Sarah Chen Memory Gate Journal
Sarah Chen Memory Gate Journal
「陈淑桦记忆的门」期刊
「陈淑桦记忆的门」期刊
July 1，2025 issue ｜ Past Issues 前期
Embedded Files
📕 About this Issue 本期介绍
📕 About this Issue 本期介绍
陈淑桦加冕之困
陈淑桦加冕之困
We trace Sarah Chen's initial steps at EMI, when she fought to get out of Tracy Huang's shadow.
回顾陈淑桦刚加入百代时，奋力走出黄莺莺影子的过程。
🎶 Song of the Issue 本期歌曲
🎶 Song of the Issue 本期歌曲
"A Call In the Dream" by Sarah Chen (1983), from the album "Song of the Ocean". It is a cover of Tracy Huang's 1979 song, composed by Tan Jian-Chang and Xiao-Xuan. 「梦里的呼唤」出自陈淑桦1983年的专辑"海洋之歌"，由谭健常作曲，小轩作词。黄莺莺是1979年版的原唱。
A Call In the Dream (梦里的呼唤)
A Call In the Dream (梦里的呼唤)
EMI signed Sarah Chen in 1983 to fill the vacancy left by Tracy Huang, but the striking vocal similarity between the two cast Chen into Huang’s shadow. Curiously, Chen covered two of Huang’s songs. These dream-themed songs, among Chen’s most beautiful, offered a clear contrast that revealed her uniqueness.
EMI在1983年签约陈淑桦，以填补黄露仪（黄莺莺）离开后的空缺，但两人极为相似的嗓音把陈淑桦推入黄莺莺的阴影里。值得琢磨的是，陈淑桦翻唱了黄莺莺的两首歌：「梦里的呼唤」和「相见在梦中」，唱得无与伦比的美。翻唱版既显出两位歌手的相似性，也衬托出陈淑桦的独到之处。
💬 Quote of the Issue 本期名言
💬 Quote of the Issue 本期名言
“似乎大部分人都把我当作黄露仪的影子” ——陈淑桦, 1984
“It seems most people see me as a shadow of Tracy Huang.” -- Sarah Chen, 1984
🗞️ From the Archive 档案精选
🗞️ From the Archive 档案精选
Magazine clipping of a short article (~1986, Hotline News) on how Sarah Chen was no longer concerned about comparisons to Tracy Huang. Winning the Golden Bell Best Female Singer Award was a big step forward.
八十年代中期杂志剪辑里的一文（热线追踪），大约在金钟奖后，谈及陈淑桦不再忌讳别人把她和黄莺莺相提并论。金钟奖是陈淑桦走出黄莺莺阴影，登基华语流行乐歌坛的标志。
🗨️ Fan message 本期歌迷留言
🗨️ Fan message 本期歌迷留言
"Incredible vocals. Back then, there was no tuning or sound editing, it was just her talent. Sarah is a true artist, one of the greatest in music history." —@Bing-x3d (June 22, 2025)
📷 Photo Highlight 本期照片
📷 Photo Highlight 本期照片
Magazine clipping from ~1986, on Sarah Chen's years in Tracy Huang's shadow.
