ay............
The mountains also laugh and the water laughs,
You see the motherland is full of spring, the situation is infinitely better Wow!
The heavens are new and the earth is new,
A generation of revolutionary newcomers is growing, a new look Wow!
…………
Walking by the sea, familiar songs ring out in your ears. It turned out to be an elderly man's portable radio playing the old song "A New Look of the Motherland". Sung by Geng Lianfeng and Zhang Zhenfu, this song shows the new appearance of the motherland's great mountains and rivers and people's praise and yearning for a better life, which was broadcast on the radio station almost every day in the 70s, which can be said to be known to women and children, and everyone can sing a few words. Listening to the song, I recalled the interview with Geng Lianfeng and Zhang Zhenfu 35 years ago.
On September 11, 1986, Geng Lianfeng and Zhang Zhenfu, known as "Double Stars in the Singing World", came to Changchun to participate in the "Music and Humor Literary Evening" performance. Between performances, I met them backstage. In the 1960s and 1970s, Zhang Zhenfu and Geng Lianfeng collaborated on singing duet songs such as "A New Look of the Motherland" and "Chairman Mao Sent People To Come", which had a huge impact on China at that time. As a result, they became the golden signs of the comrades-in-arms literary and labor troupe, and they were popular all over the country, creating the peak period of male and female vocal duets in our country. In the 1980s, they unswervingly followed their artistic path, and their songs have been ringing on the stage of military barracks, outposts and publics. When Zhang Zhenfu and Geng Lianfeng came to Changchun to perform, when light music swept the domestic music scene and had a monopoly on the stage, could their singing still be loved by the majority of audiences? Hearing my question, Geng Lianfeng smiled and said, "We both have also worried that light music is extremely popular and impacts the music scene, will there still be so many people listening to us singing national songs?" The facts answered in the affirmative. It was last year that we were invited to perform on the same stage with actors who sang popular songs from Hong Kong and Taiwan. We didn't want to participate, but we wanted to fight for breath, so we took the stage with the momentum of the game. As a result, the applause given to us by the audience was particularly loud. Art should be full of flowers and colorful. We do not deny popular music, and all kinds of singing methods should learn from each other's strengths. With this in mind, we have also continuously improved the song singing processing, stage performance and costumes, and soundtrack, enhancing the atmosphere of the times to meet the new aesthetic needs of the audience, and received good results. "
As a footnote to Geng Lianfeng's words, Zhang Zhenfu told reporters the following two things:
As members of the Chinese delegation, when they visited Japan, they went to Hokkaido, the birthplace of the Japanese folk song "Dragnet Minor". Singing this famous song here is undoubtedly a problem. But they sang in the form of male and female vocal duets, which attracted many fishermen from the fishery. These people listened so drunk that they put down their work, threw up the net full of live fish, and sang and danced with Chinese singers...
In Shenzhen, the window of China's opening to the outside world, they tried to perform at a famous big restaurant. In the face of the wine merchants who entertain themselves in the midst of the lights and wine, they really sweated: these people are used to listening to disco music, can they listen to national songs? Unexpectedly, from the very beginning of their singing, they quickly attracted the people present. Many people put down their wine glasses and gathered around, standing and listening.
Speaking of the interest of mainland youth in appreciating, Geng Lianfeng and Zhang Zhenfu disagreed with some people blindly accusing some young people of favoring Hong Kong and Taiwan songs. They believe that the key lies in correctly guiding young people to appreciate the good and eliminate the bad. They said that for the sake of the audience, we hope to sing more excellent songs that have both national characteristics and a sense of the times. "For the sake of the audience", this statement contains how much the two singers understand the audience, especially the young audience! Understanding is the bridge between emotions. No wonder wherever they go, there are so many acquaintances!
After that breakup, I never saw Geng Lianfeng and Zhang Zhenfu again, but I saw their figures on the screen from time to time and heard their beautiful songs. On January 17, 2000, Zhang Zhenfu died of lung cancer at the age of 60. After that, Geng Lianfeng continued to be active on major stages, appearing on the "Spring Festival Gala" many times, and still did not quit the song world until the ancient rare year. She is 77 years old this year, and I wish her health and longevity!