"Liao Chang Yong also sang this song at Zhou Xiaoyan's 90th birthday party and was in tears by the end.This almost made me cry and I am not easily moved. Madame Zhou didn't just help him out a lot, she was the sole reason he is what he is today. Liao was rejected initially as a prospective singing student by the conservatory. Madame Zhou alone recognized his potential. Without her he would still be a peasant. My grandparents know her well." - A friend on internet
周小燕父親是湖北的銀行家周蒼柏,家境富裕。1935年入上海國立音專,抗日戰爭爆發後於1938年留學法國,二戰期間被困於巴黎;1945年在巴黎國立大歌劇院登台;1947年5月和作曲家亞曆山大·齊爾品的妻子鋼琴家李獻敏在第二屆布拉格之春音樂會上登台演唱齊爾品和一些中國作曲家的藝術歌曲。同年返回國立音樂院任教;1956年加入中國共產黨;文革後出任上海音樂學院副院長,主持建立周小燕歌劇藝術中心;被認為是中國美聲聲樂的權威。比較著名的學生有廖昌永、張建一、李秀英、高曼華等。其丈夫為電影藝術家張駿祥。