As a kid, her songs were played over and over again… my dad was a fan.. and until this day, i still remember her most famous tunes : The Moon Represents My Heart

Chinese Name: 邓丽君
Mandarin Name: Dèng Lìjūn
(1953-1995, born in Yunlin, Taiwan)

Biggest Hits:

月亮代表我的心 “The Moon Represents My Heart” (The most famous Chinese pop song of all-time)
我只在乎你 “I Only Care about You”
甜蜜蜜 “Sweet”

Prior to this classy lady, most Chinese music is what we might consider traditional Chinese folk music. Modern pop music really began to sweep the Chinese world with the advent of Teresa Deng Li Jun, though, after listening to her songs, we would probably consider it a far cry from modern rock. In light of the history of musical styles, she bridges the gap between Chinese folk music and modern pop music, providing a mellow adult-oriented vocal approach—think of Barbara Streisand. Deng, whose name is often misspelled as Teng, is regarded as the greatest singing star in all Chinese history.

Teresa Deng was born in a the village of Tienyang, in Yunlin County, Taiwan to a mainlander family originating from Hebei province. She actually started her singing career in the late 1960s. In 1968, she gained fame by performing on a popular music TV show in Taiwan. By the 1970s, she had already released eight albums! In 1973, she attempted to break into the Japanese market by partaking in a singing competition among the best artists of the year. She won the “Best New Singing Star” award. The following year, she conquered Japan with the song “Airport”. After taking over the Chinese and Japanese markets, Deng went on to triumph in Malaysia and then Indonesia. Her song “Goodbye My Love” was translated into the Indonesian language and Deng sung it in a 1977 release.

In 1983, Teresa released her most-acclaimed album, Light Exquisite Feeling. It contained a dozen renowned Chinese Tang and Song Dynasty poems set to music for the first time. Despite the fact that Mainland Chinese authorities had branded most modern music as “decadent”, Teresa Deng’s songs became so popular in Chinese karaoke bars that, in 1986, they bypassed the censorship, and the saying sprung up, “By day, Deng Xiaoping rules China, but by night, Deng Lijun rules.” But Teresa never performed in Mainland China. She held seven consecutive concerts in Hong Kong, breaking the record at that time. She was the first Chinese artist to perform at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, U.S.A.

This Taiwanese songstress died an untimely death from an asthma attack while in Thailand in 1995 and the entire Chinese world mourned like nobody’s business. She was given a state funeral attended by the Taiwanese leader. Her song “The Moon Represents My Heart” is considered by many the greatest Chinese pop song in all history. From Teresa’s rocketing to superstardom, the path was now clear for many more Chinese pop stars to arise.

Source : http://cpophistory.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/chinese-pop-music-in-the-1970s/