David Tao's bio

David Tao is a popular Taiwanese singer-songwriter. He is well-known for creating a crossover genre of R&B and hard rock tunes which has now become his signature style and for having popularized R&B in the Mandopop industry.

Early life

David Tao was born in 11 July 1969 in Hong Kong (Hometown: Shanghai), as Tao Xu Zhong (traditional Chinese: 陶緒忠; simplified Chinese: 陶绪忠; pinyin: Táo Xùzhōng), to parents who were considered famous entertainers in Taiwan. His father, Tao Da Wei (traditional Chinese: 陶大偉; simplified Chinese: 陶大伟; pinyin: Táo Dàwěi) (the latter two characters which can also be read as "David", hence essentially David Tao Senior), was an actor/singer/composer and his mother, Wang Fu Rong (traditional Chinese: 王復蓉; simplified Chinese: 王复蓉; pinyin: Wáng Fùróng), a very well known Chinese opera singer.

David spent part of his childhood in Hong Kong (something which he shared with his audience during his Soul Power concerts in Hong Kong). His parents supposedly eloped when his father could not get approval to marry his mother. David had his education in Taiwan from kindergarten to the junior high school level at the Bethany Campus of Morrison Academy in Taipei. Later, his father decided to pursue his dream of working for Walt Disney, and they migrated to the United States city of Arcadia, California. There he attended Arcadia High School. where David Tao Sr. realised his dream and worked as an animator in Disney Burbank.

His parents later returned to Taiwan where his father began his singing career, leaving David to complete his education in the United States. Left to fend for himself, David took on many jobs, including a stint as a policeman in the LAPD, without the knowledge of his parents. Eventually, he graduated with a bachelor degree in Psychology from UCLA.

Career

Later working as a salesman, he was offered a job by reputed Taiwanese producer Wang Zhi Ping, when the latter found out who he was. So David went back to Taiwan, initially writing, and later producing songs for many singers before releasing his self-titled album David Tao in 1997. He has since released four more albums, a live concert recording and a compilation of his best songs. His works have influenced many singers to acknowledge his works more than the normal listener. Singers that actually listen to David Tao include Eason Chan, Jay Chou, Wang Lee-Hom, JJ Lin, Tank, Bibi Zhou, etc. close