Thien Phu on My Favorite Vietnamese Composers

Pham Duy - the most prolific composer
 of Vietnamese popular music

Being a Vietnamese singer, I'm often asked who are my favorite songwriters and composers.  Well, I have to say that I can't deny the talents of Pham Duy and Trinh Cong Son.  Afterall, they are the legends among Vietnamese songwriters.  I especially enjoy listening to the compositions of these two whenever sung by such legendary singers like Julie Quang, Khanh Ly, Le Thu, Duy Quang, Thai Hien and Cam Van.  But for me, personally, I've hardly ever sung any songs written by these two.  Quynh Huong was one of the few songs I've ever sung on stage written by Trinh Cong Son.  I remember one time while I was performing on a show together with Y Lan, since it was set in a ballroom dancing atmostphere I had started to run out of songs to perform in the cha cha tempo and Quynh Huong was the only song left that I could think of.  I was quite hesitant of singing it that night, since I was fully aware of how Y Lan had made this song so famous with her fabulous interpretation back in the 1990s.  But what was I to do?  Just to show you what a great sport she is, when it was my turn to get up on stage and sing during the Da Vu, the Vietnamese term for ballroom dancing, segment of the show, she smiled at me and said to go ahead and sing it.  I still didn't.  I went ahead and decided on the last minute to do Besame Mucho in French, even though I hadn't memorized all of the lyrics yet.  But I improvised, and thank goodness, the audience didn't really take notice.  Anyway, back to Trinh Cong Son, I've been an obsessed fan of his music especially with songs like Tinh Nho, Nhu Canh Vac Bay and Diem Xua, just to name a few.  I particularly  love Trinh Cong Son's music whenever sung by Khanh Ly.  Mua Thu Chet is my favorite Pham Duy penned song, and in my book, that song must be sung by none other than Julie Quang, of course.

Duc Huy - Vietnamese Songwriter
 and Singer

I've sung a lot of songs written by Duc Huy.  Of course, he is one of my favorite composers, as well.  His music appeals to a younger generation.  When I first started out singing, I was then considered a young singer.  Of Duc Huy's songs, I've always loved Tieng Mua Dem, Nguoi Tinh Tram Nam, Trai Tim Nguc Tu, Duong Xa Uot Mua and Nhu Da Dau Yeu.  

One other Vietnamese composer I've always admired is Ngo Thuy Mien.  His music is like no other's.  I'd have to say the two songs I've liked the most from Ngo Thuy Mien are Mua Thu Cho Em and Tu Giong Hat Em, both of which have been recorded by another one of my idols, Khanh Ha.  In my opinion, her renditions of these two songs were the best.

Van Phung - composer of songs such as Tinh,
 Toi Di Giua Hoang Hon and Noi Buon

But the composer that has been my constant most favorite in Vietnamese popular music has always been Van Phung.  I've loved all of his songs from Tinh, Noi Buon, Chan Nan, Suoi Toc to Toi Di Giua Hoang Hon.  I had the pleasure of singing one of his songs while he was in the audience many years ago while in Washington, D.C.  Can you guess which song it was?  Yeu va Mo was the name of that song I had the utmost pleasure of serenading Mr. Van Phung and his lovely wife, Chau Ha.  To meet him and his lovely wife was just one of the biggest thrills in my singing career.  Oh, by the way, there is one very important individual I should not forget to mention pertaining to this particular Van Phung penned tune that I have included in my repertoire song list at my live performances all these years.  And that is, the legendary Thai Thanh, whom I deeply admire and in fact had been my voice teacher during my beginning as a Vietnamese singer.  It was she who had taught me this song.  I guess I should also give Thai Thanh more credit for having introduced me to and helped me appreciate the beautiful music of Van Phung, one of the most talented composers of Vietnamese popular music ever.