Popular Cantopop composer passes away in B.C.

Joseph Koo Ka-fai, the Hong Kong composer synonymous with the golden age of Cantopop, has passed away at the age of 92.

Koo, who died on Tuesday at Richmond Hospital, was known for his soundtracks to Bruce Lee films, hit songs for a galaxy of pop stars including the late Anita Mui Yim-fong and Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, advertising jingles, and compositions for television shows. He composed over 1,200 songs in his career.

In an interview with OMNI TV, Koo’s son, Ken, says his father passed away peacefully, after spending his last few years in Metro Vancouver.

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“The last few years in Canada was a quiet time with family. He spent some of his time listening to music, he would sometimes paint or draw. Other than that, it was really quite a different kind of lifestyle than at the peak of his career in Hong Kong,” he said.

Ken says he remembers his father’s work ethic over his two-decade-plus career from the 1970s to the 1990s.

“He was a very hard-working man. During the peak of his career, he slept an average of no more than three or four hours a day. The rest of his time was dedicated to his music and his work,” he said.

“During those 20-some-odd years, his work and his music really reflected the spirit of Hong Kong, which was at the time, a golden age.”

As talented as Koo was, it was when he paired up with the gregarious lyricist and talk-show host James Wong Jim that his music truly sang. Koo and Wong were considered the Simon and Garfunkel, or John Lennon and Paul McCartney, of Cantopop songwriting.

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Koo’s family says he attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston before returning to Hong Kong in the ’60s to launch his music career.

They say he immigrated to Canada in the 1990s but continued his work in the Hong Kong music scene.

Ken says his father was “very proud” to be part of an influential time in Hong Kong’s history.

“If you ask people who grew up with his music, each will have different kinds of memories when they hear those songs,” he said.

A private funeral will be held for Koo with family and close friends. Ken says if people want to honour his father, they should listen to his music to remember him.