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.

峇里島 (1950s)

原作：印尼民歌
作詞：方忭（陳蝶衣）
主唱：潘秀瓊

你可曾聽說有個巴厘島
就在那印度尼西亞
那島上風景美麗如圖畫
誰都會深深愛上它

只要你一朝來到巴厘島
走向那山隈又水涯
就彷彿世外桃源安樂鄉
誰不會輕易離開它

島上的女兒家
個個是秀麗艷如花
她舞蹈又歌唱
那歌聲美妙舞態多風雅

你可曾聽說有個巴厘島
就在那印度尼西亞
那島上風景美麗如圖畫
誰都會深深愛上它