Jonathan Lee Chung-shan ( zh, t=李宗盛, p=Lǐ Zōngshèng; born 19 July 1958) is a

Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan (Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, r ...

musician and producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential and respected figures in the world of

Mandopop Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; with later influences coming from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkie ...

music.

Life and career

Lee started in the music industry in the 1970s, during

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

's popular " campus folk song" era. He was a member of the "Wood Guitar" band. In 1983, Lee made his debut as a music producer for the album ''Light Rain Just Comes in Time'' by Zheng Yi, which became an instant hit. The self-titled single "Light Rain Just Comes in Time" ranked No. 1 for 13 consecutive weeks on Taiwan's main music chart; while the first single written, composed, and sang by Lee entitled "End", a duet in the album, also became a huge hit. In 1984, Lee joined Rock Records, and has been credited with catapulting Rock Records into one of the foremost independent music labels in Asia. He helped pave the way for the golden era of Chinese pop music in the 1990s and 2000s, during which he wrote and produced many classic hits popular until today, setting impressive sales records, plus winning numerous accolades, such as

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's "Dream to Awakening" ( zh, t=夢醒時分, labels=no),

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

's "The Sincere Hero" ( zh, t=真心英雄, labels=no),

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's "You Make Me Happy and Sad" ( zh, t=讓我歡喜讓我憂, labels=no), Jeff Chang's "Love is Like Tidal Wave" ( zh, t=愛如潮水, labels=no), Sandy Lam's "It Doesn't Matter Who I Am" ( zh, t=不必在乎我是誰, labels=no),

Winnie Hsin Winnie Hsin (; born 8 February 1962) is a Taiwanese singer. She is best known for her crystal clear soprano voice. Biography In 1976, Hsin was admitted to the Taipei Hwa Kang Arts School, and in 1979 she studied music in the Chinese Culture U ...

's "Understanding" ( zh, t=領悟, labels=no), Karen Mok's "Overcast" ( zh, t=陰天, labels=no), and many more, which have all been hugely popular. As such, Lee has been hailed as the "million-dollar" producer, and deemed as the Godfather of

music, reaching and touching hundreds of millions of Chinese-speaking music fans around the world. He has been and remains one of the most successful and sought-after record producers in Chinese pop music scene. Given his iconic status in the Chinese music world, Lee's songs have influenced artists across Asia. More than music production, Lee has also been involved in movie theme songs and OST projects, and having collaborated with many famous directors, including Hou Hsiao-hsien,

Sylvia Chang Sylvia Chang (born 21 July 1953) is a Taiwanese actress, writer, singer, producer and director. In 1992, she was a member of the jury at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival. In 2018, she was one of the jury members of the main competition ...

Chen Kaige Chen Kaige (; born 12 August 1952) is a Chinese film director and a leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese cinema.Berry, Michael (2002). "Chen Kaige: Historical Revolution and Cinematic Rebellion" in Speaking in Images: Interviews wi ...

, plus others. In 2002, he founded his own guitar brand "Lee Guitars", and has been personally involved in the design and production of hand-made guitars ever since. In 2009, Lee formed " Superband" with three other popular artists from Rock Records:

, Luo Dayou and Chang Chen-yue. Lee also occasionally produces solo albums for himself and have recorded duets with many artists. His own songs "Jonathan's Song" in 2011 and "Hills" in 2013, both won "Song of the Year" and "Best Lyricist" awards at the 22nd and 25th Taiwan

Golden Melody Awards The Golden Melody Awards (), commonly abbreviated as GMA, is an honor awarded by Taiwan's Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, and Formosan-languages popular and traditional music ...

respectively. From 2013 to 2015, Lee embarked on his ''Even If Youth Is Never Lasting'' world tour, which kicked off in Taiwan, then toured on to China, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, the U.S., and U.K., etc., covering dozens of cities around the world, including two consecutive performances at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

in New York, a first for a Chinese-speaking musician. He also held a concert at the famed

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

in London, also a first for a musician from Taiwan. Lee also served as Chief A&R Consultant for Sony Music in Greater China from 2013 to 2016. In addition, Lee was also a driving force in introducing the renowned

Blue Note Jazz Club Blue Note Jazz Club is a jazz club and restaurant located at 131 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on September 30, 1981, by owner and founder Danny Bensusan, with the Nat Adderley Quintet being the featur ...

