''Song Bird'' (天涯歌女) is a historical drama television series produced by

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...

and broadcast in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

in 1989. The story is based on the life of

shidaiqu Shidaiqu () is a type of Chinese popular music that is a fusion of Chinese folk, American jazz and Hollywood film music that originated in Shanghai in the 1920s.Shoesmith, Brian. Rossiter, Ned. 004(2004). Refashioning Pop Music in Asia: Cos ...

singer

Zhou Xuan Zhou Xiaohong (; born Su Pu; August 1, 1920 – September 22, 1957), known professionally as Zhou Xuan (), also romanized as Chow Hsuan (), was a Chinese singer and film actress. By the 1940s, she had become one of China's Seven Great Si ...

. The Chinese name of the TV series comes from the name of one of the songs used in the 1937 film '' Street Angel''.

Plot

The story is based on the story of the young girl Zhou Xuan (

Nadia Chan Adia Chan (; born 21 January 1971) is a Hong Kong actress, singer and model. Life and career Chan was born to Chinese Ethnic Indonesian parents. Chan's parents are Indonesian Chinese and her family moved to Hong Kong when she was three year ...

) in the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

1930s era. Zhou originally came from a poor background. She managed to join the Bright Moonlight Song and Dance Troupe to try to make a living, and met composer Yim Chi-wah (

Leon Lai Leon Lai Ming Silver Bauhinia Star, SBS Bronze Bauhinia Star, BBS Medal of Honour (Hong Kong), MH ( zh, 黎明; born 11 December 1966), is a Hong Kong actor, singer, film director, and businessman. He is one of the "Cantopop#1990s: Four Heav ...

). A record producer recognized her skill, and helped her launch a music career in a very difficult time. The backdrop of the falling Republic of China led to the collapse of the

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

shidaiqu music industry. Zhou Xuan would suffer from a mental breakdown and die at an early age, but her music would make her a legend.

Production

Throughout the series, the songs performed were mostly sung in

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

. The songs used in the series did not actually reflect the

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

songs from the era. The producer of the series Siu Xiao (蕭笙) had to incorporate some well known modern

Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") is a genre of pop music sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production and consumption. The genre began in the 1970s and became associated with Hon ...

composers such as

Joseph Koo Joseph Koo Kar-Fai (; 25 February 1931 – 3 January 2023) was a Hong Kong composer. He used the pen name Moran (莫然) for Mandarin songs early in his career. According to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Koo was one of the most ...

, Cheng Kwok-kong (鄭國江), Pun Wai-yuen (潘偉源) into readapting some of the songs for the story. Lyrics and melodies were changed. The series was also accompanied by a soundtrack released with leading actress

in 1990 using the same name, ''Song Bird''. In the album

Deric Wan Deric Wan Siu-lun (born 18 November 1964) is a Hong Kong actor, singer, and songwriter who has starred in numerous television series and released several studio albums. His representative works include a duet with Nadia Chan, a cover of the s ...

replaced Leon Lai. According to

IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

the album had sales figures that were impressive enough to be in competition with one of

Alan Tam Alan Tam Wing-lun (; born 23 August 1950) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. He played a major role in developing the Cantopop scene in the 1980s as he was known for singing romantic ballads with modern arrangements. From 1983 to 1987, Alan Tam re ...

's main album at the time. The album was later re-released as part of Crown Records' (娛樂唱片) 50th anniversary gold disc series.

Cast

References

{{1989 TVB TVB dramas 1989 Hong Kong television series debuts 1990 Hong Kong television series endings Cantonese-language television shows

Plot

Production

Cast

See also

References