This week we feature yet more analog records that feature Chinese pop music from the 1960s and 1970s. This collection of vinyl was donated by Jaime Chan on behalf of her mother Choi “Nancy” Chan. Jaime’s family had immigrated to San Francisco from Hong Kong in 1969 and she recalls her mother bringing along her beloved music collection over to the US via shipping container. These records were played in Jaime’s home throughout her life and gave her an appreciation of Nancy’s love of music and how this choice of music reflected her mother’s personality as a silent intellectual and romantic. MOCA is fortunate to be the beneficiary of this wonderful collection of music that carries with it a story of a family’s immigration into the United States.

The collection features both EPs and LPs, which stand for Extended Play and Long Play, respectively. The EP discs are smaller, being roughly 7” in diameter, and often require a playback speed of 45 RPM (rotations per minute). LPs are typically pressed in 12” diameter discs and play at 33 1/3 speed.

This collection of records has fairly intact covers, featuring a myriad of portraits of popular artists such as Poon Sow Keng (潘秀琼), Carrie Ku Mei (顧媚), and Tsui Ping (崔萍). Most of the records were manufactured in Singapore with some manufactured nearby in Australia and Hong Kong and feature both English as well as Chinese text on the covers and inserts. Below are some samples of covers and labels digitized from the collection.