Shi Yongfen, born January 1, 1921, known professionally as Bai Guang, was a Chinese shidaiqu and Mandopop singer and actress from Zhuozhou. One of the Seven Great Singing Stars of 1940s Shanghai, Bai was known as the “Queen of the Low Voice”. She trained with the Beiping Salon Theatrical Troupe and studied at the University of Tokyo. Bai began her film career in Love Peas of the South (1943) and starred in The Fire of Love (1945). She recorded hits including “Autumn Evening” and “Without You”. In 1949, Bai relocated to Hong Kong and starred in A Forgotten Woman. She managed a nightclub in Tokyo in 1953 before returning to Hong Kong to record music until her retirement in 1959. Bai resettled in Kuala Lumpur in 1969 and made her final public appearance in 1995. She died from colon cancer in Kuala Lumpur on August 27, 1999. EMI released a memorial collection in 1999, and Bai received a star on the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars in 2004.