八十年代中期杂志报道，谈论陈淑桦走出黄莺莺的影子。
✏️ Today's Blog 本期博客
✏️ Today's Blog 本期博客
Sarah Chen and the Elusive Crown
Sarah Chen and the Elusive Crown
陈淑桦加冕之困
陈淑桦加冕之困
June 26, 2025, SCM Gatekeeper
人生的价值最终来自我们努力建造的王国，而非外界给予的认可。
“要成功"，有人指点我，“你必须被视为某个领域的女王。”
毫无疑问，陈淑桦具备成为女王的核心条件：她有天赋。她的皇者风范，在少有人知的早期歌曲中已显而易见，如《哀愁的风雨桥》《夜来香》《夜语》。
但仅有实力为王还不够，她必须"被视为女王"。然而认同却迟迟未到，陈淑桦过了好几年歌红人不红的日子。1983年赴新加坡海岸拍摄MV时，她愧疚地感叹，身为艺人却无人识得。
“陈淑桦老给人一种缺了点什么的感觉，”1984年一篇报道写道。另一篇则说陈淑桦有点霉气。算命师说她“命中缺木”。没人说得清陈淑桦到底缺了什么。EMI首张专辑《星光满天》推出时，她的歌声动人，歌艺娴熟，歌曲优美；但她就是被人视而不见。从邓丽君的影子里走出后，又遇到黄莺莺，她的歌坛双胞胎还真不少。
正因为经历了这些艰难岁月，才使得陈淑桦在1985年荣获金钟奖时格外欣喜——她或许终于找到了缺失的东西。金钟奖是加冕她为女王的认同。
然而那时的陈淑桦，已经养成了往前看的习惯，坐在王位上反而不安。她每张专辑都改变形象，接连打破EMI的销售纪录、自我纪录，最终刷新了全台湾的销售纪录。她前瞻而不恋旧的习惯也留下了空隙，因为身边有人比她更清楚职场名利：重要的不是她成王多少次，而是她的作品被认同多少次，以及最后功劳归谁。
但回头看，陈淑桦逐渐进入与世无争的境界才是真王的表现。她不在意别人怎么看她，或她是否获得认同。因为她留下的，是一座无法摧毁的音乐王国——飘逸着她的歌声、装载着她情感、洋溢着她的智慧。
或许，当初指导我要“被视为女王”的智者，目光是短浅了一点。人生的价值最终来自我们努力建造的王国，而非外界给予的认可。
“To be successful,” I was told, “you must be known as the queen of X,” whatever X is.
There’s no doubt that Sarah Chen satisfied a critical condition for success: she had the talent to be a queen. Signs of her majesty were everywhere, even in obscure early songs few knew she sang: 《哀愁的风雨桥》,《夜来香》,《夜语》.
But it’s not enough to be a queen; one must be known as the queen. That recognition was elusive in Chen’s career. Even as her songs gained popularity, Sarah Chen herself remained obscure. On a trip to Singapore’s coastline to film an MV in 1983, she received no fanfare, deepening her self-doubt.
“Sarah Chen just lacks a little something,” said one news report in 1984. “Bad luck follows her,” said another. “Maybe she’s missing ‘wood,’” said a fortune teller.
No one could figure out what Sarah Chen was missing. Her first album with EMI, the 1983 Starry Sky, was a manifesto of unmatched vocal quality, sophisticated technique, and beautiful songs; yet the queen couldn’t shake off the invisibility cloak that stifled her. It didn’t help that she had many “singing twins,” from Teresa Teng to Tracy Huang.
Perhaps that’s why Sarah Chen was so happy when she won the Golden Bell Award in 1985—she must have felt she had finally found the missing element. No longer just being a queen, she was now crowned and recognized.
By then, however, Chen had developed a habit of moving on: always searching for the next greatest thing. She wasn’t comfortable sitting on her throne. She changed her image with every album, broke EMI’s sales records, then her own, and eventually the sales record for all of Taiwan.
But not dwelling on her laurel left a crack for the savvy ones around her, who knew that what mattered was not how often Chen queened, but how often her work was recognized—and who ultimately received the recognition.
Chen, however, no longer cared what others thought of her, or whether she was recognized. A true queen, she left behind an indestructible musical kingdom—one built with her voice, her emotion, and her wisdom.
The sage who once advised me was short-sighted after all. The value of our endeavors lies not in being known as queen, but in the process of constructing our kingdom.
The value of our endeavors lies not in being known as queen, but in the process of constructing our kingdom.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
This site was enriched by the generosity of a long-time Sarah Chen fan from Malaysia, C.Y., who shared her personal collection of clippings and magazine articles spanning much of Chen's career (1983-1996).
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