Teresa Teng | 邓丽君

Name: Teresa Teng
Chinese Name: Deng Li Jun
Original Name: Deng Li Yun
Born: January 29th 1953, Yunlin, Taiwan
Family: Mother and 4 brothers
Languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, English, Japanese, Fujianese, Indonesian, French and several Chinese dialects

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Biography

1953 born January 29th in Yunlin Hsien, Paochong County, Tienyang Village and has three elder brothers
1959 family moves from Pingtung to Luchou in Taipei County
1963 wins the China Radio Station "Huangmei Melody" singing contest singing "Visiting Yingtai
1967 leaves Ginling Girl's High School to formally take up singing as a profession with Universal Records
1969 makes her first film appearance in [Thanks Boss]
1969 sings the theme song for the premiere of the first television series in Taiwan "Chingching" and hosts the television show "Everyday a Star"
1969 accepts the invitation of the then Singaporean PM's wife to travel overseas for the first time and sing at a charity concert in Singapore
1970 is the youngest person to be awarded the "Charity Queen" award for working with "White Flower Embrocation" doing charity sales
1970 accompanies the Kaishengzong troupe for her first performance in Hong Kong films [Ms. Music Fan] in Hong Kong with Chang Chung
1973 signs with Japanese company Polydor to develop her career in Japan
1974 is chosen as the "best new singing talent" for her song "The Airport"
1976 first solo concert at Hong Kong's Li Stage
1979 travels to California to improve language skills and in April, holds her first concert in Vancouver, Canada
1980 her voice wins the hearts of one billion mainland Chinese
1980 takes the stage at the Lincoln Centre in New York and the Los Angeles Music Centre
1980 in November, returns to Taiwan, visits the troops on Kinmen island and performs at the Sun Yatsen Memorial where all ticket proceeds are donated to the "Patriotic Fund"
1981 (16th May) the Government Information Office awards her the "Patriotic Artist" award for patriotic activities including donations made from her concerts to the "Patriotic foundation" Co-hosts the Golden Bell awards ceremony with Li Chijun
1981 sets the record for the most number of solo concerts held at Li Stage in Hong Kong
1981 conducts a month long island-wide visit of the troops and produces the TV special "Teresa at the Front Line"
1983 becomes the first ever Chinese woman singer to perform under contract at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas i
1983 is chosen in the tenth "ten most outstanding young women" Award
1984 conducts a 15 year anniversary concert tour of South East Asia
1984 returns to Japan to promote her album "Payback" ("Tsukunai" in Japanease) and is awarded the grand prix of an important annual cable television award (a cable television award for music and reaches record sales levels)
1985 "Lover" is awarded the grand prix of an important annual cable television award in Japan
1986 "Let time lapse" is awarded the grand prix of an important annual cable television award in Japan
1987 "I only care about you" Chinese album "I only care about you" was published
1991 Faded out - Teresa had started to fade out of her singing career and frequently resided abroad between France and Thailand, living a tranquil and leisurely life which was her destined pursuit, despite on occasional cases that she had to show up for preparation of her records and to attend some charity events.
1992 Japan - "Memorable Teresa Teng"

May 8th, 1995 - Passed away in Thailand

Teresa died of a severe asthma attack while on a trip to Thailand. The whole Asian continent mourned, and many Chinese artists could not believe that they had lost their idol, their 'Little Teng'. Teresa became a legend, and her songs and ideals still live on through the hearts of her fans.

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Song Titles

When Will You Be Back (何日君再来; Hé Rì Jūn Zài Lái) - my fav.
As Gentle As a Breeze (恰似你的温柔; Qià Sì Nǐ De Wēn Ròu, lit: Just Like Your Tenderness) (This was a cover; the song was originally recorded by Tsai Chin (蔡琴).)

A Small Wish (一个小心愿; Yī Gè Xiǎo Xīn Yuàn)
The Milky Way (云河; Yún Hé, lit: Cloud River)
Fragrance of the Night (夜来香; Yè Lái Xiāng)
How Would You Explain (看今天你怎么说; Kàn Jīn Tiān Nǐ Zěn Mé Shūo, lit: Let's See What You'll Say Today)

Raining on the East Mountain (东山飘雨西山晴; Dōng Shān Piāo Yǔ Xī Shān Qíng, lit: East Mountain Raining West Mountain Clear)
The Moon Represents My Heart (月亮代表我的心; Yuè Liàng Dài Biǎo Wǒ De Xīn)
Stroll on the Road of Life (漫步人生路; Màn Bù Rén Shēng Lù)
Your Sweet Smiles (甜蜜蜜; Tián Mì Mì, lit: Sweet Honey Honey)
On the Other Side of the Water (在水一方; Zài Shǔi Yī Fāng)
Small Town Story (小城故事; Xiǎo Chéng Gù Shì)

