pop influence in 20years

费强

   


Pop rhythm rolls on


The development of pop music in China over two dozen years tells a story of the country, the times and social changes. Zhang Kun explains  




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 older generation, as well as the authorities, discouraged easy-listening music. 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 per cent 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. There is not a single music company in Shanghai engaged in producing local original music, according to Fei Qiang, a music editor at Radio Shanghai .

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.

The starting point

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.

China had just endured 10 years of political struggle brought by the "cultural revolution (1966-76)". 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."

It was through her, that many Chinese audiences first learned of foreign music.

Some "academic" music writers using traditional string instruments and no electronic equipment started to compose popular songs. Gu Jianfen, who became famous later for "Songs and Smiles" and "Where are you from, my friend", started to write songs in these years.

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 labelled "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.

Songs from the West

Foreign music first started to infiltrate China in the late 1970s. 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