Roman Tam

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Roman Tam Pak-sin (real name 譚百先, stage name 羅文, nickname 蘿記 or "Law Kee") (born February 16, 1950 - October 18, 2002) was a canto-pop singer. Tam was seen as a cultural icon to Chinese communities around the world (including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and, later, Mainland China) and had a string of hits in a career spanning 30 years He was well-respected for his singing skills, his positive outlooks, and his insistence on correct pronunciations. He was also groundbreaking in being the first major Hong Kong singer to pose in drag and to pose in the nude.

He was born in Guangxi and went to Hong Kong in 1962. After forming a short-lived band known as Roman and the Four Steps, he became a contract singer of Television Broadcasts Limited. He briefly switched in the early 1990s to Asia Television Ltd.

He died in Hong Kong of liver cancer. His obituaries referred to him as either the "godfather of canto-pop" (Associated Press) or "canto-pop's closest equivalent to Frank Sinatra (Wall Street Journal).

During the 1990s he accepted many budding singers as his students; some of those that became famous later include Joey Yung and Ekin Cheng.

Tam died unmarried, although he was at that time living together with his male assistant.

[edit] Collaborations

Roman Tam counts Jenny Tseng as his dearest friend and best partner^{[citation needed]}. He recorded a series of duets with Jenny Tseng for the television drama hit "Legend of Condor Heroes." Jenny Tseng still pays tribute to Roman Tam during her concerts.^{[citation needed]}