Forget Him (忘记他; Wàng Jì Tā)
Do You Know Whom I Love (你可知道我爱谁; Nǐ Kě Zhī Dào Wǒ Ai Shúi)
Thank You (谢谢你; Xiè Xiè Nǐ)
Goodbye My Love (再见，我的爱人; Zài Jiàn, Wǒ De Ai Rén)

Wishing We Last Forever/Shui diao ge tou (但愿人长久/水调歌头; Dàn Yuàn Rén Cháng Jǐu/Shuǐ Diāo Gē Tou) (Originally a poem published in Song Dynasty (about 1056 A.D), transformed into a song)

How Many Worries/Yu Mei Ren (几多愁/虞美人; Jǐ Duō Chóu/Yú Měi Rén) (An original poem turned into a song)

I Only Care About You (我只在乎你; Wǒ Zhǐ Zaìhū Nǐ; Japanese: 時の流れに身をまかせ) (This English title is a translation of the Chinese title. The Japanese title translates to "I Leave Myself in the Hands of The Flow of Time")

Fruit (Japanese: 别れの予感)

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The development of pop music in China over two decades tells a story of the country, the times and social changes, and now Hong Kong and Taiwan have become the major sources of music for young music fans from the mainland.

In the late 1970s, popular music artists were few. The only pop artist of that time was Teresa Teng. Today this has changed. Rock-and-roll musicians abound, and young people can choose from a huge selection of modern music styles and artists.

In the early 1980s, criticism about the "unhealthy" content of popular music made conservative-minded people sneer at people who listened to what they called "soft soap" music. Today, hundreds of bands perform in clubs and bars across the country, hoping to be discovered by a music company so that they can make an album of their own.

Someone said 90 percent of the music companies in China rely on buying the copyrights to music from Hong Kong, Taiwan or overseas to generate the bulk of their profit. That is, few of these companies produce original music.

But there is wide support in China for the development of original music. Both artists and business people in the industry believe that the market can stimulate the creation and production of the music industry.

Popular music in China was born in the late 1970s with changes to the rhythm and melody of songs. Softness and lightness were added to the tune.

The songs of that age had themes of social responsibility, singing the praises of navy soldiers who guarded the country's shores, or the beauty of the motherland. The soft, sweet singing of Teresa Teng soothed the people.

"Teng sang every song she could, from old Chinese melodies to American rock-and-roll," said one critic. "Teng put her stamp on every song she sang. And every song became soft and sweet."

But the social environment of that time was not very tolerant. Young people who wore bell-bottomed pants, big sunglasses and carried tape recorders were viewed as "hooligans". And the music they listened to was labeled "decadent".

Nothing could stop young people's passion for the trend and fashion. Cheng Lin, Cheng Fangyuan and Zhang Xing became the most popular singers of that time.

Cheng Lin was introduced to the audience by a composer from Taiwan, who also introduced a series of Taiwan pop songs to the mainland. At that time, ballads were popular in Taiwan and the trend quickly came to the mainland. Taiwan songwriters like Lo Tayu and Li Zongsheng became familiar to the mainland audience.

Western music first started to infiltrate China in the late 1970s (My father got his first English album called "The Beatles Collection" in 1979, of course it was a piracy one ). But fans of English-language songs only came out as a group in the mid-80s. The first foreign voice that captivated the Chinese audience was Karen Carpenter.

College students recorded her songs from one tape to another, spreading her voice further and further. A widely-used English-language teaching textbook even took one of her songs in a listening text. Her sound sharply contrasted the styles familiar to the Chinese audience. Her singing voice was simple and genuine, and not as "namby-pamby" as Teresa Teng's.

By the late 1980s, tapes of English songs were available in the Chinese market, though a large number of them were pirated. (The first English song I heard was "Careless Whisper" by George Michael when I was 6 yrs old in 1988, I still like it very much now! )

Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, the Beatles, and John Denver were introduced to China. The radio stations gave more time to Western music, and audiences were called on to supply tapes for the program.

Since the mid-80s, singers and actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan have participated in the annual Spring Festival Party, which is broadcast to the whole country via TV.

Hong Kong and Taiwan have become major sources of music for young fans from the mainland. And as communications became easier and more frequent, talented young singers from the mainland went to Hong Kong to further develop their careers. Faye Wong is the best example. She was a native of Beijing and started singing songs of Teresa Teng's. She moved to Hong Kong where her career as the most successful contemporary Chinese singer took off.

Rock-and-roll started to take off between the late 1980s and early 1990s, taking a rebellious attitude toward the highly commercial music industry. Cui Jian (May 9th, 2006 is the 20th anniversary of his first song "Nothing Left" debuted) became the "spiritual godfather" of the "angry young men".

Globalization is an unstoppable trend nowadays. Accompanied by campaigns against piracy, this trend is intermingling music and film from all over the world. Radio stations no longer need to look around for things to play, music companies supply them with all the latest albums.

American, Japanese, Korean music all find large numbers of fans among teenagers in China. Rap, R&B, soul, techno, whatever trend starts to gain popularity on the global stage, quickly comes out in a localized version.