Recently, the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards came to an end, of course, there is no Chinese singer or anything. Some people say, why is it that in the talented Chinese music scene, no one has been able to win a Grammy trophy for decades?
You don't have to say, in fact, there is a Chinese singer who has won two Grammy Awards, he is Wu Tong.
Speaking of the name Wu Tong, perhaps the first thing that many people think of now is a variety director in Lantai, not the one mentioned in this article. You don't have to say that these two "Wu Tong" still look a bit like it at first glance.
In 2010 and 2017, Wu Tong twice appeared on the Grammy podium to accept the trophy, although he did not win as a singer, and even his name does not appear on the Grammy's list of winners.
In most people's minds, Wu Tong may not be popular, but most of the post-70s and 80s rock fans should know his name, and he was the lead singer of the reincarnation band in the early days. Later, after being "expelled" by the band, he embarked on the road of folk music from rock and roll, and all the way to the podium of the Grammys, and can be regarded as a legendary musician.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > form reincarnation</h1>
In 1992, at the age of 21, Wu Tong formed the reincarnation band, the first academic rock band in China, with five members from China's higher music colleges, and Wu Tong from the Folk Music Department of the Central Conservatory of Music.
In 1993, Samsara attracted attention with a song called "Beacon Yangzhou Road", which integrated folk music, classical and rock, showing a distinctive national characteristic. It can be seen that from the very beginning, Wu Tong is a rock singer with folk music feelings.
In 1995, the band released their debut album "Creation", which sold 200,000 copies in two months; in 1997, they signed to JVC Records in Japan and released the album "Heart Music Collection".
To say that Wu Tong is a real soul figure for reincarnation. His creative ability is outstanding, both songwriting and arrangement are excellent, "Beacon Yangzhou Road" is his adaptation and creation; as the lead singer, his singing skills are even more speechless. In the rock circle, the two people who are recognized as the strongest singers are Dou Wei and Wu Tong. (Unfortunately, later the two almost did not rely on singing to eat)
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > friends with Ma</h1>
In 1999, when Wu Tong went to the United States to give a lecture on Chinese folk music at the University of Michigan, he had the opportunity to meet an important person. This man' name was Ma Youyou, and he was a Chinese cellist. He was a remarkable world-class god, a leader in Chinese musicians, and he had already won more than a dozen Grammy Awards at that time. It was Ma Youyou, a friend, who changed Wu Tong's subsequent musical career.
In 2000, Yo-Yo Ma created a "Silk Road Ensemble", which is not a fixed group, but more like a musical project, which brings together performers from many countries around the world, who integrate the music of different ethnic groups and regions, create and adapt unique works, and regularly release performance albums and tour. Wu Tong, on the other hand, later became one of the core members of the orchestra.
But at that time, Wu Tong was still a member of the reincarnation band. On December 31, 1999, the reincarnation band appeared on CCTV's trans-century New Year's Day party, and they were also the first rock band to appear on the CCTV stage. In the years that followed, they continued to perform, frequently active in shows such as "The Same Song" and on the stage of various evenings and music festivals.
It is worth mentioning that in 2000, Wu Tong also sang the theme song "Good Spring Light" of "Spring Brilliant Pig Eight Commandments", and also sang the ending song "Rolling Eyelashes" with Chen Lin. For ordinary audiences who do not pay attention to rock and roll or folk music, "Good Spring Light" may be Wu Tong's most grounded and widely known song.
In 2002, Reincarnation released a new album, Beyond Reincarnation.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > fired by the band</h1>
In 2004, the problem finally arose. Perhaps other members felt that Wu Tong had stepped on two boats and delayed the band's performance in China, so when Wu Tong was in the United States, the reincarnation band unilaterally announced that it had "terminated the partnership" with him, citing "differences in musical concepts between the two sides".
After returning to China, Wu Tong was shocked, saying that the band did not communicate with him on this matter, and that he was unaware of the band's performance plans in China during May Day; in the face of the result of being "expelled", he once said that he could not understand and accept it.
After the dismissal of Wu Tong, the samsara band found a new female lead singer Wu Yao. Wu Yao, also known as Wu Tiehua, sang well, but since then, reincarnation has inevitably gone downhill, and a few years later Wu Yao was also kicked out of the band.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > twice to culminate in the Grammys</h1>
It is said that after Wu Tong left reincarnation, he formed a band of "Chinese Magpies", all composed of Chinese performers.
Since then, Wu Tong has maintained cooperation with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Orchestra while developing unhurriedly in China. He has served as a judge of several CCTV Youth Song Competitions, as well as a judge of the CCTV National Instrumental Music Competition, and has also produced his own singing albums and performance albums, and occasionally participated in performances at parties or TV programs. But it is clear that there is not much exposure, after all, his main identity is no longer a singer.
Wu Tong's best and most obsessive instrument is sheng, and he is also responsible for blowing sheng in the Silk Road Orchestra.
In 2010, Yo-Yo Ma & Silk Road Orchestra's Songs of Joy & Peace won "Best Classical Crossover Album" at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. The artist column of the album reads "Yo-Yo Ma & Friends", and Wu Tong is one of these friends.
In 2017, Yo-Yo Ma & Silk Road Orchestra's "Singing Nostalgia" won the "Best World Music Album" award at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. This is their sixth album. It is said that Yo-Yo Ma never went on stage to receive the award, and this time it was the Silk Road Orchestra including Wu Tong who took the stage to receive the Grammy Trophy. It was also Yo-Yo Ma's 18th Grammy Trophy.
This is Wu Tong's two Grammy experiences. Although neither won in his personal capacity, he was one of the few Chinese musicians to appear on the Grammy podium.
Wu Tong is not only a master of shengyin, but also familiar with many other instruments, and Ma Youyou calls him the "king of musical instruments". With his musical achievements in performance, singing, and composition, he freely shuttles between folk music, rock, classical and pop, and is a rare all-round music master.
In terms of singing alone, many fans feel that he is a singer who has been seriously ignored and underestimated. But the singer is only one of his many identities, if you really understand the amazing musical talent of this god, then what else can you do but worship? Unfortunately, in the eyes of most people, Wu Tong may still be just an ordinary singer who has sung the theme song of the Eight Precepts of the Pig.