The voice of Hong Kong: Sam Hui, Cantopop, and working class identity in 1970s-1980s Hong Kong

M.Phil.Sam Hui Koon-kit, the legendary Hong Kong singer, songwriter and actor, is considered one of the major figures in leading locally-produced popular music in Hong Kong to a flourishing period, and in establishing many of the musical, lyrical, and stylistic conventions of what would become popularly known as “Cantopop.” In this thesis, I analyze Hui’s music as a reflection of and actor in the formation of Hong Kong cultural identity. Building on scholarship on popular music and identity as well as perspectives from Hong Kong studies, I discuss the construction of pop taste and Hui’s style of Cantopop in relation to the sociopolitical situation in 1970s Hong Kong, and I examine the cultural reinterpretation processes in his cover songs, which I argue demonstrate both hybridization as well as the cultural specificity of Hong Kong. Finally, I attend to the ways Hui’s work articulated a particular understanding of working class identity in Hong Kong. I explore these issues through an analysis of the music, lyrics, singing style, and performance style of selected works by Hui, and relate my analyses to relevant historical and cultural contexts in Hong Kong. I supplement this approach with reception analysis and attention to the situated ways in which the music was understood and consumed by listeners, in order to reflect on how individuals heard, consumed, and made sense of Hui’s songs in relation to their own experiences of self, culture, and identity during a transformative period in Hong Kong.香港傳奇歌手、作曲、作詞人兼演員的許冠傑Sam，被認為是將香港本地製作的流行音樂帶到蓬勃發展時期的主要人物之一。他的歌曲建立了很多音樂、歌詞及風格的慣例，及後被廣泛稱為「香港粵語流行曲」。本論文旨在研究許冠傑的歌曲如何反映了及建構了香港文化身份。研究時，我參考了流行音樂與身份認同及香港研究文獻，討論香港二十世紀七十年代的社會政治情況，如何建立聽眾的流行音樂品味及許冠傑廣東歌的風格。我研究他改編歌曲中的文化再闡釋過程，並認為它們表現了雜交及香港的文化特徵。最後，我注意到許冠傑的作品清晰地表達了香港獨特的工人階級身份，我透過分析所選作品的音樂、歌詞、演唱風格、表演風格，及聯繫香港相關的歷史及文化背景探討這些議題。我以歌曲接收分析補充以上研究，注意聽眾如何明白及消費音樂，以反映在香港的轉變時期，個人如何聽取、消費及理解許冠傑的歌曲並聯繫自己的經歷、文化及身份。Chan, Yuen Woon.Thesis M.Phil. Chinese University of Hong Kong 2019.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-186).Abstracts also in Chinese.Title from PDF title page (viewed on 09, February, 2021)