and record this masterpiece by Lo Tayu was not

only a hint of how large the talent pool of C-pop was; but also, a display of how different Chinese communi-ties could come together to sustain and build to a vibrant popular music culture that could rival the West and Japan.46

Lo Samuel and Liang, were not the only contributors to the flowering of Chinese Popular Music to-day. But while their many peers should also be credited for the growth of C-pop, these three singer-songwriters had a string of similarities that gave them the unchallenged title of Godfather in their respective territories.

i. Artistic Marriage: Music and Literature in One Voice

Essentially, what had made these three individuals outstanding had much to do with their status as singer-songwriters. This meant that they had creative control over the three most important aspects of a pop

L e g a c y - Wo r k i n g f o r a B e t t e r To m o r r o w 29

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46 As of 2006, U.S, Japan and the U.K still stand at the top of the global music market.

song: its music, lyrics and performance (especially vocals). While this does not imply that they were neces-sarily the best in all three aspects, it, nonetheless, highlighted a uniformity in the works that they had pro-duced, giving the songs a character that could almost immediately bring the songwriter to mind for a lis-tener who had experienced them. One could say that with this character implanted into their works, their songs were able to come to life. This is important for any songwriter who desires to reach out to his/her audience with his/her compositions.

A prominent aspect of their compositions is their lyrics. Through their technical mastery and literary flair, their lyrics were able to break the rules that defined the structures of works that preceded their era. But more than this, it was their contents, which were throves of coherent and sincere messages, that gave the masterpieces their compulsory depth. Dr Liang (personal communication, October 30, 2007) had underlined the significance of lyrics as a necessary component in popular music, stating that while Lo and Samuel were excellent composers, their lyrics were the actual driving force for their works to be rooted in their respective cultural zones.

ii. Modern Heritage: The Shaping of Identity

Musically, the three individuals had to be credited for the craft of their respective genres of music. While Samuel had brought Canto-Pop into the mainstream of Hong Kong Popular Music, Lo had enabled the Taiwanese College Folk Movement to transit into the Commercial Pop Era of the 80s, and Dr Liang had helped Xinyao prosper as a totally homemade musical genre in Singapore despite the dominance of a strong Taiwan and Hong Kong in the Chinese Popular Music scene. All these served to outline their success in mo-tivating not only the C-Pop music scene as a whole, but also the musical development of their respective ter-ritories.

A defining portion of their repertoire was their social commentaries. Most of the time, these works were unique to the audience living in each of the three areas. As such, while it meant that most of these per-sonal commentaries could only be fully experienced by living in each of these places, it also implied that these songs had developed a personality that could only be exclusively linked to their individual societies. Thus, each of the three communities could now have their own musical voice that differed from one another and other Chinese communities around the world. Sometimes, some of their brutally honest compositions had to even contend with the censorship boards.47 But this only served to show the strength of their intro-spective messages and the undeniable foresight of the songwriters.


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47 While Lo was widely known to have his songs banned from broadcast in several Chinese societies, the milder Liang also once had to content with the Singapore censorship board when the notorious Ah Ben! Ah Ben! (BenBen) from his debut album became the first Xinyao to be banned from the local airwaves (Liang (ed.), 2004, p. 95). As for Samuels works, it should be clear that they would receive limited to no airplay as the broadcast of Cantonese tracks was, and still is, restricted in Singapore.

iii. Global Positioning: Effects of the Definitive Decade

The significance in implementing a change within the period that spanned from 1975-1985 could be viewed from several perspec-tives. Firstly, within C-pop itself, it was a crucial decade that would decide how strong a presence a certain Chinese community would have in the Chinese Popular Music arena of our present day. While mainland China had also produced its share of musicians later, not boarding the band wagon of change during that important ten years could be an attribute that prevented its creative dominance in the Chinese Popular Music world today.

On the other hand, artistes from these three territories, with the likes of Taiwanese Pop Titan Jay Chou (), Hong Kongs

Heavenly Crooner Jacky Cheung () and Singaporean Diva Ste-

fanie Sun () among others, have not only made a name for

themselves in Chinese communities around the world, but are also leaders of the popular music culture in the Chinese mainland. Their success today could eventually be traced to the three pioneers who came punctually at a severely important era to lay the necessarily foundations for their communities musical growth.

