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.
作曲：Gene de Paul
作詞：周聰
主唱：周聰、梁靜
周：天賜你似花貌美
梁：願青春永常留
周：求愛侶淑慧窈窕十全美
梁：心中只有是你
周：天賜你似花貌美
梁：願惜取少年期
周：惟愛你活潑貌甜美
梁：蒼天保佑你
梁：尋求愛侶終身可托寄
看玉女才郎訂合愛期
周：誰與你今生堪配對
梁：伴侶心只有是你
周：天賜你似花貌美
合：萬花開吐艷期
求愛侶淑慧窈窕十全美
梁：春光等著你
周：我最愛端莊俏女兒
梁：我也愛忠心美少年
周：我與你一雙一對天造美
合：天賜你似花貌美
願青春永屬你
