Roman Tam

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Roman Tam

Chinese name	羅文 (Traditional)
Chinese name	罗文 (Simplified)
Pinyin	luo2 wen2 (Mandarin)
Jyutping	lo4 man4 (Cantonese)
Birth name	Tam Pak-Sin (譚百先)
Origin	Hong Kong
Born	February 16, 1950(1950-02-16) Guangxi, China
Died	October 18, 2002 (aged 52) Hong Kong
Other name(s)	Law Kee Godfather of Cantopop
Occupation	Singer, Actor
Genre(s)	Cantopop, Hong Kong English pop
Instrument(s)	Singing
Label(s)	EMI BMG
Years active	1960–1996
Associated Acts	Roman and the Four Steps

Roman Tam (Chinese: trad.: 羅文; simpl. 罗文; Jyutping: lo4 man4; Mandarin Pinyin: luo2 wen2) (February 16, 1950 - October 18, 2002), known by the stage name Lo man (羅文), nickname Law Kee (蘿記) was a renowned cantopop singer. He is regarded as the "Godfather of Cantopop".^[1] In the far east, he is equivalent to the western world Frank Sinatra.

1 Career
2 Collaborations
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Career

Tam was seen as a cultural icon to Chinese communities around the world (including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and, later Mainland China). He had a string of hits in a career spanning 30 years. He was well-respected for his singing skills, his positive outlooks, and his insistence on correct pronunciations. He was also groundbreaking for being the first major Hong Kong singer to pose in drag and to pose in nude.

Having been born in Guangxi, China, he later immigrated to Hong Kong in 1962 at the age of 12. After forming a short-lived band known as Roman and the Four Steps,^[2] he became a contract singer under studios term at Television Broadcasts Limited. He briefly switched to Asia Television Ltd in the early 1990s.

During the 1990s he accepted many budding singers as his students. Some of which who became famous included Joey Yung and Ekin Cheng.

Tam was unmarried. He died in Hong Kong in Queen Mary Hospital with liver cancer. The title of "Godfather of Cantopop" was confirmed in his obituary.

[edit] Collaborations

Roman Tam counts Jenny Tseng as his dearest friend and best partner.^{[citation needed]} He recorded a series of duets with Jenny Tseng for the television drama hit "Legend of Condor Heroes." Jenny Tseng still pays tribute to Roman Tam during her concerts.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

^ HKVPradio. "HKVPradio." Roman Tam the Godfather of cantopop. Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
^ Shoesmith, Brian. Rossiter, Ned. [2004] (2004). Refashioning Pop Music in Asia: Cosmopolitan flows, political tempos and aesthetic Industries. Routeledge Publishing. ISBN 0700714014