70's THE RISE OF CANTOPOP

The whole 60’s is dominated by Mandarin songs and English pop songs as Western culture at the time was a mark of education and sophistication, Elvis and The Beatles were the main attraction. Conversely, those who preferred Cantonese music were considered old or uneducated. Beginning with the 70’s, TV was a technological marvel mostly available to the rich, and broadcasted contents were highly valued and respected. The media were still conservative about using Cantonese songs as theme songs of soap operas. However, in 1971, many scholars agreed that the first Cantonese TV theme song,"Tai Siu Jan Jyuan" (啼笑姻緣) or “Love of Laughter and Tears” became a big hit and changed the listening attitude of the public. This song marked the beginning of the acceptance of local Cantonese pop songs of Hong Kong people. The genre was launched to unprecedented levels with virtually every TV drama using localized cantopop songs. Their prejudice over the inferiority of songs in their mother tongue started to disappear. As a result, the fading Mandarin songs, the still influential English songs and the uprising Cantonese songs shared the big pie of the popular music in Hong Kong in the 70’s.