Biography

David Tao (Chinese: 陶喆; pinyin: Táo Zhé; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tô Tiat), born Tao Xuzhong (Chinese: 陶緒忠; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tô Sū-tiong; born 11 July 1969), is a Taiwanese Golden Melody Award-winning 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. Tao was born on July 11, 1969, in Hong Kong to parents who were entertainers in Taiwan. His father, Tao Dawei (David Tao Sr.) (September 28, 1942 – September 12, 2012), was an actor/singer/composer/TV Host and his mother, Wang Furong (Catherine), a Chinese opera singer.

Tao 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. Tao 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 moved to Arcadia, California. There he attended Arcadia High School while David Tao Sr. realized his dream of working as an animator in Disney Burbank.

Tao's parents later returned to Taiwan where his father began his singing career, leaving him to complete his education in the United States. Left to fend for himself, Tao took on many jobs, including a stint as a civilian employee at the Los Angeles Police Department, without the knowledge of his parents. He attended the University of California, Irvine first. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.