Hong Kong people are mourning the death of Joseph Koo Ka-fai, the legendary composer who sweetened our musical lives during the past half-century with more than 1,200 Cantopop compositions. He died early this month in Vancouver, Canada, at the age of 92.
We are also proud of the song Below the Lion Rock that gives us a special cultural identity. The theme song of the Radio Television Hong Kong TV series which carries the same name was one of the most popular songs written by Koo in the 1970s.
The long-running TV series depicted the life stories of different social strata living below Lion Rock, a mountain in Kowloon, from the 1970s to the present time, showcasing the virtues of Hong Kong people in tough times — perseverance, solidarity and dexterity. Such core values have enabled Hong Kong to transform from a fishing village into an international financial, trade and logistics center, as well as an arts and cultural center. The virtues have been collectively named the “Lion Rock Spirit”, which is passed on from one generation of Hong Kong people to the next.
Koo’s life exemplified vividly the “Lion Rock Spirit” — humble, perseverant and full of energy. He was born in 1931 in Guangzhou to a scholarly family. His father was an artist, and under his influence, both Koo and his elder sister, Koo Mei, studied painting until World War II. The family moved to Hong Kong in 1948. Living conditions were so bad that the family could not afford to send him to school and Koo Mei needed to sing in a nightclub to support the family before she eventually became famous as a singer and actress.
Koo picked up his interest in music from his sister and after learning to play the piano with a Filipino musician, he started his musical career as a pianist and a bandleader in a nightclub. In 1961, his first published song Dream was chosen as the theme song for the film Love without End.
His musical talent was appreciated by the late entertainment mogul and philanthropist, Sir Run Run Shaw, who sponsored him to study composition at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, the US. After graduating, he returned to Hong Kong and worked for the Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest movie studios as a film music composer and arranger, winning awards for his compositions at major film festivals.
Koo joined Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) in 1967 as music director and composed for the variety show Enjoy Yourself Tonight as well as writing theme songs for TV series. His compositions blended Western music well with Chinese characteristics, creating a uniquely “Hong Kong sound”. Many of his musical works became classic tunes.
In spite of his great achievements in his career, Koo chose to go back to study music in the US in 1981. Afterwards, he returned to work for TVB and continued to write music for TV series and advertisements. He gradually retreated from the musical scene before moving to Canada in the ’90s. However, he returned to Hong Kong regularly for special projects until he officially retired in 2018.
Owing to his remarkable contributions to society, Koo received numerous awards including the Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1982 and the Bronze Bauhinia Star in 1998.
Koo was renowned for his soundtracks to Bruce Lee films, hit songs for a galaxy of pop stars including the late Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, Anita Mui Yim-fong and Danny Chan Pak-keung, and compositions for TV dramas and advertising jingles.
A catchy TV drama theme song with touching lyrics always helps to boost ratings and this was exactly the chemistry produced by Koo and the late talented lyricist and talk-show host, James Wong Jim. Their joint musical works — Koo composed the songs while Wong wrote the lyrics — allowed TVB to enjoy a long-time dominance in the local TV industry and served as a “lubricant” for the Hong Kong pop music industry to tap into the huge markets of the Chinese mainland, Southeast Asian countries and overseas Chinese communities.
As Hong Kong became increasingly affluent with a flourishing local pop music industry, the city produced a wide variety of talented composers, singers and lyricists, shaping the city into a key entertainment center in Asia alongside its booming movie industry in the ’80s and ’90s.
Many household names such as Michael Kwan Ching-kit, Roman Tam Pak-sin, Alan Tam Wing-lun, Adam Cheng Siu-chau, Elizabeth Wang Ming-chuen, Frances Yip Lai-yee, Sandra Lang Yuk-kei and Sally Yeh, all enhanced their standing after singing songs produced by the Koo-Wong combo.
The fantastic duo together with other musical talents produced numerous popular Cantopop songs, enriching the lives of Hong Kong people and increasing the soft-power influence of Hong Kong in the world, while playing an important role in promoting Chinese culture among overseas Chinese people.
I remember when I was in Canada in the ’80s and ’90s, many Canadian-born young friends with a Hong Kong background were very fond of singing Cantopop songs. They often asked me for an explanation of the Chinese lyrics so that they could understand and interpret the songs better. Concerts of top singers from Hong Kong often sold like hot cakes with ticket prices comparable to those of international superstars.
Those were the days. We miss Koo’s catchy tunes, Wong’s touching lyrics, the works of other outstanding composers like the late Michael Lai Siu-tin as well as the stylistic singers who brought Hong Kong Cantopop music to the world’s attention in the golden era of the ’80s and ’90s .
Hong Kong has the potential to revive its music industry given that the city has an important mission in the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) — fortifying its position as an international hub for arts and cultural exchanges to promote Chinese cultural soft power so that the stories of China, including Hong Kong, can be better and correctly told.
Hong Kong has an excellent track record as a major entertainment center in Asia. Now, with the strong support of the central government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, why can’t we get back the lost glory?
Let’s work together with the “Lion Rock Spirit” and fully leverage the advantages of “one country, two systems” to restore Hong Kong’s fame as an important soft-power base of Chinese culture.
The author is a member of the Hong Kong Association of Media Veterans and a freelance writer.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.