Zhang Lu (Chinese:張露; January 21, 1932 – January 26, 2009), often writtenChang Loo, was a Chinese singer and actress, known as a pioneer in Chinese pop beginning in the 1940s.
She was born Zhang Xiuying (张秀英) inSuzhou in 1932.[1][2][3] Her family moved toShanghai when she was a young child.[1]
Zhang was discovered in the mid-1940s by her neighbor, a broadcaster, who recommended her to sing at a local radio station. She started out singing covers of popularZhou Xuan songs. By the late 1940s, she had signed withEMI.[1]
She released a series of hits songs, becoming popular in both Shanghai andHong Kong.[1][4] "给我一个吻" ("Give Me a Kiss"), a Mandarin cover of "Seven Lonely Days," became one of her best-known songs.[1][3] Other hits included "小小羊儿要回家," "不许他回家," and "迎春花" ("Little Lamb is Going Home," "Don't Let Him Go Home," and "Winter Jasmine," respectively).[5]
She was considered a pioneer ofChinese pop music in this period, singing in both Chinese and English and incorporatingjazz styles.[1][2][6] Zhang also worked as an actress, including in the filmsPrisoner of Love in 1951 andThe Lark in 1965.[4][7]
In 1952, she moved to Hong Kong.[1][2] She married the Filipino musicianOllie Delfino, whom she had met while performing inSingapore, in the late 1950s. The couple had two sons, Orlando andAlex To.[1][4][8]
Zhang retired in 1975 and moved to Canada in the following decade.[1][2] She returned to Hong Kong when her son Alex became a successful performer, and she occasionally returned to the public eye to perform with him.[1] She died in Hong Kong in 2009, at age 76.[1][8][9]
Her music saw a revival in popularity in 2003, when her songs "All the Stars in the Sky" and "The Plough Song" were remixed for the compilationThe Original Shanghai Divas.[6] In 2019, her song "Tiao Yi Ge Man Bo" appeared in Season 3 of the American showThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.[10]
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