Also, the fruits of the pioneers labours were to collectively lead to the birth of the commercial C-Pop ballad that continues to be popular today. While many other Asian popular music markets were almost fully absorbed into consuming and producing songs with either a strong R&B or Alternative Rock flavour, C-Pop audiences and songwriters were able to accept and absorb this present global trend into their music and yet, ensured that the aesthetics of their Chinese pop ballads remain in line with the prototype that had existed since that crucial decade of change.

L e g a c y - Wo r k i n g f o r a B e t t e r To m o r r o w 31

2 0 0 8 . S h e r m a n N g

With the efforts laid by their prede-cessors, singers and songwriters

from the three territories were able

to enjoy a leading status in the C-Pop world today. Clockwise from

left: The Asian God of Song Jacky Cheung, C-Pop Diva Stefanie Sun &

Taiwanese Pop Titan Jay Chou


2 0 0 8 . S h e r m a n N g

Conclusion

The contributions laid by the three Godfathers of Chinese Popular Music and their peers are undenia-bly significant in the way C-pop is produced and consumed today. Nonetheless, more than two decades had passed since that crucial ten years. The tastes of this new generation of C-pop listeners today should have evolved into something very different from the music that had dazzled or touched the hearts of their elder brothers and sisters. Has this new musical preference segregated the younger listeners from the genera-tion(s) before them?

Maybe Jay Chou would have an answer to this.

In an interview with ETtoday (2006, para 6), Chou had highlighted his hope to become Lo Tayu in two years time. This desire, voiced by the reigning prince of Mando-pop,48 provides interesting perspectives into the current state of the C-pop industry. Firstly, debuting in 2000, Jay had released more than eight al-bums to his credit, in each of them, singing to the tunes that he had written. His incredible talent had also resulted in his directorial debut last year, with the soundtrack behind his film Secret almost entirely com-posed by himself. To decorate these achievements are his many other hit singles that were performed by other leading artistes in the C-pop world today.

And yet, despite all these, Jay was still chasing the footsteps of a musical giant that had debuted al-most twenty years before him.49 In understanding his acknowledgment towards Lo, one will ultimately find that many leaders in the C-pop world today do acknowledge the wisdom of the pioneers before them. The leading Singaporean artiste Stefanie Sun had carved her name in the C-pop world with tracks written by the

C o n c l u s i o n 33

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48 Jay was commonly referred to as Chairman Chou (), indicating his dominant status in present day C-pop.

49 In a recent article featured in www.tonight.tv (), the dominant website for Modern Chinese Folk Music, Lo was acknowledged to be the First and Last Hero of C-pop (OZONE, 2008)

pioneers of Xinyao, which would have, inevitably, included compositions by Dr Liang. Newcomers in Canto-pop are still covering classics by Samuel Hui. The survival of their works in the voices of the musicians to-day is a clear indicator of their ability to pen works that can cross the barriers of time, creating songs that would remain classic for generations to come.

However, this also indirectly meant that the three Godfathers had set a high standard for Chinese Popular Music, making themselves a hard act to be emulated by the hopefuls after them. Looking back at Jay, his many brilliant hits had not obscured the fact that many of his lyrics were actually co-written (mostly with Fang Wenshan (). And yet, he is already the closest parallel to Lo, in this new generation of C-pop

where songwriters who could pen outstanding lyrics to their music are few and far between, much less singer-songwriters who could do so. The diminishing ability of Chinese singer-songwriters who can craft lyr-ics good enough to characterise their works while writing exemplary melodies at the same time tells much about their connection, or lack thereof, with the depths of the Chinese language, and also of the massive in-flux of western cultures upon the enormous C-pop circle.

That said, the appearance of singer-songwriters who could excel in both musical and lyrical compo-sition should be something worth waiting for. Hopefully, these charismatic songwriters would not only be unique artistes in their own right, but could also inspire their peers and the generations of musicians after them, like what their predecessors had achieved in that crucial decade of Chinese Popular Music. That, and also the next massive gathering of C-pop musicians, singing in unity and harmony to an inspirational ballad like A Better Tomorrow.


