In the time when Wong Jum-sum grew up, Cantonese pop music was but one of many kinds of music broadcast on radio. In a society where over 80% of the population spoke Cantonese, that came as a major surprise. Wong has a simple explanation for this. Cantonese pop grew out of traditional Cantonese music, but it could not build on the popularity of the latter in the face of severe competition. Compared to Western or Mandarin pop, it lagged behind in the areas of composition, lyrics, singing, accompaniment, recording, distribution, and marketing. Its competitors had a head start in talents, organization, and technology that took Cantonese pop more than a decade to come close.

Not everyone agrees with Wong’s diagnosis. Other scholars argue Canto pop, even in such early days, had a unique vibrancy that came from a healthy disregard of the boundaries among different traditions and genres, be they local or foreign. Early Canto pop laid a solid foundation for modern Canto pop, which went on to dominate not only Hong Kong but most Chinese communities around the world.

The story of Cantonese pop awaits careful re-writing.

快樂伴侶 (excerpt) (1953)



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作曲:呂文成
作詞:周聰
主唱:周聰、呂紅

呂:尋伴侶大眾歡樂趣
周:求淑女愛她癡心最
合:日日快樂唱隨
  做一對好佳侶~唏
呂:情味趣 令我心亦醉
周:尋樂趣 兩家歡心對
合:漫步兩岸柳垂
  春光照我心裡~唏
呂:與哥愛戀沒顧慮
周:每日與嬌兄暢聚
呂:同是良伴有樂趣
周:卿是我終生伴侶
合:情味趣大眾心亦醉
  尋樂趣兩家歡心對
  日日快樂唱隨 
  春光照我心裡~唏
周:求熟女為了增樂趣
呂:尋伴侶兩家一雙對
合:日日快樂唱隨
  做一對好佳侶~唏
周:情味醉令我心亦醉
呂:情味趣都愛他歡心對
合:漫步兩岸柳垂
  春光照我心裏~唏
周:與卿愛戀沒顧慮
呂:每日與哥哥暢聚
周:同是良伴有樂趣
呂:哥是我終生伴侶
合:求伴侶為了增樂趣
  情味醉兩家歡心對
  日日快樂唱隨 
  春光照我心裡~唏
周:與卿愛戀沒顧慮
呂:每日與哥哥暢聚
周:同是良伴有樂趣
呂:哥是我終生伴侶
合:求伴侶為了增樂趣
  情味醉兩家歡心對
  日日快樂唱隨 
  春光照我心裡~唏
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