| Jonathan Lee | |||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 1958 7, df=y | ||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Beitou, Taipei, Taiwan | ||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Record producer, singer, songwriter | ||||||||||||||
| Years Active: | 1979–present | ||||||||||||||
| Spouse: | |||||||||||||||
| Children: | 3 | ||||||||||||||
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Jonathan Lee Chung-shan (Chinese: t=李宗盛|p=Lǐ Zōngshèng; born 19 July 1958) is a Taiwanese musician and producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential and respected figures in the world of Mandopop music.
Lee started in the music industry in the 1970s, during Taiwan's popular "campus folk song" era. He was a member of the "Wood Guitar" band. In 1983, Lee made his debut as a music producer for the album Light Rain Just Comes in Time by Zheng Yi, which became an instant hit. The eponymous single "Light Rain Just Comes in Time" ranked No. 1 for 13 consecutive weeks on Taiwan's main music chart; the first single "End", a duet with Yvonne Jeng, written, composed and sung by Lee, also became a huge hit.
In 1984, Lee joined Rock Records, and has been credited with catapulting Rock Records into one of the foremost independent music labels in Asia. He helped pave the way for the golden era of Chinese pop music in the 1990s and 2000s, during which he wrote and produced many classic hits popular until today, setting impressive sales records, plus winning numerous accolades, such as Sarah Chen's "Dream to Awakening" (Chinese: t=夢醒時分|labels=no), Jackie Chan's "The Sincere Hero" (Chinese: t=真心英雄|labels=no), Wakin Chau's "You Make Me Happy and Sad" (Chinese: t=讓我歡喜讓我憂|labels=no), Jeff Chang's "Love is Like Tidal Wave" (Chinese: t=愛如潮水|labels=no), Sandy Lam's "It Doesn't Matter Who I Am" (Chinese: t=不必在乎我是誰|labels=no), Winnie Hsin's "Understanding" (Chinese: t=領悟|labels=no), Karen Mok's "Overcast" (Chinese: t=陰天|labels=no), and many more, which have all been hugely popular. As such, Lee has been hailed as the "million-dollar" producer, and deemed as the Godfather of Mandopop music, reaching and touching hundreds of millions of Chinese-speaking music fans around the world. He has been and remains one of the most successful and sought-after record producers in Chinese pop music scene. Given his iconic status in the Chinese music world, Lee's songs have influenced artists across Asia.[1]
More than music production, Lee has also been involved in movie theme songs and OST projects, and having collaborated with many famous directors, including Hou Hsiao-hsien, Sylvia Chang, Jackie Chan, Chen Kaige, plus others.
In 2002, he founded his own guitar brand "Lee Guitars", and has been personally involved in the design and production of hand-made guitars ever since.
In 2009, Lee formed "Superband" with three other popular artists from Rock Records: Wakin Chau, Luo Dayou and Chang Chen-yue.[2]
Lee also occasionally produces solo albums for himself and have recorded duets with many artists. His own songs "Jonathan's Song" in 2011 and "Hills" in 2013, both won "Song of the Year" and "Best Lyricist" awards at the 22nd and 25th Taiwan Golden Melody Awards respectively.
From 2013 to 2015, Lee embarked on his Even If Youth Is Never Lasting world tour, which kicked off in Taiwan, then toured on to China, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, the U.S., and U.K., etc., covering dozens of cities around the world, including two consecutive performances at Lincoln Center in New York, a first for a Chinese-speaking musician. He also held a concert at the famed Royal Albert Hall in London, also a first for a musician from Taiwan.
Lee also served as Chief A&R Consultant for Sony Music in Greater China from 2013 to 2016. In addition, Lee was also a driving force in introducing the renowned Blue Note Jazz Club to Beijing, China. In September 2016, Lee was joined by famous American jazz pianist and composer Chick Corea, for the grand opening of Blue Note in Beijing. His hope is to introduce the great American jazz music and culture, plus the many great jazz musicians, to the Chinese-speaking world.
