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.
Composers: Jimmy Kennedy,
Nat Simon
Lyricists: Jimmy Kennedy,
Nat Simon
Vocalist: Patti Page
You told me I was your darlin'
You kept me hangin' around
Somebody else is your darlin'
So lonesome and blue I'll be found
Down the trail of achin' hearts
Where nobody's hidin' their tears
You sent me there where sadness starts
Down the trail of achin' hearts
Once I was passing your window
Under the light of a star
Somebody else played my love song
And played it on my old guitar
Down the trail of achin' hearts
Where nobody's hidin' their tears
You sent me there where sadness starts
Down the trail of achin' hearts
After you've had all your darlin's
Maybe you'll be on the shelf
One of these days, little darlin'
Now you may be down there yourself
Down the trail of achin' hearts
Where nobody's hidin' their tears
You sent me there where sadness starts
Down the trail of achin' hearts
