The Lesser Know Singers
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A collection of lesser known singers.
featured singers:
Pei Ni / 佩妮, Jin Yi / 金溢, Hu Rong Rong / 胡蓉蓉, Zhang Cui Hong / 張翠紅, Zhang Yi Wen / 張伊雯, Zhao Mei Zhen / 趙美珍, Chen Yun Shang / 陳雲裳, Chen Yan Yan / 陳燕燕, Chen Qi / 陳琦
1

A Bountiful Year

豐年

[1948]
Pei Ni
2

Marks of Love

戀痕

[1947]
Jin Yi
3

River West Nursery Rhyme

江西童謠

Hu Rong Rong
4

Little Mice

米老鼠

Hu Rong Rong
5

Verses of the Seasons

四季吟

[1940]
Zhang Cui Hong
6

Verses of Remembrance

思君吟

[1940]
Zhang Cui Hong
7

Miss Shanghai

上海小姐

[1947]
Zhang Yi Wen
8

The Dance Bible

跳舞经

Zhao Mei Zhen
9

Goddess in Holy Dress

雲裳仙子

[1939]
Chen Yun Shang
10

Canary

黃鶯兒

[1936]
Chen Yan Yan
11

The Prodigal Son

荒唐浪子

[1948]
Chen Qi
12

Fine Nights Cannot Be Retained

良夜不能留

Pei Ni
13

Butterflies Dance and Swallows Fly

蝴蝶翩翩燕子飛

Jin Yi
14

Regrets

悔恨

Jin Yi
15

The World Is Full of Hope

人間盡是新希望

Jin Yi
16

Memories of the Sea

海的懷念

[1948]
Pei Ni
17

Stars and the Moon

星和月

[1948]
Jin Yi
18

A Miss Becomes a Misses

小姐變太太

[1948]
Jin Yi
19

Funhouse Mirrors

哈哈鏡

[1947]
Pei Ni
Foreign Songs Adapted
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Listening to foreign songs alongside with their Shanghai adaptations, one easily notices the progression of antique Shanghai pop's stylistic progression and marvels at, realizes its uniqueness.
featured singers:
Zhang Jing / 张静, Oskar Joost, Roy Fox, Zhou Xuan / 周璇, Headliners, Cliff Weston, Yan Hua / 嚴華, Rudy Vallée, Lang Yu Xiu / 郎毓秀, Nelson Eddie, The Lecuona Cuban Boys, Bai Hong / 白虹, Miliza Korjus, Si Yi Gui / 斯義桂, Paul Robeson, Yao Li / 姚莉, Watanabe Hamako / 渡辺はま子, Kirishima Noboru / 霧島 昇, Bai Guang / 白光, Li Xiang Lan / 李香蘭, Liang Ping / 梁萍, Yao Min / 姚敏
1

A Little Home

小小家庭

[1934]
Zhang Jing
2

In der himmelblauen, kleinen Limousine

[1939]
Oskar Joost
3

Build a Little Home

[1933]
Roy Fox
4

Roses Everywhere

薔薇處處開

Zhou Xuan
5

Polly Wolly Doodle

[1935]
Headliners
,
Cliff Weston
6

Ha Cha Cha

哈雀雀

[1935]
Yan Hua
7

Ha Cha Cha

[1934]
Rudy Vallée
8

Perfect Harmony

鸞鳳和鳴

Lang Yu Xiu
9

Rosemarie

[1936]
Nelson Eddie
10

A Busy Songstress

紅歌女忙

Zhou Xuan
11

Rumba Tambah

[1933]
The Lecuona Cuban Boys
12

Three Years

三年

[1943]
Bai Hong
13

One Day When We Were Young

Miliza Korjus
14

Song of the Volga Boatmen

伏爾加船夫曲

[1939]
Si Yi Gui
15

Song of the Volga Boatmen

Paul Robeson
16

Dreams of Spring

春之夢

Yao Li
17

Chinese Nights

支那の夜

Watanabe Hamako
18

Su Zhou Nocturne

蘇州夜曲

Bai Hong
19

Su Zhou Nocturne

蘇州夜曲

Watanabe Hamako
,
Kirishima Noboru
20

Anticipation

期待

Bai Guang
21

Winter Jasmine

迎春花

Li Xiang Lan
22

Crossing the Bridge (London Bridge Is Falling Down)

