Super sounds of the seventies

Here’s a look at China’s popular music three decades ago from journalist Yang Lang:

Thirty years ago, or more specifically, in 1977, what songs were popular in Chinese society? I almost got stumped when I asked myself this question. Each age has its own popular things. Just because that concept didn’t exist in the Cultural Revolution era doesn’t mean there wasn’t popular music, and just because a particular political environment infused music with particular content doesn’t mean that the music was not “popular.”

But what songs did the people of that era like to sing? Or to put it another way, what songs from thirty years ago have left an impression on people today?

1977 was a special time, just after the conclusion of the Cultural Revolution but before the start of the reform and opening up. In broadcasting, today’s A/V technology had not yet arrived, there were no tapes, much less CDs, and TV was not widespread. The most influential ways of circulating music were radio, movie songs, and public performances; in recorded music, vinyl records were most common, but they too were far from widespread. So in those days, being inserted into a movie was the most effective means of song transmission.

I reviewed all of the movies shown between 1976 and 1977, thirty-six films in all. They were:

In 1976: Beijing Film Studio [5 films], Changchun Film Studio [10 films], Xi’an Film Studio [3 films], Shanghai Film Studio [5 films], August First Film Studio [3 films], Zhujiang Film Studio [3 films], Emei Film Studio [1 film]; in 1977: Shanghai Film Studio [2 films], Beijing Film Studio [3 films], Changchun Film Studio [2 films], Guangxi Film Studio [1 film], Emei Film Studio [1 film]. [note: some films were shown multiple years; for names, see the original article]

Obviously, the majority of these movies have already been forgotten. The songs in these movies that are still sung today include the theme song to Storm Over The South-China Sea (南海风云), beginning with the free chanting and moving through the middle passage “I love my hometown” that has a sweet note held out long. Beijing Film Studio’s Haixia (海霞) has a bit from “By the ocean…” sung by Lu Qingshuang [“A fisherman’s daughter by the ocean“], a song that’s been alive all this time and after thirty years was performed again by Black Duck. And “Stars Twinkle in the Dark Sky” from Enterprise Building (创业) is also a very nice song. Good songs from other films, like “A girl looks for her brother with tears streaming” from Little Flower (小花), and “The water in the borderlands is so clear” from Black Triangle (黑三角), may reemerge after a few more years.

Before 1977, the movie songs that were constantly being sung were the two themes from Sparkling Red Star (闪闪的红星) that showed in 1974, and “Follow the socialist road ahead” from Qingsongling (青松岭) in 1973.

A few other songs belonged to 1977: “Beloved Chairman Hua”, “Jiaocheng Mountain“, and “Embroidering the tablet with golden thread“. As Guo Lanying’s performances were moving audiences to tears, Su Xiaoming had just begun her career at 20, Cui Jian was just 16, and Pu Shu had just left his crib. And Tan Jing, that army singer who sings Shaanxi folk songs just like Grandma Guo, would not be born for another two months.