Jonathan Lee (musician)

Lee started in the music industry in the 1970s, during Taiwan's popular "campus folk song" era. He was a member of the "Wood Guitar" band. In 1983, Lee made his debut as a music producer for the album Light Rain Just Comes in Time by Zheng Yi, which became an instant hit. The self-titled single "Light Rain Just Comes in Time" ranked No. 1 for 13 consecutive weeks on Taiwan's main music chart; while the first single written, composed, and sang by Lee entitled "End", a duet in the album, also became a huge hit.

In 1984, Lee joined Rock Records, and has been credited with catapulting Rock Records into one of the foremost independent music labels in Asia. He helped pave the way for the golden era of Chinese pop music in the 1990s and 2000s, during which he wrote and produced many classic hits popular until today, setting impressive sales records, plus winning numerous accolades, such as Sarah Chen's "Dream to Awakening" (夢醒時分), Jackie Chan's "The Sincere Hero" (真心英雄), Wakin Chau's "You Make Me Happy and Sad" (讓我歡喜讓我憂), Jeff Chang's "Love is Like Tidal Wave" (愛如潮水), Sandy Lam's "It Doesn't Matter Who I Am" (不必在乎我是誰), Winnie Hsin's "Understanding" (領悟), Karen Mok's "Overcast" (陰天), and many more, which have all been hugely popular. As such, Lee has been hailed as the "million-dollar" producer, and deemed as the Godfather of Mandopop music, reaching and touching hundreds of millions of Chinese-speaking music fans around the world. He has been and remains one of the most successful and sought-after record producers in Chinese pop music scene. Given his iconic status in the Chinese music world, Lee's songs have influenced artists across Asia.[1]

More than music production, Lee has also been involved in movie theme songs and OST projects, and having collaborated with many famous directors, including Hou Hsiao-hsien, Sylvia Chang, Jackie Chan, Chen Kaige, plus others.

In 2002, he founded his own guitar brand "Lee Guitars", and has been personally involved in the design and production of hand-made guitars ever since.

In 2009, Lee formed "Superband" with three other popular artists from Rock Records: Wakin Chau, Luo Dayou and Chang Chen-yue.[2]

Lee also occasionally produces solo albums for himself and have recorded duets with many artists. His own songs "Jonathan's Song" in 2011 and "Hills" in 2013, both won "Song of the Year" and "Best Lyricist" awards at the 22nd and 25th Taiwan Golden Melody Awards respectively.

From 2013 to 2015, Lee embarked on his Even If Youth Is Never Lasting world tour, which kicked off in Taiwan, then toured on to China, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, the U.S., and U.K., etc., covering dozens of cities around the world, including two consecutive performances at Lincoln Center in New York, a first for a Chinese-speaking musician. He also held a concert at the famed Royal Albert Hall in London, also a first for a musician from Taiwan.

Lee also served as Chief A&R Consultant for Sony Music in Greater China from 2013 to 2016. In addition, Lee was also a driving force in introducing the renowned Blue Note Jazz Club to Beijing, China. In September 2016, Lee was joined by famous American jazz pianist and composer Chick Corea, for the grand opening of Blue Note in Beijing. His hope is to introduce the great American jazz music and culture, plus the many great jazz musicians, to the Chinese-speaking world.

In September 2017, it was announced that the Tony-winning Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, will help develop "Road to Heaven: The Jonathan Lee Musical", an original Chinese musical — in both Mandarin and English, based on music written by Lee. Adapted from the novel by Li Xiuwen, the original musical will feature music by Lee with English lyrics by Tony Award winner Richard Maltby Jr. (Ain't Misbehavin', Miss Saigon, Fosse) and a book by John Dempsey (The Pirate Queen, The Witches of Eastwick). The musical will then be translated back into Chinese for a world premiere in Shanghai in 2018. English-language productions are also planned for New York and other cities throughout the U.S. following the Chinese premiere.[3]

• 2006–2009 Sense and Sensibility World Tour (11 Shows)
• 2009–2010 Superband World Tour (58 Shows)

• "Talking Past Each Other" – Host / Taiwan PBS (Police Broadcasting Service) – nominated for Taiwan's Golden Bell Awards for "Popular Music Radio Program" and "Best Radio DJ”
• "Appointment After Dusk" – Host / PBS
• "Musician" – Host / i like radio (Broadcasting Corporation of China) – won Golden Bell Awards Best Radio DJ Award

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jonathan Lee (musician).

• Lyrics of songs composed by Lee (in Chinese)