Yao Lee - Career

Career

During the 1930s and 40s, Yao Lee's high, soft singing style was typical of Chinese popular music of the time. She performed numerous popular standards, such as Wishing You Happiness and Prosperity (恭喜恭喜), "I Can't Have Your Love" (得不到你的愛情), and "By the Suzhou River" (蘇州河邊) with her brother Yao Min, arguably the best-known Chinese pop songwriter of the shidaiqu era. She is famous for her 1940 version of Rose, Rose, I Love You (玫瑰玫瑰我愛你), later recorded by Frankie Laine in the United States with English lyrics. (Her version was also released in the US and the United Kingdom credited to "Miss Hue Lee"). Yao was known as "the Silver Voice" (銀嗓子) alluding to fellow Shanghai singer Zhou Xuan, who was known as "the Golden Voice" (金嗓子).

With increasing Western influence in the region after World War II and her move to Hong Kong, Yao Lee's singing changed. She was introduced to more Western popular music and became an admirer of American singer Patti Page whom she emulated by lowering her voice and incorporating some vocal mannerisms. As a result, Yao is sometimes called "Hong Kong's Patti Page." One of her biggest '50s records was "The Spring Breeze Kisses My Face" (春風吻上我的臉).

Yao was extremely prolific with over 400 gramophone records attributed to her.

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