Johnny Yip
Johnny Yip Chun-tong, also known as Tong Gor, is a Hong Kong singer who rose to fame for producing soundtracks for several Hong Kong television dramas in the 1980s.
Early life
Yip was born in Macau in February 1944. His grandparents were of Vietnamese-Chinese heritage. At age 10, Yip contracted scarlet fever, which damaged his optic nerves and caused his eyesight to deteriorate. He attended the former Macau St. John's College Primary and Secondary School in China and switched to Pooi To Middle School at 13-14 years old.Career
Early years (1962 - 1980)
After graduating from secondary school at age 18, Yip travelled to Hong Kong in search of an office job. However, Hong Kong authorities did not acknowledge the academic qualifications he certified in Macau. With the introduction of an Indonesian Chinese friend in Macau, he took to working as a part-time night bassist in the Tsim Sha Tsui bar "KK Club" and in a bar in Wan Chai. In the mid-1970s, Yip was approached by Chung Ting-yat to form a band named "The New Topnotes" with Chan Kit-ling and other musicians. He performed as the bass guitarist and lead vocalist of the band for 4 years. He has released five albums in English through EMI Records and was twice selected for the Top Ten Singers Golden Camel Award jointly organized by Overseas Chinese Evening News and the National Paint Factory. Yip decided to leave the band and return to Hong Kong for development, and "The New Topnotes" was disbanded. Yip later performed at Furama Hotel and formed a band called "Ma Cheng Tong" with former Ming band drummer Wu Mali and independent keyboardist Huang Zhengguang, with which Yip sang popular Cantonese songs. The band separated soon after. During this period, he worked in Singapore for half a year.Rise to fame (1980 - )
In 1980, Yip Chun-tong was employed by Michael Lai Siu-tin, the then music director of Rediffusion Television, for his sad and vicissitudes of life voice. He recorded his first two TV drama songs, "Gone With the Wind" and "Drama Life", and made his mark. With the help of Lai Siu-tin, Yip Chun-tong signed an exclusive TV drama singing contract with Rediffusion Television, in which he was neither a singer nor an artist. Yip Chun-tong was assigned to sing five more theme songs for the original TV dramas produced by Rediffusion Television, a total of six theme songs. All six theme songs were composed by Lai Siu-tin, with lyrics written by the then Rediffusion Publicity Director Lo Kwok-jim, and arranged by Filipino arranger Eugenio "Nonoy" Ocampo. These six TV series and their theme songs include: "Gone With the Wind", "The Heroes of the Palace", "Tai Chi Master", "Hong Kong Gentlemen ", "The Ranger Zhang Sanfeng" and "The Legendary Fok". In addition, Yip Chun-tong also sang some of the interludes of these TV series, including "Drama Life" from "Gone With the Wind" and "No Excuse" from "Hong Kong Gentlemen ", and released several personal albums through EMI Records. Since the record company only wanted Yip to focus on his singing career, Ye resigned from his position as a resident singer at the Furama Hotel, where he had worked for two years.In 1982, Yip Chun-tong left Rediffusion Television and signed a singing contract with TVB, as TVB had many variety shows promoting songs, such as "Enjoy Yourself Tonight", "Jade Solid Gold", and "K-100".
After joining TVB, Yip Chun-tong often collaborated with the station's then music director Joseph Koo, singing TV drama songs composed by Koo: "The Troupe Boy", "It's Hard to Determine the Boundary Between Good and Evil", "Forget All the Love in My Heart", "I Wish to Live Alone All My Life", "When I'm Gone", "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer", etc.; among them, "Forget All the Love in My Heart" became his first famous song.
In addition to TV series songs, Yip Chun-tong also tried to explore new routes. The albums "Waiting Again" and "This Leaf is for You" both used non-film and television songs as the theme. In 1983, "Yip Chun-tong Love Songs" did not include any film and television songs。"Flute Girl", "Wait Again" and "Moon God" have topped the Chinese Songs Dragon and Tiger Chart chart. The song "Flute Girl" was released in 1981. It was written by Lam Chun-keung. It tells an ordinary love story and secretly expresses his longing for his deceased sister Lam Ngan-nei. Among them, "Moon God" uses electronic arrangement, and its lyrics are full of "cinematic feeling". Commentators pointed out that the song should be influenced by the New Age Music composer Kitaro.
In 1982, Yip Chun-tong represented TVB in Tokyo, Japan, to participate in the 11th Tokyo Music Festival, with "Waiting Again" as his entry song, finally won the "Asia Special Award".