Steven Liu: A prodigious mainstay of Chinese-language entertainment

Taipei, Dec. 4 (CNA) Veteran entertainer Steven Liu (劉家昌), who died aged 83 on Monday, was known as the "godfather of Chinese language pop music" for his contributions as a composer, lyricist, singer, film director and actor in the Hong Kong and Taiwanese entertainment industry of the 1970s and 1980s.

Liu composed many classic songs, including "Unforgettable Past" by You Ya (尤雅), "On the West Tower Alone" by Teresa Teng (鄧麗君), "Promise" by Liu Wen-cheng (劉文正), Sea Gull by Weng Qian-yu (翁倩玉).

The "Goodnight Song" he created for Fei Yu-ching (費玉清) is still used by many businesses when they close for the day.

Liu also collaborated with the popular Japanese music group "內山田洋&Cool Five" and Shinichi Mori, a Japanese male singer and composer, to cover and record his own Mandarin songs in Japanese.

He also nurtured the careers of several proteges who went on to superstardom in their own right, including Liu Wen-cheng (劉文正), Fong Fei-fei (鳳飛飛) and Brigitte Lin (林青霞 ).

Liu also found success in movies, directing Chinese-language classics such "Love Begins Here," winner of Best Narrative Feature and Best Musical at the 11th Golden Horse Awards in 1973, and "Plum Blossom," which won Best Narrative Feature, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Recording and Best Musical at the 13th Golden Horse Awards in 1976.