The First Singtao Amateur Singing Contest took place in 1960. Among the thirty finalists was Wong Jum-sum, who had adopted the stage name ‘Wong Jim’ for fear of being embarrassed from losing.

The contest was divided into a Mandarin and a Western pop section, with, rather symptomatically, no Cantonese section. More than a thousand people joined. Their choice of songs reflected closely the musical leanings of the time.

Wong Jum-sum was ousted at the final 15, an event he regretted for life. By contrast his good friend Judy Jim comfortably got the grand prize in the Western pop section, by taking a leaf from the Patti Page songbook.

The winner of the Mandarin section was Cheung Hoi-wan. She received classical music training and sang the ever-popular Liang Le-yin composition ‘The Song about Selling Sweets’ with a tantalizing mix of inflections.

Very soon, singers from both sections would take a big stride forward, stepping into a brave new world we call the 1960s.

情人的眼淚 (1958)

作曲：姚敏
作詞：陳蝶衣
主唱：潘秀瓊

為什麼要對你掉眼淚
你難道不明白是為了愛
只有那有情人眼淚最珍貴
一顆顆眼淚都是愛
都是愛

為什麼要對你掉眼淚
你難道不明白是為了愛
要不是有情郎跟我要分開
我的眼淚不會掉下來
掉下來

好春常在
春花正開
你怎麼捨得說再會
我在深閨
望穿秋水
你不要忘了我情深
深如海

為什麼要對你掉眼淚
你難道不明白是為了愛
要不是有情郎跟我要分開
我的眼淚不會掉下來
掉下來