In the spring of 2003, Hong Kong was suffering from the unkind greeting of SARS, and people could not see each other's expressions behind the masks.
On April Fool's Day, Leslie Cheung jumped from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, which added to the sadness at that time.
Huang Zhan stood up and beckoned friends in the circle to organize a concert to ease the atmosphere.
Under the spotlight, he sang the scene of Nanyin warming up with full of energy, which became a memory of the times.
The concert was named "Under the Lion Rock" because it is the spiritual sustenance that Hong Kong people cannot avoid.
Thirty-two days later, Hong Kong's 35-year-old doctor Tse Wanwen died of SARS in the line of duty, which was heart-wrenching and moving.
Afterwards, Tse Wanwen's father endured his grief and said: "I hope Wanwen's courage and sacrifice can encourage Hong Kong people to never give up." ”
Never give up is the highland of Hong Kong's humanistic spirit.
In 1997, just two days after the regional flag with redbuds was raised in Hong Kong, the Southeast Asian financial crisis broke out.
The American Soros sniped the Thai baht with great success, thus shorting the whole of Thailand.
The well-known international financial speculator has set his sights on Hong Kong.
In July 1997, January and May 1998, the Hong Kong dollar was subjected to a large number of speculative sell-offs, the Hong Kong dollar depreciated, stocks plummeted, and pessimism began to spread, presenting a scene of mourning and sorrow.
Soros saw that the opportunity was ripe and decided to destroy Hong Kong's financial industry in one fell swoop.
He publicly stated in the Wall Street Journal: "Hong Kong will lose! ”
Soros's assertion turned out to be too hasty.
Just as Hong Kong was preparing to fight back, a voice came from the mainland: "Maintain Hong Kong's prosperity at all costs." ”
In the end, after several rounds of competition, Soros couldn't bear it anymore and had to leave the game gloomily.
Now it seems that the decisive battle is still tragic.
In the darkest days, the people of Hong Kong once sang a song that had not been seen for a long time.
This song is "Under the Lion Rock", and it is it that gives strength to the people of Hong Kong.
We are in the same boat under the Lion Rock and help each other
Abandon the distinction and seek the common pair
Let go of the contradictory ideals in each other's hearts and chase them together
Fellow Boatman
Swear to be with you
Fearless and fearless
On the edge of the same cape
Ryūte-tō Hirasaki 岖.
Let's all work hard
写下那不朽香江名句
In the movie "Lame Hao", as a classic image in Hong Kong film history, the impoverished Shantou young man Ah Hao firmly believes that "life and death are fate, wealth is in the sky", and he has gained a firm foothold in the rivers and lakes by working hard.
Ah Hao arrived in Hong Kong during a difficult economic period in the mainland with the flow of refugees.
This became a microcosm of Hong Kong society in the fifties and sixties of the last century.
After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Hong Kong's economy began to recover, and people who came to Hong Kong from the mainland to live in Hong Kong began to participate in the construction in order to escape the war.
Soon after, the Korean War triggered an embargo, and Hong Kong's entrepot trade took a sharp turn, but the rapid development of the textile and garment industries made up for some of the losses.
Plastics, electronics and metal products are also booming at this time.
The shrewd Hong Kong people have also come up with new ideas, such as introducing new labour laws and strengthening the protection of women and youth.
In addition, it was fortunate that Chinese became the official language under British rule, and more and more Chinese and Cantonese songs appeared, making Hong Kong people self-aware.
Around 1959, two major music landscapes appeared, one was that Hong Kong Commercial Radio sent songs to thousands of households on airwaves, and the other was that the two major film companies of Shaw Brothers and Dianmao began to make music with their hearts.
Originally, Hong Kong's radios were vacuum-tubed, and it was impossible to carry them around.
When commercial radio stations were launched, pocket radios appeared, which was a gift from technology to Hong Kong people.
Pocket radios were so cheap that the average household could afford them, so radio license registrations proliferated, increasing by 60 percent in two years.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a radio in the living room and be able to hear from seven in the morning to twelve in the morning?
In the urban forest, listening to singers singing fresh songs has become a reality without leaving home.
Gülen is a representative of the new singers, and he became famous for starring in "Mambo Girl" and "Wild Rose Love" in Denmao.
She was invited to appear on NBC television, which became a proud event for the whole city.
The song "Carmen" is tactful and melodious, and has been covered by younger generations countless times.
Love is nothing more than an ordinary thing
Not at all
A man is nothing but a thing of condemnation
What's the big deal
Just like the taste of this lyrics, Hong Kong music at that time was already sentimental about the little love in the comfortable "well-off days".
Zhang Che did not hesitate to say good things to Gülen:
"I think that when it comes to singing, I don't think twice about it among the actresses of Chinese films nowadays, because she sings jazz and has its classical roots; More clever than a certain female vocalist who takes in a big apprenticeship, holds a big concert, and plays a lot of records, and calls herself a flowery soprano!"
