This year marks the 15th anniversary of Teresa Teng’s Passed Away, I’d like to talk something about her, an international superstar in the song circles.
It's fifteen years since Teresa Teng, one of Asia's most popular and enduring singing stars died. Teng's popularity carries on, winning new legions of fans from the post-80s generation, even the post-90s.
She had a voice everyone could recognized, described as "seven parts sweetness and three parts sadness". It was a voice that reached out to her audience. Fans never tired of hearing Teresa Teng’s songs.
She made about 200 records and sold about 50 million copies.
Teng was the first ethnic Chinese singer to perform at New York City's Lincoln Center in 1980. That was also the year Teng won Taiwan's Golden Bell award for best female singer. She was selected as one of Taiwan's Ten Most Outstanding Young Women in 1983.
Fifteen years ago, in Tailand on May 8, 1995. Teresa Teng, who suffered from asthma throughout her adult life, was fatally stricken by a respiratory attack, and passed away from her lovable fans, of course, including me.
When the news hit my mind, I was so sad and sorrow and the tears dropping down from my face. I still remembered that, when I was a teenager, I often eavesdropped her sweet voice by radio cross the Strait, for her songs were banned to spread in the mainland by China’s authorities, at that time, Chinese government considered her songs as “ decadent music”, it could shake the willpower of the Chinese Revolution. There’s a very popular saying goes like that, “in daytime, we obey to old Teng(the late president Dengxiaoping), while in the evening, we only listen to little Teng”. If we do not go to hell, I would like live in heaven, I could still hear her beautiful songs, her songs were real “sounds of nature”, but not “decadent music”. I grown up accompanied with her songs. Innocent, true, beautiful, nature is the essence of Teresa Teng’s songs worth hearing a hundred. Teresa Teng’s song is the source of human justice, civilization and happiness.
In the late of 1980’s, Teresa Teng applied for holding her solo concert in the mainland, on hearing this news, I began to save money for her concert to see her mien in person, but things go contrary to my wishes, because of the political reasons, Chinese authorities refused her application, her plan failed and it was her regret to never set her foot on the mainland.
Whenever I take a tour for the westerners, when we are talking about Chinese music, I would mention her to them, to my surprise, few people knows her, I introduced her to them in details and took them to buy her CD’s or DVD’s, they were fascinated by her sweet voice and the melodic traditional Chinese music.
It's a pity that she died unmarried, although almost all of her songs concerned about love affairs, she couldn't find her true love, she involved in five times of love, each time she couldn't help but gave up, her lovers included Jackie Chan, a world-famous moive star.
Forever Teresa Teng, May your song always wanders in the world of love!