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Acknowledgments

The wealth of the research could only be possible with the efforts of the musicians, producers and audience who had lived through the crucial decade. Likewise, this dissertation could only be possible with the assistance of the following persons:

Bi-ting, for sharing whatever time and knowledge she could to give me a clearer picture of the C-pop Industry.

Ms Mona Lim, for being programme leader for the School of Contemporary Music, Lasalle College of the Arts Singapore, ensuring that the word limit is caped at around 8,000.

Mr Darren Moore, for pointing out all the necessary directions to approach the writing of this dissertation, and for being a responsible mentor for the past two years in the College.

Mr Lindsay Vickery, for sharing his wealth of knowledge selflessly so that i may have a broader perspective in treading the world of music.

My family for tolerating and supporting my unusual habits and late working hours.

Mr Roy Loke, for sharing his incredible collection of vinyls, cassettes and journals that dated back to the 1960s.

Mr Lee Siew Hoi and Ms Janus Ng, for their insights into the Hong Kong Music Industry.

Dr Liang Wern Fook and Mr Peter Ang, for their lively accounts of the Xinyao Movement.

My Jiao-lang buddies, James Chew, Lim Chun, and Melvin Ong, for making good music together.

Every contributor who is mentioned in the Reference section.

My Friends at the SCM: Foundation students, followed by the Classical, Music Technology, Jazz, Pop (especially the level twos) Streams. Thank you my brothers and sisters for the great memories.

A B e t t e r To m o r r o w 35

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Referencesi. Books and Print Sources

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Sun, R. () (2004). A Brief History of Chinas Popular Music (). Beijing: Wenlian Publishing

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iii. Picture Credits

www.tonight.tv ()

Mr Wong Kee Chee ()

Rock Records & Tapes Ltd. ()

Universal Music Hong Kong ()

Feelings Associates ()

Ocean Butterflies Music Pte Ltd. ()

Alfa Music International, Inc. ()

Warner Music ()

makART


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iv. Discography

Chen, K. H. () & Wu, C. () (2006). Rose Rose I Love You () [Recorded by Yao Lee ()].

On Shanghai Longe Divas 2 [CD]. Hong Kong: EMI Hong Kong

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Teng, Y. H. () & Chou, T. W. () (2005). Lover Goodbye () [Recorded by Teng, T. ()].

On Your Heart, My Heart: Teresa Teng (: ) [CD]. Hong Kong: Starlight Music

International Ltd ()

Lo, T. Y. () (1978). The Glorious Days () [Recorded by Liu Wenzheng ()]. On The Glorious

Days () [CD]. Taipei: Kolin Records ()

Lo, T. Y. () (1981). Hopes/Views of Spring () [Recorded by Sylvia Chang ()]. On Sylvias

Childhood () [CD]. Taipei: Rock Records & Tapes Ltd. ()

Lo, T. Y. () (1981). Childhood () [Recorded by Sylvia Chang ()]. On Sylvias Childhood

() [CD]. Taipei: Rock Records & Tapes Ltd. ()

Lo, T. Y. () (1981). The Tale of Time () [Recorded by Sylvia Chang ()]. On Sylvias

Childhood () [CD]. Taipei: Rock Records & Tapes Ltd. ()

Lo, T. Y. () (1982). Town of Lugang (). On Literary Jargon () [CD]. Taipei: Rock Records &

Tapes Ltd. ()

Lo, T. Y. () (1982). Childhood (). On Literary Jargon () [CD]. Taipei: Rock Records & Tapes Ltd.

()

Lo, T. Y. () (1982). The Tale of Time (). On Literary Jargon () [CD]. Taipei: Rock Records

& Tapes Ltd. ()

Lo, T. Y. () (1982). Literary Jargon (). On Literary Jargon () [CD]. Taipei: Rock Records &

Tapes Ltd. ()


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Lo, T. Y. () (1982). Romance 1980 (1980). On Literary Jargon () [CD]. Taipei: Rock Records &

Tapes Ltd. ()

Lo, T. Y. () (1983). Future Leaders of the State (). On Future Leaders of the State ()

[CD]. Taipei: Rock Records & Tapes Ltd. ()

Lo, T. Y. () (1983). Situational Changes 72 (). On Future Leaders of the State () [CD].