In the 60s, Zhang Che was already the top director of the Shaw Brothers, and while listening to such love songs, he did not delay showing the masculinity of "One-Armed Knife".
I can't help but think of the conscientious martial arts film directors at that time, Zhang Che, Yue Feng, and Hu Jinquan, which are the memories of a generation.
No music format lasts forever.
Soon, the old-fashioned sweet songs faded, and the new music of youth began to be popular.
In 1964, the British Beatles performed in Hong Kong, and the young people of Hong Kong, who had been gathering momentum for a long time, finally had the opportunity to vent freely.
That kind of shock surpassed the myth of Hung Hom created by the three heroes of the mainland Magic Rock thirty years later.
Before that, the idol of this generation of Hong Kong youth, who grew up learning English, was Elvis Presley, who sneered at the Hong Kong-made Cantonese singers who were obsessed with the factory girls in the dark.
After the Beatles were gone, the local band idols of the youth appeared on the stage of history.
At the end of the 80s of the last century, the Tai Chi Band and the Grasshopper Band were famous in Hong Kong, but if you want to talk about the first Hong Kong band, it is Teddy Robin.
Shortly after Teddy Robin formed Playboy, Xu Guanjie also formed the Lotus Band.
All of them went on to become music professionals and shine on the Hong Kong music scene.
Hui Guanjie is a master of Cantonese music lyrics and songs.
In addition to being an actor and directing films, Robin also works part-time as a composer and has written several famous songs.
While the band is singing about their inner bohemianism, some people are looking coldly at the reality of Hong Kong music.
One day, a young man named Gu Jiahui walked into Xia Hui's nightclub, where he was the foreman musician.
At that time, the level of music in Hong Kong was indeed not very high, and there were not many people who could serve as the foreman, and Gu Jiahui was one of them.
The others are all Filipino musicians.
While playing, the question that Koo often remembered came to his mind again: "Why can't Hong Kong people make their own pop music?" ”
Since then, Gu Jiahui has decided to break out of the sky.
In 1967, TVB was launched.
After Shaw switched from film to television, he aimed at long-form TV dramas, but the original TV dramas such as "The Dream of the Qing Palace", "Leung Tianlai" and "Laughing Marriage" were similar in style to previous Cantonese films, and there was nothing new.
However, Gu Jiahui set up a milestone.
The song of the same name he composed for "Laughing Marriage" became the beginning of the turnaround of Cantonese songs.
Until then, Cantonese songs were considered vulgar and not taken seriously, and Hong Kong TV dramas preferred to use Chinese songs.
Gu Jiahui later recalled the uneasiness of the creation.
"At the beginning, Wang Tianlin, the director of the series, and I had this kind of worry, so we handed over the songs of this TV series to be sung by Xiandula.
The reason is that she mainly sings English and Chinese songs in the music scene, and she sings these Cantonese songs, at least it will not give people an old-fashioned feeling, and how many Westernized singers are used to balance those Chinese songs, which shows that there was not much confidence at that time. ”
After listening to "Laughing Marriage", you will find that it is in the same vein as the later music style of Xu Xiaofeng and Teresa Teng.
In an increasingly prosperous metropolis, music is becoming more and more a belief, and it is not just the style of music that has changed.
"Under the Lion Rock" appeared in this context.
In 1974, the TV series "Under the Lion Rock" was released to the audience, and it reflected the real life of the grassroots class in the style of black and white film, which sparked heated discussions in Hong Kong.
Such a down-to-earth TV series and "Seventy-two Tenants" can be called the "double gem" of Hong Kong TV at that time.
How do you choose your music?
A few years later, Huang Zhan and Gu Jiahui got together and began to compose for "Under the Lion Rock", these two can really be said to be leaders in the lyrics and music industry, "one is Langyuan Xianbao, and the other is beautiful and flawless".
After several twists and turns, a song of the same name with words like a bow and a rainbow jumped on the paper.
The song was sung by Rowan, just right.
This can be seen as a warm-up for the popular "Iron Blood Pill Heart" and "The Great Wall Will Never Fall" on the streets and alleys of Hong Kong a few years later.
At the same time, Hui Guanjie's street songs have also filled the cornerstone of Hong Kong's musical spirit.
After playing enough of the band, Xu Guanjie and his brother Xu Guanwen hosted the entertainment program "Double Star Annunciation" on TVB.
During this period, one of his songs "Iron Tower Lingyun" invigorated the music world.
"Iron Tower Lingyun" is an inspirational song with the same name as "Under the Lion Rock", which is softer and melodious.
Later, Xu Guanjie sang the optimism of the small citizens with "Genius Daydream" and "The Voice of the Prodigal Son", and for a while, the video stores on the street posted posters of "Xu Guanjie sold out".
In this way, Hong Kong music ushered in a glorious 80s.
One day in the 80s of the last century, Hu Yaobang heard a Hong Kong pop song in the middle of the night, so he called CCTV, saying that this song must be listened to and learned, and asked people to send him the tape quickly.
Later, he also took the whole family to learn to sing.
