Cui Jian, one of the first people in China to sing rock 'n' roll, has been in the profession for more than 20 years but he is as passionate about the business as ever.

The 52-year-old continues to promote rock music in the country "to set a good example to the younger generation that they can lead a decent life even if they choose rock 'n' roll as a profession".

This summer, he will release a 3-D concert documentary on his 2011 New Year's Concert of Rock Symphony, in which he worked with conductor Tan Lihua and the Beijing Symphony Orchestra.

Blue Bone, Cui's debut as a movie director, which was inspired by his song of the same name, is set to be released later this year.

Cui was recently in Beijing to launch a customized smartphone, Blue Bone, after the name of his movie. Cui's songs, videos and photos have been preloaded into the phone. Updates about Cui will be posted online, to allow his fans to sync the information onto their Blue Bone mobile phones.

"Rock 'n' roll is beyond music," says Cui, in his trademark white cap with a red star in the front and a black coat designed by himself. "But rock music hasn't achieved commercial success in China yet."

"I believe good art and fortune could go hand in hand. I've seen many young talented people with rock dreams living in poor conditions. I hope I can do something to make a change," he adds.

He points out that the title "Godfather of China's Rock 'n' Roll" doesn't mean as much to him as people think. In fact, he considers it a burden as it sometimes creates a gap between himself and young rock musicians.

"I don't want to become an obstacle to young rock musicians. We are from different generations and I want to cooperate with them," he says.

Since Cui's debut in the music scene more than two decades ago with Nothing to My Name, which received overwhelming response, he has become an icon in the country.

He says the overnight success of the song was because that was the period when young people were eager to express themselves.

"It's like archery. I was lucky to hit the bull's eye with my arrow, which was the song," he says.

The trumpeter for the Beijing Symphony Orchestra has since proven that he has more to offer than Nothing to My Name.

There were more than 150 uses of the single-letter word, "I", in Cui's first album, Rock 'n' Roll on The New Long March released in 1989, which challenged the traditional Chinese culture of modesty.

"We rarely talk about 'I', my love and my hatred," Cui says. "Cui Jian is just one person but what I wanted to talk about is a whole generation instead of just me."

He says today's young music listeners are living in a world that is commercially presented by record companies and performance companies.

"They have no time to think about what they are watching and listening to," he says.

Cui insists that rock music should belong to the mainstream instead of having to struggle underground. His first album was named the best album of the year by mainstream newspapers in China in 1989. His concerts were packed.

"I saw the most beautiful crowds in my show in 1986. I sang while walking among the audience, who followed me like a huge wave," he recalls.

"Back then, Chinese audiences were conservative and very quiet while watching performances. But when I saw a 40-year-old scholar wearing glasses shaking his body at my concert, I was so amazed," he says.

For Cui, applause is not a priority in his shows. When he released his third and fourth albums, which were full of his musical experiments, some fans couldn't accept the songs, which were different from Nothing to My Name.

"I was asked to stop performing because the audiences didn't like it," says Cui. "But it never bothers me. Observing the society and talking about social problems make me excited."

Like Bob Dylan who incorporated a variety of political, social and philosophical ideas into his music; U2 singer Bono who is involved in charity; and John Lennon who promoted the message of peace; Cui says a musician who pays attention to an issue for a long time will lead to positive chain reaction.

"I watch a lot of movies so I want to make my own movies," he says. "Rock 'n' roll music is not considered serious. Though we have a huge population, we don't have rock idols today. We need to think about this."

chennan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/09/2013 page18)