Taipei: Rock Records & Tapes Ltd. ()

Lo, T. Y. () (1983). The Admonition of Love (). On Future Leaders of the State () [CD].


Lo, T. Y. () (1984). My Hand That Stroked Your Black Hair (). On Home () [CD].


Hui, S. () (1974). Gwaima Ballad (). On Games Gamblers Play () [CD]. Hong Kong:


Hui, S. () (1974). Games Gamblers Play (). On Games Gamblers Play () [CD]. Hong Kong:


Hui, S. () & Sit, L. () (1975). The Genius and the Retard () [Recorded by Hui, S. ()].

On The Genius and the Retard () [CD]. Hong Kong: Universal Music Hong Kong

()

Hui, S. () & Sit, L. () (1975). Love Past () [Recorded by Hui, S. ()]. On The Genius and

the Retard () [CD]. Hong Kong: Universal Music Hong Kong ()

Hui, S. () (1976). Half a Catty of One, and Eight Taels of the Other (). On Half a Catty of One, and

Eight Taels of the Other () [CD]. Hong Kong: Universal Music Hong Kong ()

Hui, S. () & Lai, P. () (1976). The Wanderers Yearning () [Recorded by Hui, S. ()]. On

Half a Catty of One, and Eight Taels of the Other () [CD]. Hong Kong: Universal Music Hong

Kong ()


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Hui, S. () & Lai, P. () (1978). Life Deed () [Recorded by Hui, S. ()]. On Life Deed ()

[CD]. Hong Kong: Universal Music Hong Kong ()

Hui, S. () & Lai, P. () (1981). Security Unlimited () [Recorded by Hui, S. ()]. On

Security Unlimited () [CD]. Hong Kong: Universal Music Hong Kong ()

Hui, S. () & Lai, P. () (1981). Impression () [Recorded by Hui, S. ()]. On Security

Unlimited ()[CD]. Hong Kong: Universal Music Hong Kong ()

Koo, K. F. () & Wong, J. S. () (1986). Below the Lion Rock () [Recorded by Tam N. ()].

On Below the Lion Rock () [CD]. Hong Kong: Capital Artist ()

Hui, S. () & Lai, P. () (1980). Goodbye! Hong Kong! (! !) [Recorded by Hui, S. ()]. On

Ngiam Nu Giao () [CD]. Hong Kong: Universal Music Hong Kong ()

Hui, S. () (1983). Bauhinia Blakeana (). On A New Beginning () [CD]. Hong Kong: Universal

Music Hong Kong ()

Hui, S. () (1984). Writing a New Love Song Once More (). On You Are Most Liked () [CD].

Hong Kong: Universal Music Hong Kong ()

Liang, W. F. () (1984). The Ballad of Water () [Recorded by Gan, D. ()]. On Pursuits of the

Ocean Butterflies () [CD]. Singapore: Ocean Butterflies Music Pte Ltd. ()

Liang, W. F. () (1986). Writing a Song for Thee (). On Door () [CD]. Singapore:


Liang, W. F. () (1986). Our Songs, Where Art Thee () [Recorded by The Straws ()].

On Door () [CD]. Singapore: Ocean Butterflies Music Pte Ltd. ()

Liang, W. F. () (1986). Door () [Recorded by Koh Nam Sheng ()]. On Door () [CD]. Singapore:


Liang, W. F. () (1986). Your String of Beads (). On Door () [CD]. Singapore: Ocean

Butterflies Music Pte Ltd. ()


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Liang, W. F. () (2007). Youth 1, 2, 3 () [Recorded by Gan, D. ()]. On Return When It Chills

() [CD]. Singapore: Ocean Butterflies Music Pte Ltd. ()

Liang, W. F. () (2007). Breather of Romance () [Recorded by Jiang, T. ()]. On Return When It

Chills () [CD]. Singapore: Ocean Butterflies Music Pte Ltd. ()

Lo, T. Y. (), Chang ,T. C. (), Hsu N. L. (), Lee, S. C. (), Chiu, F. S. (), Chang, S.

() & Chan H. C. () (1985). A Better Tomorrow () [Recorded by 60 singers all-stars

()]. On A Better Tomorrow () [CD]. Taipei: Blue & White Compant

()


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a better tomorrow (uk)

Documents