過大橋

[1947]
Liang Ping
,
Yao Min
Zhang Fan and Chen Juan Juan
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This installment brings two singers who were 'sisters' on the silver screen. They share much in common at the first glance yet each has her very distinct style.
featured singers:
Zhang Fan / 張帆, Chen Juan Juan / 陳娟娟
1

We Want Papa

我們要爸爸

[1943]
Zhang Fan
,
Chen Juan Juan
2

I Still Have a Glimmer of Hope

我還有一線希望

[1948]
Zhang Fan
3

Awaiting the Swallows

待燕曲

[1948]
Chen Juan Juan
4

I Want to Dream of You

我要夢見你

[1948]
Zhang Fan
5

Song of Songs

歌的歌

Chen Juan Juan
6

Listen to My Singing

聽我唱

[1947]
Chen Juan Juan
7

Maiden's Sorrow

Chen Juan Juan
8

Misty Moon

朦朧月

[1948]
Zhang Fan
9

Endless "My Love" to Be Sung

唱不完的郎

[1944]
Zhang Fan
10

Peach Flowers in Bloom

桃花朵朵紅

[1948]
Zhang Fan
11

The Boat of Happiness

幸福的船

[1948]
Chen Juan Juan
12

Windows to the Heart

心靈的窗

[1948]
Chen Juan Juan
13

Ode to Spring

春之頌

[1948]
Chen Juan Juan
14

I Want to Go Home

我想回家

[1948]
Chen Juan Juan
15

The Bedbug Song

臭蟲歌

[1948]
Zhang Fan
16

Spring over Lord Su Causeway

蘇堤春曉

[1948]
Zhang Fan
17

A Courtesan's Lament

嘆煙花

[1941]
Zhang Fan
18

Little Orphan Girl

小孤女

[1937]
Chen Juan Juan
19

Silently I Question Heaven

無語問蒼天

[1948]
Zhang Fan
20

Roses

玫瑰花

[1944]
Zhang Fan
Li Li Hua and Bai Yun
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Two very delicate voices that sang with a traditional panache - evergreen movie queen, Li Li Hua and Bai Yun.
featured singers:
Li Li Hua / 李麗華, Bai Yun / 白雲, Oka Haruo / 岡 晴夫
1

Three Worlds

三個世界

[1941]
Li Li Hua
2

Ravens all over the Sky

烏鴉滿地飛

[1946]
Bai Yun
3

A Little Ditty/Country Love Song

小山歌(農村情歌)

[1941]
Li Li Hua
4

Riding to Pine River

騎馬到松江

Bai Yun
5

Buffalo Back Love Song

牛背情歌

[1948]
Bai Yun
6

Whisperings at the Window

窗前密語

[1943]
Li Li Hua
7

Blooming Peach Blossoms

桃花江

[1942]
Li Li Hua
8

The Soft Spring Winds over Peach Blossom Levee

桃花堤上春風軟

[1941]
Li Li Hua
9

A Flying Flock of Nightingales

群鶯飛

[1943]
Li Li Hua
10

You Must Turn around and Think

你也要回頭想

[1943]
Li Li Hua
11

Willow Branches Are Greens

柳絲青

[1946]
Bai Yun
12

Chivalrous Spirit, Tender Heart

柔情俠骨

[1941]
Li Li Hua
13

The Flower Selling Girl

賣花女

[1943]
Li Li Hua
14

The Flowers Selling Girls of Shanghai

上海の花売娘

[1939]
Oka Haruo
The Soprano Edition
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This installment presents the true divas, amazing sopranos of Shanghai.

