Yao Lee

For other uses, seeYaoli.

In thisChinese name,thefamily nameisYao.

Yao Lee
Yao in the 1940s
Born	Yáo Xiùyún (Diêu tú vân) (1922-09-10)September 10, 1922 Shanghai,Republic of China
Died	July 19, 2019(2019-07-19)(aged 96) Hong Kong
Occupation	Singer
Years active	1930s–1970s
Musical career
Also known as	Silver Voice (Bạc giọng nói)
Genres	Mandopop,shidaiqu
Labels	Pathé / EMI
Chinese name
Chinese	Diêu lị
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yáo Lì Bopomofo ㄧㄠˊ ㄌㄧˋ Yue: Cantonese Jyutping jiu4 lei6

Yao Lee(Chinese:Diêu lị;10 September 1922 – 19 July 2019), also credited asYao Li,Yiu LeiandHue Lee,was a Chinese singer active from the 1930s to the 1970s. She was the sister ofYao Min,also a famous singer and songwriter. She was considered one of theSeven Great Singing StarsofShanghaiin the 1940s.

Biography

BornYáo Xiùyún(Mandarin)/Yiu Sau Wan(Cantonese) (Diêu tú vân) and raised in Shanghai, Yao began performing on the radio in 1935 at the age of 13. When she was 14, she recorded her first single with Yàn Húa (Nghiêm hoa) called "New Little Cowherd" (Tân tiểu phóng ngưu,Xin xiao fang niu). After being introduced by singersZhou Xuanand Yan Hua, she was signed toPathé Recordswhen she was 16 in 1937, and the first record she released with the label was "Yearning for Sale" (Bán tương tư,Mai Xiang Si).

She married Wong Po Lo (Hoàng Paolo) in 1947 and stopped performing to devote time to her family. Following theCommunistseizure of power in China in 1949, popular music was considered ideologically suspectand Yao fled toBritish Hong Kongin 1950 but continued her singing career with Pathé Records (EMI). In addition to releasing hit records, beginning in 1955 with the filmĐào hoa giang(Peach Blossom River), she was also aplayback singerfor movie actresses. Many of her featured songs became popular hits. She stepped down from her singing career in 1967 after the death of her brother, Yao Min. In 1969, she accepted the invitation to become the General Manager and Producer atEMI Music Hong Kong.In 1970, she travelled toTaiwanin an effort to signTeresa Tengto EMI for the Hong Kong market but was unsuccessful. Yao produced records for many artists during her time as a producer and retired from this position in 1977.

Career

During the 1930s and 1940s, Yao Lee's high, soft singing style was typical of Chinese popular music of the time (influenced by her superstar idol,Zhou Xuan). She performed numerous popular standards, such asWishing You Happiness and Prosperity(Chúc mừng chúc mừng), "I Can't Have Your Love" (Không chiếm được ngươi tình yêu), and "By the Suzhou River" (Tô Châu bờ sông) with her brotherYao Min,arguably the best-known Chinese pop songwriter of theshidaiquera.She is famous for her 1940 version ofRose, Rose, I Love You(Hoa hồng hoa hồng ta yêu ngươi), later recorded byFrankie Lainein theUnited Stateswith English lyrics. Her version was also released in the U.S. and theUnited Kingdomcredited to "Miss Hue Lee." Yao was known as "the Silver Voice" (Bạc giọng nói), alluding to fellow Shanghai singerZhou Xuan,who was known as "the Golden Voice" (Giọng ca vàng).

With increasing Western influences in the region afterWorld War IIand her move to Hong Kong, Yao Lee's singing style changed. She was introduced to more Western popular music and became an admirer of American singerPatti Page,whom she emulated by lowering her voice and incorporating some similar 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" (Xuân phong hôn lên ta mặt).

Yao was extremely prolific with over 400gramophone recordsattributed to her. Her 1959 song, "Rén Shēng Jìu Shì Xì" / "Life Is a Performance" (Nhân sinh chính là diễn), is featured in the 2018 film,Crazy Rich Asians,in the scene when the matriarch grandmother, played by veteran Chinese American actorLisa Lu,first appears.

Death

Yao died in Hong Kong on July 19, 2019.

External links

• "Restoring China"Archived2012-02-06 at theWayback Machine
• Photo of a Yao Lee and Yao Ming single