Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Thanh Thúy | 24 Giờ Phép


Listen to "Mua Nua Dem"

Listen to "Ga Chieu"

Get the whole thing here.

While combing my shelves for something interesting to share with y'all last night I came across three CDs I've somehow not yet posted by the utterly sublime Saigon chanteuse Thanh Thúy. Featuring recordings from before 1975, the Nhac Vang Thuc Hien Truoc 1975 series provides thousands of Vietnamese immigrants with hours of nostalgic memories--and the rest of us with a window onto a now-long-lost world. 

Born Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thúy in 1943 in Huế, Vietnam, Thanh Thúy began her singing career in 1959 at the age of 16. The next year her mother died and she took responsibility over her younger sisters while simultaneously becoming a national superstar--she was voted the most popular singer in south Vietnam for three consecutive years in the early 60s.

And, of course, we know what happened in 1975. I have no idea where Thanh Thúy wound up or if she is still singing.

This gem was recommended to me by a woman whose family owns a fairly large Vietnamese media store right on the northern edge of Montreal's Chinatown. While there for a work-related conference several years ago I made a point, each day after the conference events had ended, of walking through Chinatown and stopping in to this place, where each time the same woman greeted me, making suggestions, including this CD. If I remember right, she said Thanh Thúy's voice was smoky and bluesy, and that I would most certainly like it.

As, most certainly, will you.

If you do like it, let me know, and I'll probably post the the other two I have by her.

8 comments:

  1. Please do post the rest! She has a wonderful voice.

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  2. Thanks for this - it's terrific, and I'd love to hear the other volumes. I can't get enough of the Nhạc Vàng Thực Hiện Trước Năm 1975 series...

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  3. Wonderful voice--I'm a sucker for altos anyway. But I also like the arrangements, and the guitar work is first-rate, understated but just right. Thanks!

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  4. Vietnamese wikipedia says she came here to the US, and still sings, mostly nostalgia tours for her old fans. I have no way of knowing if that is true, though!

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  5. First song in this post is "Nửa Đêm Ngoài Phố" not "Mưa Nửa Đêm"

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  6. Tôi đã gặp Thanh Thúy ở nhà riêng bà ở Northridge cách đây hơn 15 năm. Tôi nghe nói là hiện nay bà ở Sacramento.

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  7. Translation: "I met Thanh Thuy in her own home in Northridge for over 15 years. I heard she is now in Sacramento."

    I will repost this album soon, tây bụi.

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  8. Yeah... Thanh Thuy is still singing for Asia Entertainment! She is living USA now!
    This is her newest song for Asia Video 73: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gubhiT1AHw

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