Corrigendum: I mispronounced the name 喻宜萱 in this installment as Yu(2) Yi(4) Xian(2), whereas it should have been Yu(4) Yi(2) Xuan(1).
featured singers:
Li Xiang Lan / 李香蘭, Ou Yang Fei Ying / 歐陽飛鶯, Yun Yun / 雲雲, Zhou Xiao Yan / 周小燕, Lang Yu Xiu / 郎毓秀, Cai Shao Xu / 蔡紹序, Yu Yi Xuan / 喻宜萱
1

Candy Peddling Song

賣糖歌

[1943]
Li Xiang Lan
2

The Flowers of Spring

春天的花朵

[1948]
Ou Yang Fei Ying
3

I Shall Sing for You

我為你歌唱

[1948]
Yun Yun
4

Red Bean Song

紅豆詞

[1948]
Zhou Xiao Yan
5

A Gardenful of Spring

滿園春色

[1937]
Lang Yu Xiu
,
Cai Shao Xu
6

Country Outing

郊游

[1932]
Yu Yi Xuan
7

Quitting Opium Song

戒煙歌

[1943]
Li Xiang Lan
8

My Canary

私の鶯

[1943]
Li Xiang Lan
9

Food Conservation Song

節食歌

[1946]
Ou Yang Fei Ying
10

Re-creation

創造

[1948]
Ou Yang Fei Ying
11

The Great Wall Ballad

長城謠

[1947]
Zhou Xiao Yan
12

The Willow Branches Are Long

柳條長

[1948]
Zhou Xiao Yan
13

The Falling Mahogany Leaves

東風落桃葉

[1947]
Yun Yun
14

A Spirit of Dreams

夢魂無所依

[1947]
Yun Yun
15

I Do Not Want a Lover

我不要情人

[1948]
Ou Yang Fei Ying
16

I Shall Let You Go

你去吧

[1948]
Ou Yang Fei Ying
17

Tear Marks

啼痕

[1948]
Yun Yun
18

Misty Night, Silent Thoughts

夜色濛濛意悄悄

[1947]
Yun Yun
19

The Anonymous

無名氏

[1947]
Yun Yun
20

A Simple Life

簡單的生活

[1948]
Yun Yun
21

Song of Natural Bonds

天倫歌

[1936]
Lang Yu Xiu
22

Misty Rain

雨濛濛

[1948]
Ou Yang Fei Ying
23

Ode to Plum Blossoms

梅花操

[1948]
Ou Yang Fei Ying
Liang Ping and Yi Min
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This installment features two very modern singers in the 1940s, Liang Ping and Yin Min. The production and commercial quality of their songs reached parity with the leading trends of the world. Liang Ping's voice was highly protean and she treated her songs with a classical interpretation, a facile jazz delivery and occasionally a traditional ballad style of singing.
featured singers:
Liang Ping / 梁萍, Yi Min / 逸敏
1

The Youthful I (Coloratura Version)

[1947]
Liang Ping
2

Both Are Destitute Wanderers

[1948]
Yi Min
3

This Wondrous Love

Liang Ping
4

My Tormentor

[1944]
Yi Min
5

Zhao Jun's Lament (Art Song Version)

[1946]
Liang Ping
6

Our Ageless Papa

Liang Ping
7

Look at Me

[1948]
Yi Min
8

Dream of Romance

Yi Min
9

Have Another Drink

Yi Min
10

Weng Weng Weng

Liang Ping
11

Multiflora Roses and Roses

[1948]
Liang Ping
12

Fine Night by the Lake

[1948]
Yi Min
13

Zhao Jun's Lament (Traditional Version)

Liang Ping
14

The Youthful I

Liang Ping
The Gentlemen Singers of Shanghai
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This installment brings you some of the notable gentlemen singers of Shanghai. They were truly a rare breed but one finds their styles no less diverse or engaging.
featured singers:
Yao Min / 姚敏, Yan Hua / 嚴華, Si Yi Gui / 斯義桂, Zhao Dan / 趙丹, Han Lan Gen / 韓蘭根, Huang Fei Ran / 黃飛然
1

The Bucolic Song

[1948]
Yao Min
2

Women Should Wed

[1948]
Yao Min
3

A Little Thing

[1940]
Yan Hua
4

Lovely Flowers

Yan Hua
5

How Can I Keep From Thinking of Her?

