Born September 7, 1958 in Hon Kong, Danny Chan got his foot in the entertainment industry as a songwriter before becoming an actor in the 1977 television series Sweet Babe. Music being his first love, however, he focused on recording his debut album, 1979’s First Love, which included what is arguably his quintessential recording, the love balled “Tears Dropping For You”. His prolific output from 1980-1992 included 21 albums, and in that time he rivaled the other most popular Cantopop singers of his day including Leslie Cheung and Alan Tam. His signature songs include the karaoke standard “Remembrance of Parents’ Love”, “Just Loving You”, and “Ripples”, and, unlike many pop superstars, he regularly wrote his own material. His popularity was so great that he acted in a handful of movies, including 1987’s An Autumn’s Tale, opposite Chow Yun-fat. The level of his fame was such that in 1988 he was tapped to perform at the opening ceremonies of the 24th Olympiad in Seoul, South Korea. Chan announced his retirement in 1991. Two years later he would pass away after being comatose for nearly a year and a half. He retained his iconic status even in death, with the Hong Kong government issuing a Danny Chan stamp in 2005.
