I hate to use an uncommon word such as "doyen", but it seems appropriate to describe Alan Tam's standing in the Cantopop community.
According to Merriam-Webster, "doyen" means:
(a) The senior member of a body or group, or
(b) A person considered to be knowledgeable or uniquely skilled as a result of long experience in some field of endeavor.
2. Alan Tam indeed has long experiences in Cantopop.
He started out singing in the late 1960s by forming the band "The Wynners".
The Wynners was disbanded and then reformed in 1973.
Although no longer active as a group since 1978, remarkably, The Wynners have been holding five years reunion concerts ever since - the latest one being in 2010.
This testifies to the friendship between the five members of the band.
3. Alan Tam has a very successful career ever since the members of The Wynners went their separate ways.
In my opinion, Alan Tam's career has peaked more than once in the 1980s and 1990s.
"Love in Deep Autumn" ("愛在深秋") was one of those peaks; it came out in 1984 and has won many awards.
It was also collected in the album "The Root of Love" ("愛的根源"); "The Root of Love" is one of the most beloved album by Alan Tam's fans.
4. A search in YouTube yields many instances of this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9CWH_mBJYI
I like this video, which was apparently shot in South Korea.
5. I like the musical accompaniment for this version from 2008:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcSPYcouAlE
6. Alan Tam in concert:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE8PhoU576g
7. Deep autumn and Canadian maple leaves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG8yxt6MH0Q
They go together.
8. Alan Tam and Hacken Lee:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdATsmS5Rro
This video is from their "Left Alan Right Hacken" ("左麟右李") tour?
Very nice arrangement of the song.
9. Alan Tam in concert in Hong Kong in 2010:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUUL0QG0-ug
Alan Tam was born in 1950.
His voice is still very good at 60 years old.
Actually, I like this version better than his 1984 version.
10. Alan Tam performing on China's CCTV in 2011 Mid-Autumn Festival celebration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4jdfAi-aGc
Very nicely done.
11. Alan Tam performed this song as recently as January 23, 2012 at Heilongjiang Province, China:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlMGNhlaelo
12. I have no doubt that he was enjoying himself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPW71FmHZnQ
And that is good enough.
13. Priscilla Chan covering the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om7mTLw61hk
Priscilla is a very good singer.
I just wish the quality of the video is better.
14. A violin cover:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2gx-zqxV7s
Very nice.
15. A cover by Michiko:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WypV5RL0fCI
Michiko is apparently Japanese and not a native speaker of Cantonese.
But good effort.
16. A cover with guitar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdFFCNzpbsM
I can feel that he has an emotional grasp for this song.
Very good.
17. A silly rock version by Alan Tam and Hins Cheung:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVoW9inI_58
But one must has to have a sense of humor.
18. A cover version sung in Putonghua:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDie0jgGjD8
The heading in YouTube said the singer is unknown ("佚名").
I suspect this is one of those "pirated" version produced in the cheap in China.
The lyrics are slightly modified from the Cantonese original; maybe this is due to the difference in pronunciation between the two Chinese dialects.
I enjoy this version anyway.
19. Another cover version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbj6p9r914U
His voice is not bad; but I agree with some of the comments in YouTube that his emotional interpretation of this song is wrong.
20. Very nice instrumental:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZdtGKRH_L4
Highly recommended!
According to the uploader, the photo is of Dalian, Liaoning Province, China.
Maybe that is where he / she is from?
21. The Lyrics in Traditional Chinese:
譚詠麟 - 愛在深秋
如果 命裡早註定分手
無需 為我假意挽留
如果 情是永恒不朽
怎會分手
* 以後 讓我倚在深秋
回憶 逝去的愛在心頭
回憶 在記憶中的我
今天曾淚流
# 請抬頭 抹去舊事
不必有我 不必有你
愛是可發不可收
你是可愛到永遠
我是真心捨不得你走
@ 有日 讓你倚在深秋
回憶 別去的我在心頭
回憶 在這一刻的你
也曾淚流
Repeat * # @
22. The Lyrics in Simplified Chinese:
谭咏麟 - 爱在深秋
如果 命里早注定分手
无需 为我假意挽留
如果 情是永恒不朽
怎会分手
* 以后 让我倚在深秋
回忆 逝去的爱在心头
回忆 在记忆中的我
今天曾泪流
# 请抬头 抹去旧事
不必有我 不必有你
爱是可发不可收
你是可爱到永远
我是真心舍不得你走
@ 有日 让你倚在深秋
回忆 别去的我在心头
回忆 在这一刻的你
也曾泪流
Repeat * # @
23. Names, Words and Phrases:
Alan Tam (Traditional Chinese: 譚詠麟; Simplified Chinese: 谭咏麟).
Dalian (Traditional: 大連; Simplified: 大连).
Hacken Lee (Traditional: 李克勤; Simplified: 李克勤).
Heilongjiang (Traditional: 黑龍江; Simplified: 黑龙江).
Hins Cheung (Traditional: 張敬軒; Simplified: 张敬轩).
Liaoning (Traditional: 遼寧; Simplified: 辽宁).
Mid-Autumn Festival (Traditional: 中秋節; Simplified: 中秋节).
"Principal Tam" (Traditional: 譚校長; Simplified: 谭校长).
Priscilla Chan (Traditional: 陳慧嫻; Simplified: 陈慧娴).
The Wynners (Traditional: 溫拿; Simplified: 温拿).
References:
"Alan Tam", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Tam
(accessed 2012-01-31).
"The Wynners", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wynners
(accessed 2012-01-31).
"譚詠麟", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hant/%E8%AD%9A%E8%A9%A0%E9%BA%9F
(accessed 2012-01-31).
"愛的根源", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hant/%E6%84%9B%E7%9A%84%E6%A0%B9%E6%BA%90
(accessed 2012-01-31).
End.