[1940]
Si Yi Gui
6

In Spring

[1936]
Zhao Dan
7

Loving Autumn Fragrance

[1940]
Han Lan Gen
8

A Busy Youth

[1941]
Han Lan Gen
9

Youth Dance

[1947]
Huang Fei Ran
10

Passionate Eyes

[1948]
Huang Fei Ran
11

Ever Since Meeting You

[1942]
Huang Fei Ran
N ightingale and Dews
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This installment features two singers whose careers took off in the post WWII Shanghai, the golden era of pop music. They are Wu Ying Yin and Zhang Lu. The bands had perfected their crafts and the music industry had reached its full maturity. The results were very elaborated arrangements and highly refined vocal styles, and even the voices that sang blues were very refined, if not overly refined.
featured singers:
Wu Ying Yin / 吳鶯音, Zhang Lu / 張露
1

I Want to Forget You

[1946]
Wu Ying Yin
2

Fine Spring Nights

[1947]
Wu Ying Yin
3

Strarry Sky

[1948]
Zhang Lu
4

The Songs That You Hear

Zhang Lu
5

Be Careful When Falling in Love

[1948]
Zhang Lu
6

Nights of Neon Lights and Fancy Wine

[1947]
Wu Ying Yin
7

My Handsome Tormentor

[1947]
Zhang Lu
8

I Want Your Love

[1948]
Zhang Lu
9

Roses, I Am Charmed by You

[1947]
Wu Ying Yin
10

Listen to My Amorous Deliverance

[1948]
Wu Ying Yin
11

Spring Outing Song

[1948]
Zhang Lu
12

The Faded Dreams

[1948]
Zhang Lu
13

Min River Serenade

[1948]
Wu Ying Yin
W hite Rainbow and Autumn Clouds
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This installment features Bai Hong and Gong Qiu Xia, who joined the entertainment field and achieved fame even before the Golden Voice, Zhou Xuan. What is also afforded here is a rare opportunity to experience the harbingers of antique Shanghai pop music, Li Li Li and Wang Ren Mei, who were indeed the very first of the breed. Though their presence was brief and their vocal styles bespoke a highly experimental phase of the genre, their legacy is not something to be overlooked.

Erratum: "Drizzly Rain" was recorded in late 1938, as listed below, not in 1939 as announced.
featured singers:
Bai Hong / 白虹, Gong Qiu Xia / 龔秋霞, Li Li Li / 黎莉莉, Wang Ren Mei / 王人美
1

Farewell, Sha Sha!

莎莎再會吧

[November 18, 1944]
Bai Hong
2

Rose, Rose Everywhere

[1942]
Gong Qiu Xia
3

Drizzly Rain

[1932]
Li Li Li
4

Pining for My Love’s Return

[November 21, 1938]
Wang Ren Mei
5

Don’t Walk Away So Fast

[April 16, 1948]
Bai Hong
6

Mimi

[December 12, 1946]
Bai Hong
7

The Boating Song

[November 30, 1942]
Gong Qiu Xia
8

Without the Rain, the Flowers Won't Bloom

[June 16, 1948]
Bai Hong
9

Under the Lilac Trees

[December 23, 1940]
Gong Qiu Xia
10

The Person of My Dreams

[1942]
Gong Qiu Xia
11

He Is a Spring Breeze

[June 18, 1941]
Bai Hong
12

The Mad Band

[November 4, 1946]
Bai Hong
W hite Light and Fragrant Violets
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You can hear Li Xiang Lan’s (Yamaguchi Yoshiko’s) operatic pop songs and the fascinating stories of her life. Equally stunning is Bai Guang’s incomparable charisma. This installment features the most unique voices of Chinese oldies.
featured singers:
Li Xiang Lan / 李香蘭, Bai Guang / 白光
1

Flowers Bloom for My Love

花香為情郎

[1942]
Li Xiang Lan
2

Shame of Not Meeting before My Marriage

恨不相逢未嫁時

[1942]
Li Xiang Lan
3

Hypocrite

假正經

[1948]
Bai Guang
4

The Fire of Passion

戀之火

[1945]
Bai Guang
5

The Dreamboats over Lake Tai

夢の太湖船

[1939]
Li Xiang Lan
6

Candy Peddling Song (Coloratura)

