My Family History

                                                       Lena Lim   林竹君   1952 -

Lena Lim (Lin ZhuJun) was born Lena Lim Choon Lye in 1952 in Wenchang County, Hainan Island, China, but it was in Singapore where she made her name, becoming one of the most popular singers of her era. She also enjoyed success far beyond Singapore. One Singaporean, recalling her singing of "Bliss" wrote " I was just a schoolboy, learning Mandarin on my own when I first heard it. My siblings were enthralled by this smooth, calm, soothing and gentle, yet, powerful voice. The Chinese mass media then had named Lena, the Golden Voice. While the song and voice mesmerized me, I was enchanted by the dream-like quality of the lyrics. The beauty of the Chinese language was what made me WANT to learn it. It was not one of the subjects I HAD to study in school. I guess my love for Chinese songs helped me along."

Her big breakthrough came when she won the 1969 Radio Television Singapore Chinese Talentime. She was known for her unglamorous, ordinary way of dressing ... prefering her singing to speak for her. The girl next door endeared Lena to her many fans. She was dubbed as a Charity Queen for her many performances for charity in aid of the under-privileged and flood and fire victims. Some of Lena's compilations refer to her as the "Golden Voice". Having now listened to many of her songs, I must concur with this.