to Beijing, China. In September 2016, Lee was joined by famous American jazz pianist and composer

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

, for the grand opening of Blue Note in Beijing. His hope is to introduce the great American jazz music and culture, plus the many great jazz musicians, to the Chinese-speaking world. In September 2017, it was announced that the Tony-winning Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, will help develop "Road to Heaven: The Jonathan Lee Musical", an original Chinese musical — in both Mandarin and English, based on music written by Lee. Adapted from the novel by Li Xiuwen, the original musical will feature music by Lee with English lyrics by Tony Award winner Richard Maltby Jr. (Ain't Misbehavin', Miss Saigon, Fosse) and a book by John Dempsey (The Pirate Queen, The Witches of Eastwick). The musical will then be translated back into Chinese for a world premiere in Shanghai in 2018. English-language productions are also planned for New York and other cities throughout the U.S. following the Chinese premiere.

Discography

Key productions

} , , Zheng Yi , - , 1984 , , ''Rock'n Roll Stage'' zh, t=搖滾舞台, labels=no , , Xue Yue , - , 1985 , , ''Busy and Blind'' zh, t=忙與盲, labels=no , ,

, - , 1986 , , ''New Love/Old Love'' zh, t=舊愛新歡, labels=no , ,

Michelle Pan Michelle may refer to: People *Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael * Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle" * Michelle (German singer) * Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottish w ...

, - , 1987 , , ''Direction of the Heart'' zh, c=心的方向, labels=no , ,

, - , 1988 , , ''Heart of a Woman'' zh, c=女人心, labels=no , ,

, - , 1989 , , ''Talk to You, Listen to You'' zh, t=跟你說聽你說, labels=no , , Sarah Chen , - , 1991 , , ''The First Time'' zh, t=第一次, labels=no , ,

, - , 1993 , , ''Worrying'' zh, c=心事, labels=no , , Jeff Chang , - , 1994 , , ''Understanding'' zh, t=領悟, labels=no , ,

, - , 1995 , , ''Scar'' zh, t=傷痕, labels=no , , Sandy Lam , - , 1999 , , ''Growing Up'' zh, t=一夜長大, labels=no , ,

Fish Leong Fish Leong (born Leong Chui Peng on 16 June 1978) is a Malaysian singer and songwriter. Having sold more than 20 million records to date, she has achieved popularity and success in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, and Malays ...

, - , 2000 , , ''Twelfth Floor'' zh, t=十二樓, labels=no , , Karen Mok , - , 2001 , , ''Day Lilies'' zh, t=忘憂草, labels=no , ,

, - , 2002 , , ''Princess-D'' OST zh, t=想飛, labels=noOST , , Various , - , 2004 , , ''20/30/40'' OST zh, c=女人二十三十四十, labels=noOST , , Various , - , 2009 , , ''North Bound'' (EP) zh, t=縱貫線北上列車, labels=noEP , , Superband , - , 2010 , , ''Go South'' (EP) zh, t=縱貫線南下列車, labels=noEP , , Superband , - , 2011 , , ''Pure'' zh, c=原色, labels=no , ,

Aska Yang Aska Yang (, Born April 4, 1978 in Taoyuan City (now Taoyuan District), Taiwan) is a Taiwanese Mandopop singer. Education He graduated from the National Changhua University of Education (NCUE), with a major in Guidance and Counseling. During h ...

, - , 2014 , , ''What's Next'' zh, t=接下來是什麼, labels=no , , Ann Bai , - , 2017 , , ''Still An Outlander'' zh, t=仍是異鄉人, labels=no , , Li Jianqing

Discography

} , - , 1989 , , '' Works of Jonathan Lee'' 1984–1989 zh, t=李宗盛作品集, labels=no , - , 1993 , , ''2 X Man Life / Jonathan Lee & Lowell Lo'' zh, t=李宗盛＆盧冠廷／我們就是這樣, labels=no , - , 1994 , , ''Reluctantly'' zh, t=李宗盛的音樂旅程-不捨, labels=no

Film theme songs/score productions

* 1983 '' Growing Up'' * 1983 ''

The Boys from Fengkuei ''The Boys from Fengkuei'' (also known as ''All the Youthful Days'') () is a 1983 film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. Synopsis Ah-ching (Doze Niu) and his friends have just finished school in their island fishing village, Fengkuei, and now spend m ...

