This Chinese vinyl record features songs by singer Zhang Lei Ming (张泪呜) with accompanying music by the band Charlie (查利乐队). The 45 rpm record was produced by Maxim’s Records Company (美声唱片公司).In the 1960s, many saw the lucrative business potential in the local Chinese pop music market which led to a mini boom in the industry. Small recording companies sprouted, attracting many aspiring singers. By the 1980s, Singapore rivalled Taiwan as the Mandarin pop capital in Asia, with its quality recording and production facilities. This vinyl record is part of the museum’s collection of Chinese pop releases in Singapore and Malaysia from 1965 to the early 1980s, prior to the ‘Xin Yao’ movement in the mid-1980s. The collection comprises of 45 rpm and 33 rpm recordings of local talents released by Singapore and Malaysian production companies, as well as foreign releases that featured Singaporean artists. The collection provides invaluable aural information on the history of popular music in Singapore.
