Profile of Emil Chau on Famous Like Me

Wakin Chau (SC: 周华健, TC: 周華健, PY: Zhoū Huájiàn, Cantonese: Chau1 Wa4 gin6) was born in Hong Kong on December 22, 1960. Known as Emil Chau through the 1980s and 1990s, Chau has been one of the best-loved entertainers in Asia and internationally for more than a decade.

Growing up as the fourth son in a family of seven, Wakin picked up a guitar and learned to play when he was about 13 years old. In 1979, he set off to major in math at National Taiwan University in Taipei, where he became enthusiastically involved in the popular campus tradition among students, singing and playing original folk songs in local coffeeshops. During this period Wakin learned to sing in Mandarin, and this would be key to his future as a music-maker in Taiwan.

With his hopes high for a successful career as a recording artist, Wakin sought out contacts in the music industry, but he met discouragement at every turn. That finally led him to set his sights on a seemingly more practical alternative: becoming a record producer. So he gave up his dream of being a performer and joined Rock Records as an assistant producer, writing wonderful songs for other artists.

But finally, opportunity knocked at Rock. Wakin was encouraged by Chyi Yu to sing some jingles for commercial advertising spots. One of these tunes was for a car commercial, and it happened to catch the attention of Wakin's boss. Almost as an afterthought he remarked, "Is that your voice? Why don't you release an album?" BINGO!

So Wakin recorded and released his first Mandarin album under the Rock Records label in 1987. In an interesting twist of fate, Wakin had struggled to become a singer, had settled on being a record producer, and while working as a producer he became a singer! A dream come true by detour.

And it was a detour of particular good fortune. While working diligently at Rock as a producer, Wakin met an American girl named Constance Woods, whose father was in Taiwan as a Fulbright scholar. Having plenty in common — including birthdays only one day apart — Wakin and Constance began to date, got engaged and then on November 16, 1986, they were married in Taipei. (Four months later there was another ceremony with family and friends in the U.S. on March 14, 1987). They now have a son and a daughter.

Emil Chau Wakin's career in music has soared ever since. From 1985, he has released more than 40 records in Mandarin, Cantonese and English, becoming an important name in the music of Taiwan and appealing to music lovers around the globe. His platimum albums such as You Make Me Happy and Sad, The Flowery Heart, Music Brings Us Together, and Emil & Friends have brought him numerous awards from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. And with his burgeoning international popularity, Wakin packs concert halls wherever he goes. His concert productions have remained relatively simple by Asian standards: usually no mirrors, no smoke or explosions, no colored lights — just Wakin, his guitar, and his backup musicians.

Alongside his singing career, Wakin has appeared in a number of films and has hosted TV and radio shows in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. Besides being a successful restaurant owner, he is also very active in international charitable causes, such as kidney disease charities in Singapore, the December 2000 all-star concert in Las Vegas, the January 2002 "Take a Deep Breath" concert in Taipei to raise money for local health-care organizations, and Beijing's 4th Grand Charity Drive for Children in 2005.

With his clean-cut image, friendly disposition, and passion for music, Emil Chau Wakin remains one of the most admired artists in the entertainment industry.

English Name: Wakin Chau / Emil Chau [Chow]

  → "Emil" is Wakin's '80s-'90s professional name that is rarely used now

Pinyin Notation: zhou1 hua2 jian4

Cantonese Notation: chau1 wa4 gin6

Birthday: 22 December 1960

Birthplace: Hong Kong

Wakin/Emil Websites

Wakin.com (Big5-code; his personal website in Taiwan)

Emil Chau Music at Imarnet.com (English)

Rock Records (Big5-code)

The Wakin Weekend Society (In'tl, English & JIS-code)

Stars Ferry's Friends (Taiwan, Big5-code)

True Blue Emil's Page (Hong Kong, Big5-code)

Sunny Stars Ferry-Wakin Chau (China, GB-code)

Emil Chau Fan Club Japan (JIS-code)

Every Wakin's Moment (Singapore, English & GB-code)

Wakin Chau U.S. Fansite (English)

Wakin's Malaysia Friends Site (English)

Wakin/Emil Bulletin Boards

Wakin.com Guestbook (Bulletin Board of [Wakin.com])

Wakin Chau International (WCI) Forum (Google Group of The Wakin Weekend Society)

Emil & Friends (Yahoo Launch Group)

True Blue Emil's Page Forum (Bulletin Board of True Blue Emil's Page)

Forum@EWM (Bulletin Board of [Every Wakin's Moment])

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Emil Chau