Renowned lyricist Jimmy Lo passes away at 76

Jimmy Lo Kwok-tsim, celebrated for crafting numerous lyrical masterpieces, passed away on Wednesday night at the age of 76.

Emerging in the 1970s, Lo created theme songs and interludes for many popular TV series and wrote the lyrics for classic hits including "Gone With the Wind" and "Tears Shed While Traveling," among many others.

Over his career, Lo wrote lyrics for more than 3,000 Cantonese songs, earning him the title of "Lyric Saint." He was regarded as one of Hong Kong's pioneering lyricists, alongside contemporaries James Wong and Cheng Kwok-kong.

His frequent collaborations with composer Joseph Koo led to songs that were performed by notable singers such as Lawrence Ng Wai Kwok, Susanna Kwan Kuk-ying, and Frances Yip Lai-yee.

Lo's career as a lyricist spanned approximately 20 years, during which he was known for his ability to complete a song in just one night at his peak. In his early years, Lo was recognized for his heavy smoking and constant coffee drinking, often treating coffee nearly as water.

According to a friend, he would take only three puffs from each cigarette before letting it burn out in the ashtray and then lighting another.

Additionally, he was a workaholic who often worked until dawn, sleeping for only three hours before starting his day again.

This relentless schedule took a toll on his health, and at the age of 40, he suffered a stroke due to exhaustion, which caused him to faint and accidentally fracture his eyebrow bone.

He remained unconscious for four days and nights. Eventually, in the 1990s, he decided to step back from his career due to health issues.