Crazy Rich Asians is rich with Asian renditions of jazz music – from wartime tunes to more contemporary pieces. Many of these songs are international favorites across Asia.
When was the last time you saw Asian or Asian American rap singers on American TV? Crazy Rich Asians, a Hollywood movie, successfully mainstreamed Asian rap through Awkwafina’s Money (That’s What I Want) in America.
I was captured by her husky voice with great rhythmical expression. Some complain that Awkwafina copied Blacks. Yes, it was rap — but I think she made a unique rap interpretation using an Asian mindset in an Asian script with sarcasm for money. Everyone knows that World Popular Music doesn’t exist without the contributions of Black American music. And of course, Crazy Rich Asians reminded me of the historical influence of Black Music on Asian music. Thanks to African American contributions to World Music, we had Elvis, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Now we have J pop and K pop. We have BTS!
(1961)
I was surprised when I heard a tune that was vaguely familiar — “Wo Yao Ni De Ai.” I checked it on internet as soon as I came home. No wonder I knew it. It was a song sung by Izumi Yukimura, a Shanghai-born Japanese singer and actress in the 50s. The title was “Koibito ni natte.” Both Chinese and Japanese titles are based on the original American song, “I want you to be my baby,” made famous by Louis Jordan, an African American singer. It was a jump blues song written by Jon Hendricks for Jordan. It became an R&B big hit in 1953 in the US.
This song was made even more popular in Asia through a Russian Jewish singer, Georgia Gibbs. The war was over. Women were happy. American women worked for war while men were gone. It was a women’s turn to say: “I want you to be my baby.” In the 50s, Grace Chang, a Hong Kong-based idol singer sang this song in Asia and made it a big hit. Then, the song arrived in Japan soon after. Izumi Yukimura was one of Japanese jazz singers who used to perform for the American troops during the occupation. Women in Japan uplifted people with happiness after the war.
The songs that I knew never stopped coming in Crazy Rich Asians.
One song played softly in the background soon after Rachel entered the big party.
I doubted my ears again. Then I was sure it was Teresa Teng, a Taiwanese singer.
The song titled “Tsugunai” (literally translated “Make up”) was created by a
Japanese composer and a Japanese writer. Released in 1982, it became a big hit
in Japan. Later, she sang the song in Chinese, and it became a big hit in Taiwan,
too. Teresa Teng was very popular in Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and
other nations — especially in Southeast Asia. She sang in Mandarin, Cantonese,
Japanese and English. Even after she passed away, Teresa Teng remains popular
in Japan, my native country.
(1943?)
Another surprise. I noticed Ri Koran’s “Ye Lai Xiang (Tuberose)”, which was released in 1944. The music played while Rachel was entering the church for the wedding. Ri Koran’s real Japanese name is Yoshiko Yamaguchi. She was a Japanese singer born in China who became a wartime film idol in China. She made her debut as a Chinese singer Li Xianglan in Manchuria during Japan’s occupation. Later, she moved to Shanghai and became a big star in China. Chinese people thought she was Chinese. After the war, the Chinese government arrested her because they thought she was a Japanese-speaking Chinese traitor. She was saved from execution after her identity as Japanese was revealed. She then left China and moved back to Japan. She appeared as Shirley Yamaguchi in some Hollywood movies and on Broadway in the 1950s. Ri Koran or Yoshiko Yamaguchi was well respected in Japan because of her cosmopolitan and intellectual background. In the 1970s, she entered politics and was elected to the Diet. According to the Japan Times, she was one of the many contributors to a private atonement fund for “comfort women,” Chinese and Korean women who were forced to have sex for Imperial Japanese soldiers during the World War II. Ri Koran was loved by many people in Asia. Her dramatic life became the basis for two biographical movies. “Ye Lai Xiang” was one of her most popular songs.
Kina Kasuya Grannis, a bicultural singer with a Japanese mother and an American father, was the wedding singer who sang Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Elvis Presley has a huge number of fans throughout Asia.
The bride
was Sonoya Mizuno, a Tokyo-born British actress and dancer with an Argentinian
British mother and a Japanese father. I first saw her in La La Land. She was
one of Emma Stone’s roommates, the one in the yellow dress when they danced
their way to their car to attend a party. It was great to see biracial
entertainers like Kina and Sonoya. Keanu Reeves is not the only biracial or
multiracial actor gifted with Asian DNA.
Contemporary Asian Jazz singers, such as Taiwanese-Canadian singer Sally Yeh and Chinese jazz singer Jasmine Chen also appeared in the movie. What great casting – finding popular Asian singers from all over the world!
Are there any other Hollywood movies featuring this range of music? Crazy Rich Asians was truly a unique film in a music sense, too. This culturally comprehensive film highlighted both Asian actors, singers and dancers, who have been ignored in the entertainment industries for a long time.
Resources
「恋人になって」ジョージア・ギブス: Georgia Gibbs – I Want You To Be My Baby
The Stories behind the Swing Songs from Crazy Rich Asians
The wartime film idol, propaganda tool Rikoran dies at 94. The Japan Times.
© 2019 The Jazz Solution. All rights are reserved.