In September 2017, it was announced that the Tony-winning Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, will help develop "Road to Heaven: The Jonathan Lee Musical", an original Chinese musical — in both Mandarin and English, based on music written by Lee. Adapted from the novel by Li Xiuwen, the original musical will feature music by Lee with English lyrics by Tony Award winner Richard Maltby Jr. (Ain't Misbehavin', Miss Saigon, Fosse) and a book by John Dempsey (The Pirate Queen, The Witches of Eastwick). The musical will then be translated back into Chinese for a world premiere in Shanghai in 2018. English-language productions are also planned for New York and other cities throughout the U.S. following the Chinese premiere.[3]
| Year | Album | Artist | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Light Rain Just Comes in Time Chinese: t=小雨來的正是時候|labels=no | Zheng Yi | |
| 1984 | Rock'n Roll Stage Chinese: t=搖滾舞台|labels=no | Xue Yue | |
| 1985 | Busy and Blind Chinese: t=忙與盲|labels=no | ||
| 1986 | New Love/Old Love Chinese: t=舊愛新歡|labels=no | Michelle Pan | |
| 1987 | Direction of the Heart Chinese: c=心的方向|labels=no | Wakin Chau | |
| 1988 | Heart of a Woman Chinese: c=女人心|labels=no | ||
| 1989 | Talk to You, Listen to You Chinese: t=跟你說 聽你說|labels=no | Sarah Chen | |
| 1991 | The First Time Chinese: t=第一次|labels=no | ||
| 1993 | Worrying Chinese: c=心事|labels=no | ||
| 1994 | Understanding Chinese: t=領悟|labels=no | ||
| 1995 | Scar Chinese: t=傷痕|labels=no | Sandy Lam | |
| 1999 | Growing Up Chinese: t=一夜長大|labels=no | ||
| 2000 | Twelfth Floor Chinese: t=十二樓|labels=no | ||
| 2001 | Day Lilies Chinese: t=忘憂草|labels=no | Wakin Chau | |
| 2002 | Princess-D OST Chinese: t=想飛|labels=noOST | Various | |
| 2004 | 20/30/40 OST Chinese: c=女人二十三十四十|labels=noOST | Various | |
| 2009 | North Bound (EP) Chinese: t=縱貫線北上列車|labels=noEP | Superband | |
| 2010 | Go South (EP) Chinese: t=縱貫線南下列車|labels=noEP | Superband | |
| 2011 | Pure Chinese: c=原色|labels=no | ||
| 2014 | What's Next Chinese: t=接下來是什麼|labels=no | Ann Bai | |
| 2017 | Still An Outlander Chinese: t=仍是異鄉人|labels=no |
| Year | Album | |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Spirit of Life Chinese: t=生命中的精靈|labels=no | |
| 1989 | Works of Jonathan Lee 1984–1989 Chinese: t=李宗盛作品集|labels=no | |
| 1993 | 2 X Man Life / Jonathan Lee & Lowell Lo Chinese: t=李宗盛＆盧冠廷／我們就是這樣|labels=no | |
| 1994 | Reluctantly Chinese: t=李宗盛的音樂旅程-不捨|labels=no |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Best Album Producer | Marching Forward – Lin Chung | ||
| 1997 | Singapore Hit Awards | Best Lyricist | "Infatuation" | |
| Outstanding Musician of the Year | ||||
| 2001 | 12th Golden Melody Awards | Best Album Producer | Twelfth Floor – Karen Mok | |
| 2001 | The Association of Music Workers in Taiwan Awards | Ten Best Album of the Year | Twelfth Floor – Karen Mok | |
| Ten Best Songs of the Year | ||||
| 2003 | 5th CCTV-MTV Music Awards (China) | Special Outstanding Contribution in Music Award | ||
| 2011 | The Association of Music Workers in Taiwan Awards | Ten Best Songs of the Year | "Jonathan's Song" | |
| 2011 | 22nd Golden Melody Awards | Best Lyricist | "Jonathan's Song" | |
| Best Composer | ||||
| Song of the Year | ||||
| 2012 | The Association of Music Workers in Taiwan Awards | Ten Best Album of the Year | Pure – Aska Yang | |
| Ten Best Songs of the Year | ||||
| 2014 | The Association of Music Workers in Taiwan Awards | Ten Best Songs of the Year | "Hills" | |
| 2014 | 25th Golden Melody Awards | Best Album Producer | Hills | |
| Song of the Year | ||||
| 2018 | 29th Golden Melody Awards | Best Lyricist | "Hometown" (from Still An Outlander) | |
| Best Album Producer | Still An Outlander | |||