'' * 1984 ''Ah Fei'' * 1987 '' Eastern Condors'' * 1987 ''Listen to Me'' * 1991 ''Sisters of the World Unite'' – nominated for

Hong Kong Film Awards The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, ...

"Best Original Film Score” * 1992 '' Police Story 3: Super Cop'' * 1992 ''Three Summers'' * 1993 '' Farewell My Concubine'' * 1993 '' The East Is Red'' * 2014 ''Dream Flight''

Television theme songs productions

* 1991 ''Farewell" (TV Drama)'' – theme song / TTV (

Taiwan Television Taiwan Television Enterprise, Ltd. (), commonly known as TTV and formerly known as Central Television and Voice of Taiwan, is the first terrestrial television station in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was established on April 28, 1962, and ...

Enterprise) * 1991 ''Eternal Love Like Ocean'' (TV drama) theme and ending credit songs – "Ordinary Man" and "Eternal Love Like Ocean/TTV * 1992 ''The Last Emperor'' (TV drama) theme song – "Infatuation"/TTV * 1993 ''Young Heroes'' (TV drama) theme song – "Happy Like Gods"/TTV * 1993 ''Happy Building'' (TV drama) theme and ending credit songs/CTS (

Chinese Television System The Chinese Television System Inc. () is a terrestrial television station in Taiwan and was founded in 1971. Recent milestones of the network are in sports events, including having the distinction to offer exclusive coverage of the 2017 Un ...

) * 1994 ''Chivalry Under the Blue Sky'' (TV drama) ending credit song/TTV * 1996 ''The New Longmen Roadhouse'' (TV drama) ending credit song/TTV

Songs for advertisements/commercials

* 1986 Little Cook Instant Noodles – Beef Flavor * 1987 Laurel Frozen Dumpling * 1989 Sprite and

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance bar, temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pembe ...

* 1990 PECOS Soy Milk * 1991 FUJI COLOR Fuji Films * 1992 Yamaha Corporate Song * 1992

China Airlines China Airlines (CAL; ) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and one of its two major airlines along with EVA Air. It is headquartered in Taoyuan International Airport and operates over 1,400 flights weekly (in ...

*1992 Paolyta-B (energy drink) * 1993 HeySong Sarsaparilla Drink * 1993 BMW * 1993

Maxwell House Maxwell House is an American brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Heinz in North America and JDE Peet's in the rest of the world. Introduced in 1892 by wholesale grocer Joel Owsley Cheek, it was named in honor of the M ...

Coffee * 1999

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. I ...

Whisky * 2016 Apple China – Send you a Spring Festival Song

Filmography

Film

* 1983 ''Growing Up'' zh, t=小畢的故事, labels=no * 1983 ''

'' zh, t=風櫃來的人, labels=no * 1984 ''Ah Fei'' zh, t=油麻菜籽, labels=no * 1985 ''My Favorite Season'' zh, t=最想念的季節, labels=no * 1986 ''The Lock of Hearts'' zh, t=心鎖, labels=no * 1987 ''Listen to Me'' zh, t=我有話要說, labels=no * 1988 ''Friendly Shock (Yaya)'' zh, t=天崩地裂, labels=no

Television

* 1985 ''What''/TTV * 1990 ''Sunday Fever – Apocalypse'' (variety show)/TTV

Concerts

* 2006–2009 Sense and Sensibility World Tour (11 Shows) * 2009–2010 Superband World Tour (58 Shows)

Radio programs

* "Talking Past Each Other" – Host / Taiwan PBS (Police Broadcasting Service) – nominated for Taiwan's

Golden Bell Awards The Golden Bell Awards () is an annual Taiwanese television and radio production award presented in October or November each year by the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development, a division of Taiwan's Ministry of Culture. It is th ...

for "Popular Music Radio Program" and "Best Radio DJ” * "Appointment After Dusk" – Host / PBS * "Musician" – Host / i like radio (

Broadcasting Corporation of China The Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) is a broadcasting company in the Republic of China (also known as Taiwan). It was founded as the Central Broadcasting System in Nanjing in 1928. History The Central Broadcasting System is consider ...

) – won

Best Radio DJ Award

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Lyrics of songs composed by Lee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Jonathan 1958 births Living people 20th-century Taiwanese male singers 21st-century Taiwanese male singers Musicians from Taipei Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriters Taiwanese record producers Superband (band) members