Chang Yu-sheng (also: Tom Yusheng Chang or ; June 7, 1966 – November 12, 1997) was a Taiwanese pop vocalist, songwriter and record producer. Born in 1966, Chang was the eldest among his other four siblings whose mother is Atayal and father a veteran of the

ROC military The Republic of China Armed Forces (ROC Armed Forces) are the armed forces of the Republic of China (ROC), once based in mainland China and currently in its remaining jurisdictions which include the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Mats ...

. Being influenced deeply by Western rock music, he had participated in two metal bands at university before he gained publicity with a beverage

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...

ballad "My Future isn't a Pipe Dream" in 1988. In that year, Chang also released his debut album "Always Missing You" to a success, selling 350 thousand records within the regions, before singing the soundtrack of a popular movie ''Seven Wolves'' starring him as one of the leading roles. After his graduation in 1989, he was nominated "The Best New Artist" in th for his second album "Miss Me" with most songs co-written by himself. He developed his career as a singer-songwriter since then, endeavoring different genres of contemporary music and attempting to introduce them to the general public despite ups and downs. With moderate to low commercial successes of his subsequent albums, Chang focused more on backstage roles, including music production and songwriting for theater performances. He introduced

A-Mei Kulilay Amit (, born 9 August 1972), better known by her stage name A-Mei, is a Taiwanese Puyuma singer and record producer. In 1996, she made her singing debut and released her album, ''Sisters''. Her albums ''Truth'' (2001), ''Amit'' (2009), ...

, a Puyuma and

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

singer, to his record label whom he met during causal visits. Believing in her potential, Chang became A-Mei's vocal tutor, producer and supervisor. Soon after producing A-Mei's debut and second albums, which were released to a huge success in 1996 and 1997, he died at 31 years old. Renowned for his

sopranist A sopranist (also, sopranista or male soprano) is a male singer who is able to sing in the vocal tessitura of a soprano usually through the use of falsetto or head voice vocal production. This voice type is a specific kind of countertenor. In rar ...

vocal range, significance to the development of the local music industry and versatility, Chang is widely referred to as "The Magician of Music in Chinese" and among the most prominent figures when it comes to Chinese language music with most of his commercial failure later considered to be masterpieces.

Biography

Chang was born in

Magong Magong ( POJ: ''Má-keng'') is a county-administered city and seat of Penghu County, Taiwan. Magong City is located on Penghu's main island. Name The settlement's temple honoring the Chinese Goddess Mazu, the deified form of Lin Monian ...

Penghu The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

on June 7, 1966. As the eldest child, he had two younger brothers and two younger sisters. His father was a soldier. He graduated from the

National Chengchi University National Chengchi University () is a public research university in Taipei. The university is also considered as the earliest public service training facility of the Republic of China. First established in Nanjing in 1927, the university was subs ...

. In spare time, he was keen on music, basketball, swimming, and reading. One of his major accomplishment as a producer was to help the pop singer

A-mei Kulilay Amit (, born 9 August 1972), better known by her stage name A-Mei, is a Taiwanese Puyuma singer and record producer. In 1996, she made her singing debut and released her album, ''Sisters''. Her albums ''Truth'' (2001), ''Amit'' (2009), ...

to achieve mainstream success. He was known for his high vocals, capable of reaching notes up to D#6. Chang died on November 12, 1997, at age 31, after being hospitalized for 24 days, following a car accident taking place on October 20, 1997.

Discography

Childhood Tom Chang, Yu-sheng Memorial Museum 20150620

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Chang Yu-Sheng memorial page

Internet Video and Recording Data Index of Chang Yu-Sheng
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Yu-sheng 1966 births 1997 deaths Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriters Taiwanese guitarists Taiwanese songwriters 20th-century Taiwanese male singers National Chengchi University alumni Road incident deaths in Taiwan People with disorders of consciousness People from Penghu County Musicians from Taichung Atayal people 20th-century guitarists Writers from Taichung