Recently, some media reviewed the history of pop music and mentioned Li Jinhui's name for the first time. Later, he participated in In the Mood for Love of Old Songs in 1930s and 40s.
At this time, Li Jinhui has been called "the father of pop music", and his Rain in Mao Mao became the first pop music in China. After being buried for decades, my son can't help feeling that "his father's deeds will be as popular as his music."
About the popularity of that year, the records at that time gave a better summary: the Li Jinhui era. As a songwriter, he changed his habit of copying and using western music, "holding high the banner of civilian music" and aiming at "everyone can enjoy it". As a result, regardless of ancient and modern Chinese and foreign poems, western poems, folk tunes, folk dances, and even western ditties and love songs sung in Nanyang, "an ancient brain moved in as creative material" was sung all over the street at once.
It is said that all the major record companies at that time were proud of his works, and some even said "Li Jinhui is impossible". Li Jinhui's photos are also hung high in major companies, and Shengli Company put him in front of Mei Lanfang. The boss explained to the people who came to ask: we are in business, and whoever sells the most widely is the first.
Music historians believe that this created an unprecedented era of pop music in China, that is, "contemporary music". However, Li's creation was followed up and published by others, which was born with cultural elements such as singers and radio stations at that time, and almost shaped "the whole Shanghai culture in the 1930 s and 1940 s"
Besides writing songs, he also writes textbooks, edits newspapers and periodicals, and creates children's musicals. The musical he wrote was performed by a little girl at that time, "wearing a long black dress and dancing with a pair of black silk wings". This scene is still in people's memory.
When he started his own song and dance troupe and became the boss, it will be another story. Nie Er, a violinist, and Wang and Zhou Xuan, who were introduced to poor families, came out of his house. Even their later stage names were given by Li Jinhui.
He and his song and dance troupe toured around and published their works, which had a great influence. However, this musician is obviously not a good businessman. Scholar Sun Jinan described in his biography that he lacks business experience and consciousness, only cares about the performance effect and the individual interests of the actors, and ignores the accumulation of groups.
He runs schools, forms song and dance troupes, trains talents without tuition fees, but lets them come and go freely and refuses to restrict the free development of his disciples. Someone once advised him to sign a contract with an actor. He said, "I'm not a businessman." At that time, many students became famous and were poached by other song and dance troupes. Li Jinhui, the boss and teacher, kept telling employees not to neglect their studies while asking them to pay the silver dollar. Nie Er, his student, publicly criticized him in newspapers and periodicals, and some people in the society came out to criticize him, but he never publicly responded.
As a result, "although many golden phoenix flew out from Yue Ming Club, on the other hand, it also doomed his personal failure in singing and dancing". His "Yue Ming Song and Dance Club" sometimes had to pay credit to the rice shop, and was almost sued by the rice shop owner to the police station.
As a musician, he set the rule of "ten don't write", calling himself obscene, "three wives, four concubines and ten beautiful pictures" and so on. Later, the boss who earned money by writing songs could "buy half of Nanjing Road", but because he had no money to buy a boat ticket to return home, he had to promise others to write some small songs to earn money. Or, according to the requirements of the publishing company, write a song "Actors' Food for Meat" against their will.
These works, together with all his "contemporary songs", are regarded by the left as decadent voices during the national crisis. It has become the spiritual embodiment of decadent emotions and inaction. Another fashion has emerged. People criticize "yellow" musicians and attack contemporary music.
At this time, Li was composing music in Shanghai Film Studio, just collecting and arranging folk music. He had hoped to rethink whether his work was "yellow", but no one paid attention to it.
Later, Li Jinhui, a bad element, had to live a secret life, listening to people's "Huang Ge" comments on "Time Songs". His works were banned. Younger people have long forgotten who he is, only in Ci Hai at that time, after his name, there was an explanation that he wrote yellow song and dance music.
Nowadays, "contemporary music" has once again become a trend sought after by many people. Some people think that if we can see the contemporary music he played in those days, a singer named Teresa Teng will sing it back to the mainland, and it will become a scene where everyone in the streets will sing. I wonder what his mood is.