(2) BLOGGER'S CHINESE 50s MUSIC EDUCATION:.
In the 50s, blogger listened to some Mando pop (Mandarin popular) songs by actress/singer Zhou Xuan. He remembers the songs but not the singer and with his limited understanding of Mandarin, he is still able to appreciate the music from this genre.
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In those days, the songs were played on old gramophones grinding 78rpm records but some songs were also played regularly on radio. And like the singer (image), the songs are classic beauties!
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*Perhaps the best-known of the early Shanghai recording artists, Zhou Xuan recorded some of the most evocative songs of this era. An exceptionally beautiful one is her recording of the song Zang Hua (A Flower Burial), with lyrics from the classic novel of the Qing dynasty, Dream of Red Chamber.
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These songs are now available on CD and some of the more popular ones (loosely translated) are, Shanghai Nights, Street Angel, Song Of Four Seasons, A Warning, Spring Morning, Please Tell Me, The Winds Of May and a personal favourite, When June Comes Again.
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This particular double CD album boasts 40 titles by Zhou Xuan. And the digitalised technology is so advanced the recordings are devoid of surface noise.
*Reference: HZH27 from YouTube.
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Original article: Andy Lim Collection.
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