賣糖歌

Li Xiang Lan
7

Reminiscence

懷念

[1948]
Bai Guang
8

The Second Dream

第二夢

[1944]
Li Xiang Lan
9

Those Little Flowers

小花

[1948]
Bai Guang
10

The Seagull

海燕

[1944]
Li Xiang Lan
11

Autumn Nights

秋夜

[1944]
Bai Guang
Gold and Silver
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The featured stars of this bimetallic installment are Zhou Xuan and Yao Li. Your host, Ling also takes special care to reveal some facets that distinguish antique Chinese pop music from its western kin.
featured singers:
Zhou Xuan / 周璇, Yao Li / 姚莉, Frankie Laine, Yao Min / 姚敏, Yan Hua / 嚴華
1

Fine Flowers and a Perfect Moon

[November 18, 1940]
Zhou Xuan
2

Peddling Lovesickness

[July 4, 1939]
Yao Li
3

The Traveling Singsong Girl

[March 3, 1937]
Zhou Xuan
4

Rose, Rose I Love You

[December 22, 1940]
Yao Li
5

Rose, Rose I Love You

Frankie Laine
6

Susan at Tea Picking

Zhou Xuan
7

Picking Areca Nuts

[December 31, 1940]
Zhou Xuan
8

Mountains Apart

[March 21, 1947]
Yao Li
9

True or Untrue

[February 12, 1947]
Yao Li
10

Ode to Spring

[June 22, 1943]
Yao Li
,
Yao Min
11

Love Inquiries

[January 15, 1940]
Zhou Xuan
,
Yan Hua
12

Pheonixes in Flight

[April 11, 1945]
Zhou Xuan
13

Canaries Are Flying

[June 17, 1948]
Yao Li
Glamour from an Erstwhile Era
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In this pilot installment, you can hear songs by some of the biggest stars that shone in the night sky of Shanghai in the 30’s and 40’s. Most of the recordings featured here were made at the height of Chinese Antique Pop. They are representative of the sophisticated taste of mid to late 40’s and demonstrate a unique flavor particular to the period - rich, ornate, delicate but devoid of bashfulness. To mention a few resounding names: Zhou Xuan, Li Xiang Lan, Yao Li, Bai Guang, Bai Hong, Wu Ying Yin, and Ou Yang Fei Ying.
featured singers:
Zhou Xuan / 周璇, Yao Li / 姚莉, Wu Ying Yin / 吳鶯音, Zhang Lu / 張露, Bai Guang / 白光, Li Xiang Lan / 李香蘭, Bai Hong / 白虹, Bai Yun / 白雲, Zhang Fan / 張帆, Li Li Hua / 李麗華, Yun Yun / 雲雲, Liang Ping / 梁萍, Ou Yang Fei Ying / 歐陽飛鶯
1

Shanghai at Night

夜上海

[April 11, 1945]
Zhou Xuan
2

The Love That Cannot Be Had

得不到的愛情

[March 18, 1948]
Yao Li
3

Let the Bright Moon Convey My Longing to the Far-and-away

明月千里寄相思

[August 5, 1948]
Wu Ying Yin
4

You Are So Beautiful

你真美麗

[May 20, 1948]
Zhang Lu
5

I'm Waiting for Your Return

[February 21, 1948]
Bai Guang
6

Tuberoses

[June 16, 1944]
Li Xiang Lan
7

The Intoxicating Lip Rouge

Bai Hong
8

Anticipating the Dusk in the Misty, Drizzly Rain

Bai Yun
9

Flying all over the Dance Floor

[December 16, 1938]
Zhang Fan
10

Who Made a Knot in My Heart?

[October 25, 1943]
Li Li Hua
11

The Young Lady on the Rickshaw

[May 28, 1947]
Yun Yun
12

The Spring Is Here but You Are Not Here

[January 27, 1948]
Liang Ping
13

Shangri-La

[May 28, 1947]
Ou Yang Fei Ying