This song is "My Chinese Heart".
In 1979, Zhang Mingmin was a worker in an electronics factory in Hong Kong, and he followed his boss to the mainland and felt another world.
"The streets are full of people in tunics, the beer is hot, and there is no ice."
Later, Zhang Mingmin sang several patriotic songs such as "Dad's Straw Shoes", and was called a national singer by Hong Kong people for a while.
On the occasion of the Sino-British negotiations, the atmosphere in Hong Kong is very lively, and Zhang Mingmin plans to sing another song.
The record company approached Huang Zhan to help him write the lyrics.
The words are really not easy to write, and Huang Zhan didn't give a manuscript for half a year.
The producer was in a hurry to catch up with the schedule, so he went to Huang Zhan to ask for it, and Huang Zhan was in a hurry and said: "If you want to take it, go to the trash can to find it." ”
Because he has written a lot, but all of them are not satisfied.
Later, the agent really collected those drafts and found the finalized "My Chinese Heart", and the composer Wang Fuling specially wrote the tune for this song.
On the eve of the Spring Festival Gala in 1984, director Huang Yihe wanted to find a Hong Kong and Taiwan singer to participate.
In order to avoid a tense atmosphere, he said in his work report: "Chairman Mao said that wherever there are people, there are left and right, but most people are good. Therefore, it is normal for people to invite Hong Kong and Taiwan actors over. ”
Not long after, Huang Yihe went to Shenzhen to hear "My Chinese Heart", and decided that it was this song.
So, in that Spring Festival Gala, the audience saw Zhang Mingmin wearing a long scarf, and "My Chinese Heart" then became popular in the mainland.
At the same time, Hong Kong is also speaking in a different way.
Lu Guozhan spent his childhood in the mainland, and after becoming a lyricist, a song full of nostalgia "The Kindness of the Earth" is his favorite.
The river bends and bends, and he coldly says that he is worried
Don't be in my country, a string of wet clothes with tears
People are like thousands of ants in the heavens and the earth
I smiled bitterly and left the group, and I suppressed my anger and depression that day
If there is a light boat forced to cross, one day it will definitely return
When the water rises and falls, it is inevitable that it will rise and fall several times
The earth leans on the riverside, and the sound of the water changes softly
The dream is vaguely verdant, but my temples are already spotted
The song's eponymous TV series was unmatched in ratings after it aired on Leigh's TV.
At the same time, TVB also began to exert its strength at this time, and many TV dramas at that time were keen on family and country feelings.
"The Legend of the Condor Heroes", "Hero Huo Yuanjia" and "Shanghai Tang" are representatives of this.
At that time, many mainland TV viewers watched "Shanghai Tang" in the village with a small horse, feeling sorry for Xu Wenqiang and Feng Chengcheng's difficult dependents, and disgusted with Feng Jingyao's collusion with the Japanese.
After many years, some people may have forgotten the plot, but the vicissitudes of "waves, waves" melody have always been remembered.
Ye Liyi has Cantonese opera skills, and she sings this song in a straight voice, just like her respected status in the circle.
Many years later, at the farewell ceremony in the UK, there were two hosts, one of whom was Ye Liyi.
Shanghai Tang is a thing of the past, and you can see the feelings of Hong Kong music in the 80s.
After writing "The Kindness of the Earth", Lu Guozhen launched a "non-love song movement", trying to pull Hong Kong music out of the quagmire of Qingqing and me, and also wrote several songs such as "Praying Mantis and Me" for this purpose.
However, the trend of entertainment in Hong Kong music pushed him down and continued to move forward.
After him, I'm afraid that only Beyond's songs can still hear a different taste.
In 1986, a friend of Wong Ka-kui, Mike Lau, returned from Hong Kong to his hometown after a 10-year absence.
Huang Jiaju was infected by him, so he put this feeling of missing his hometown into the song, called "Footprints of the Old Days"
Huang Jiaju is really a man of temperament.
South African President Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 28 years for racial struggle, and after Huang Jiaju returned from a trip to Africa, he wrote a poem "Glory Years" to pay tribute to the "global president".
He once said, "When you ask for something from this society, you first ask yourself what you have given to this society, and I give music." ”
In the 90s, Hong Kong music began to keep up with entertainment, and more and more singers and songwriters lost their spiritual yearning.
Until Huang Jiaju's death, there was no spiritual successor to him.
It wasn't until the financial crisis and SARS that people remembered that the spirit of Hong Kong music was still there, but it had changed from "pop" to "classic".
Lion Rock still stands there majestically, feeling the changes of the times.
Resources:
1. "A Brief History of Chinese Pop Music" You Jingbo
2. "Interviews with Hong Kong Celebrities", China National Radio
3. "My Hometown in the Eighties" New Weekly
4. The Development and Rise and Fall of Cantopop Music: A Study of Hong Kong Pop Music (1949-1997) by Huang Zhan
5. "Glorious Years: The Biography of Huang Jiaju" Zou Jiaqi