Wu Chu-chu
Taiwanese musician, campus folk singer, record publisher, and music-copyright advocate, born in Hankou on March 1, 1947; he received the Special Contribution Award at the 16th Golden Melody Awards in 2005.
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About the artist
Wu Chu-chu is a Taiwanese musician, campus folk singer, record publisher, and music-copyright advocate born in Hankou on March 1, 1947. At age two, he moved to Taiwan with his father and later lived in Xindian Township, Taipei County. He began learning guitar in high school, then entered the Department of Land Economics at the College of Law and Business of National Chung Hsing University and was elected president of the guitar club in his second year.
After completing military service, Wu Chu-chu began his music work by teaching and singing residencies. He opened a guitar class and sang in Western-style restaurants. In 1974, at the Columbia Café on Zhongshan North Road in Taipei, he met fellow resident singers 胡德夫, 楊弦, 李雙澤, 韓正皓, and others.
"歸來," set to a poem by 楊牧, led to an opportunity for Wu Chu-chu to hold a solo concert: after 林懷民 heard the song, he decided to arrange a performance for Wu at Taipei's Practice Hall. At age thirty, Wu presented his original song "你的歌" at "吳楚楚首度演唱會."
His work during the campus-folk period also underwent song censorship. In 1977, 陶曉清 invited singers including 胡德夫, 楊弦, and Wu Chu-chu to release three "我們的歌" records with support from the Hung Chien-Chuan Education and Culture Foundation; Wu's "好了歌," included among them, did not pass the Government Information Office's song review. At the same time, "好了歌" placed first in the Broadcasting Corporation of China's "年度歌曲," and Wu himself placed first among male singers.
"三人展" marked Wu Chu-chu's transition from the stage to behind-the-scenes work. In 1981, Rock Records released the album, recorded jointly by Wu, Michelle Pan, and Lily Lee; after its release, Wu gradually reduced his onstage singing and moved into production and music administration. In 1982, he co-founded UFO Records with 彭國華, 陳大力, and others, entering the pop-music market.
Anti-piracy and copyright-organization work became an important part of his subsequent career. At the time, the record market was rife with piracy, public awareness of intellectual property was limited, and the rights of record companies and singers were being harmed, prompting Wu Chu-chu to commit to anti-piracy work. In 1985, he brought the industry together to form an anti-piracy task force, and the following year united twelve record companies to establish 財團法人國際唱片業交流基金會. In 1989, he helped establish 中華民國錄音著作權人協會 and was elected its first chairman; in 1990, he again rallied the industry to hold the "321反盜版大遊行."
Music-copyright organizations continued to be established afterward. 中華音樂詞曲仲介協會 was established in 1994; in 1999, 中華音樂著作權仲介協會 was founded, with Wu Chu-chu elected its first chairman. That same year, Wu also co-founded 擎天娛樂 with 陳大力 and 陳秀男.
Promoting folk-music events became another of Wu Chu-chu's later pursuits. He began preparing the "民歌30年" event series in 2003 and held the "民歌30演唱會" in June 2004. In 2005, he received the Special Contribution Award at the 16th Golden Melody Awards.
Wu Chu-chu continued to participate in live performances and interview programs. In 2022, he was still performing at Oldie Goodie Live Bar in Taipei, with the band "清清楚楚" taking the stage every other Tuesday. On February 10, 2024, Wu appeared as a guest on "民歌50專區-EP.1," a segment of Taipei Broadcasting Station's "景淳的生命花園."
Wu Chu-chu once offered a brief summary of the relationship between popular music and its era. He regarded popular songs as a subculture of society that gives voice to a generation, saying, "What is popular today will become the classics of the future."
Overview
- Born
- March 1, 1947age 79
- Born in
- 中國漢口 · Mainland China
- Career start
- First album · 1977
- Active
- 1977 – present49 years
- Gender
- Male
Catalogued works & releases
No catalogued works yet.
