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Wu Chu-chu
吳楚楚
Wu Chu-chu吳楚楚
Born	March 1, 1947 (age 77); Republic of China
Genres	Folk
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, lyricist
Labels	UFO Group Skyhigh Entertainment Co., Ltd.

Wu Chu-chu (Chinese: 吳楚楚; pinyin: Wú Chǔchǔ; born 1947年3月1日) is a Taiwanese musician. He is known as one of the “First Generation Folk Singers” together with Parangalan (胡德夫) Yang Zujun, (楊祖珺) Yang Xian (楊弦) and others.^[1]^[2] After fading from fame, he established the UFO Group and entered the pop music business,^[2] fighting hard against music piracy.^[3]

Life

First-generation folk singer

Wu Chu-chu was born on March 1, 1947, in Hankou, Republic of China, (now Wuhan, PRC). When he was two years old, he accompanied his father, an ROC Army Intelligence officer, to Taiwan, and later took up residence in Xindian Township, Taipei County (Now Xindian District, New Taipei City). In high school, Wu began to learn the guitar, and later tested into National Chung Hsing University of Law and Business's (now National Taipei University) Department of Land Economics. In his second year of college, he was elected guitar club president. After serving his mandatory military service, he began working as a guitar teacher, and singing in a restaurant.^[4]

In 1947, Wu Chu-chu met other singers who were working at the Colombia Café on Zhongshan North Road in Taipei, including Parangalan, Yang Xuan, Li Shuang-ze, and Han Zheng-hao.^[5] These people, who would later go on to become the leaders of Taiwan's folk music movement, were at this point simply singers with a background in Western folk music. In the 1970s, the Republic of China was removed from the United Nations, and later severed ties with the United States. In this era, an atmosphere of confusion was all around, and young people didn't know where they fit in.^[6] Western and Japanese culture were popular at the time, including in the field of music; while Taiwanese youth lacked an awareness and appreciation for their own culture. In 1977, after Yang Xuan and Li Shuangze led the call to "sing your own songs," a sense of affection towards one's homeland began to permeate songwriting, gradually spreading. Wu Chu-chu's song "Come Back," set to the poem of the same name by Yang Mu (楊牧), deeply moved the artistic director of Cloud Gate Dance Company, Lin Hwai-min (林懷民). Lin decided to organize a concert for Wu, to be held at the Shih Chien Hall in Taipei. The concert saw Wu, 30 years old at the time, perform his original piece, "Your Song," which would become one of his most well-known works.^[7]

Also in 1977, Tao Xiaoqing (陶曉清) invited Parangalan, Yang Xuan, Wu Chu-chu, and other singers to create three albums called, "Our Songs,"^[8] with the support of the Hong Foundation (洪建全教育文化基金會). One of Wu Chu-chu's pieces recorded for the album, "Ready Song" (好了歌) was considered "grey" and "gloomy", and did not pass the Government Information Office’s censorship screening. However, "Ready Song" won first place in China Broadcasting Corporation's "Song of the Year" for that year, and Wu Chu-chu also won first place in male singers. In 1981, the newly-established Rock Records & Tapes (滾石唱片) released its first album, which was a collaboration between Wu Chu-chu, Michelle Pan, and Lily Lee called "Trio" (三人展).^[9] After this album, Wu Chu-chu began to reduce his on-stage appearances, and moved on to backstage production and music administration.^[10]

References

^ "第一代民歌手吳楚楚 – Rti央廣". Rti 中央廣播電臺 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-10-16.
^ ^a ^b 中華民國文化部. "第16屆金曲獎吳楚楚獲頒特別貢獻獎-文化部國家文化記憶庫". memory.culture.tw (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2023-10-16.
^ 自由時報電子報 (2005-05-29). "吳楚楚盼政府立法遏止盜版 – 自由娛樂". ent.ltn.com.tw. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
^ 中央通訊社 (2023-05-24). "50年前少年聚首舞台劇搬演「艾迪亞」風光 | 文化". 中央社 CNA (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-10-16.
^ "《艾迪亞曾經在此》台灣最傳奇性的音樂餐廳 50年的回憶與夢想". www.hitoradio.com. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
^ "聯合國和台灣：為什麼一項50年前的決議再引爭議". BBC News 中文 (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2023-10-16.
^ 新聞, PChome Online (2011-11-01). "佐著流行曲對鏡子起舞--林懷民談《如果沒有你》 – 藝文學習". PChome Online 新聞. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
^ 國立臺灣歷史博物館典藏網; ArticleSample3 (2019-07-19). "國立臺灣歷史博物館". 國立臺灣歷史博物館典藏網. Retrieved 2023-10-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ 國際化,雙語編排,文化整合,全球華人的雜誌, 台灣光華雜誌 Taiwan Panorama |. "時代的音符──滾石30年". 台灣光華雜誌 Taiwan Panorama | 國際化,雙語編排,文化整合,全球華人的雜誌 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-10-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "台灣第一張華語電影原聲帶，《蘇芮專輯》替「飛碟唱片」打下半壁江山". 放言Fount Media. Retrieved 2023-10-16.