Monday, February 1, 2010

Tribute to Danny Chan (1958-1993) Part 1

This is Part One of a series I'm planning to dedicate to the late HK singer/songwriter Danny Pak Keung Chan (陳百強). Danny was one of HK's most talented composers and artists during the 1980's who sadly passed away on the 25th October, 1993. Although 16 years have elapsed, HK people are nonetheless very proud of him, and his music continues to live with us til eternity.

16 years after his death, RTHK has awarded him with the "Golden Needle Award" (金針獎) at the 32rd RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards ceremony (30th January, 2010).

(Image from Annie Jin's Blog, Special Thanks to Annie)

He is a symbol of HK popular music in the 80's, but his life was a tragedy. During his early years, Danny showed an intense passion for music, he was very good at playing the keyboard. He was high school classmates with the famous HK lyricist/songwriter Andrew Manchung Lam (林敏驄). After returning to HK from study in the US, he immediately showed his talent by writing and performing his song "The Rocky Road". In 1978 he composed another song - "The Sunrise", which won him First Prize at the Yamaha Keyboard Competition.

In 1979, Danny began his music career at EMI Records. In this early period, he worked close by with musicians like Eddie Man-Hoi Chiu (趙文海), Kenneth Chan (陳德堅), Cheng Kwok Kong (鄭國江) while writing most songs by himself.

His earlier songs combine youthful energy with tinges of melancholy, it can be seen that he intended to express his inner emotions through his compositions.



("First Love", Music & Lyrics by Danny Chan, Year: 1979, EMI Music)



("Tears Flowing Just For You" 眼淚為妳流, Music by Danny Chan, Arrangement by Chung Siu Fung (鍾肇峰), Lyrics by Cheng Kwok Kong, Year: 1980, EMI Music)



("Applaud For You" 喝采, Music by Danny Chan, Arrangement by Eddie Chiu, Lyrics by Cheng Kwok Kong, Year: 1981, Warner Music)



("Footprints On The Beach" 沙灘中的腳印, Music by Danny Chan, Arrangement by Eddie Chiu, Lyrics by Cheng Kwok Kong, Year: 1981, Warner Music)



("Mind Goes Blank" 思想走了光, Music & Arrangement by Eddie Chiu, Lyrics by Cheng Kwok Kong, Year: 1981, Warner Music)


RTHK "不死傳奇" (Immortal Legends) TV documentary series on Danny Chan, Part One:

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2 comments:

  1. honeybeeSeptember 30, 2011 at 12:15 PM

    Thank you for making this tribute for Danny. He is the "Forever Danny". No other Hong Kong singer can compare to Danny's, good look and talent. He is truly a gifted artist, unfortunately he died too young, but the songs that he left with us are forever.

    Always and Forever Danny's fan

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  2. SingaporegirlJuly 13, 2013 at 4:39 PM

    Danny's songs brings back many memories of my growing up years. I still download them from iTunes onto my ipad. I listen to them all the time.
    Never get bored with the songs because the lyrics are so beautiful and the music so tuneful.
    Unlike the modern day pop, play them a couple of times and you do not want to hear them again.

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