Looking All-American and Singing for All-Vietnamese

Anyone who is either old enough to have lived through the Vietnam War or is from Vietnam would be familiar with the term, Amerasian.  Of course, I'm referring to Vietnam War babies of racially mixed parentage.  In Vietnamese, the given term is con lai, which literally means "half breed child".  There are about 60,000 Amerasians from the Vietnam War.  I'm an Amerasian, myself. 

Whenever the subject of Amerasians is touched upon, automatically a sad image of abandoned, mistreated children of American GIs that were left behind in Vietnam comes about and how they had to face the hardships of growing up fatherless, in some cases even motherless, as well, in a homogeneous oppressive society where they were often the targeted victims of racism and social injustice.  We've all heard the countless horror stories told by the Amerasians and their experiences in Vietnam.  The American mainstream mass media has also done its fair share to bring light to these atrocities.  From the American mainstream's standpoint, some were deeply affected when they first became aware of the difficult circumstances that these children of American servicemen had to face in Vietnam when, as a matter of fact, they are Americans by law.  I doubt that the intentions behind the media covering this issue were to seek pity for Amerasians, but in the end the outcome was just that. The responses from viewers and/or readers of such articles and features on Amerasians varied from "I am so sorry for what they've been through" to "Shame on those racist Vietnamese!  Why should them yellow folks be racist to Amerasians, yet come to America expecting equality?" and of course,  "I just saw my daughter for the first time on that television program."  These were the letters I had read, forwarded, and replied to when I was a volunteer worker at Amerasian Services Organization.  Occasionally, we even received hate mail from both mainstream America, as well as the Vietnamese-American community.  A few mainstream American viewers found these mass media features as ammunition to further their hatred toward the Vietnamese race for being racist toward Amerasians.  And several Vietnamese-Americans even responded with their disapproval of how the Vietnamese race had been portrayed unfairly and erroneously for being racists.  As one Vietnamese-American viewer had put it, "Vietnamese people are not racist.  That is not in our culture.  We just don't like how all these children had mothers that were prostitutes who had babies with American GIs, especially with Black American men."  Some letters were just downright vicious and written in extreme poor taste. While others I had to just laugh off,  and consider them as humorous. 

Was the purpose of these Amerasians coming forward and sharing their stories to seek pity?  Absolutely not.  I do know about the racism that Amerasians faced in Vietnamese society.  I have seen the struggles some of my fellow Amerasians have had to go through, and I've listened to many of them share with me their own personal stories.  Luckily, I hadn't experienced the same hardships that many of my fellow Amerasian friends had to endure in Vietnam, since I was fortunate enough to have been able to leave Vietnam shortly after the Fall of Saigon and my mother and I had resettled abroad while I was still at a very young age.  But because I am also Amerasian, I certainly can empathize when I hear other Amerasians share their stories.   I am easily moved by them.  With each Amerasian's story that has been told to me, I can't help but think to myself, "That could have been me."  It's a reminder for me of how blessed I have been for having had the opportunity to come live in America at a young enough age so that it was still possible for me to acquire my command of the English language and speak English like a native.  For some unexplained reason, whenever I come across another fellow Amerasian, I sense a connection as if they were all my siblings.  I can't explain it.  But it's like we are kindred spirits, I suppose.  But I've noticed this with others, as well, and not just myself.  For some umysterious reason, Amerasians upon meeting one another for the first time instantaneously will develop a bond, as if we had known each other our entire lives.  Why is there this innate bond among us Amerasians?  

Lilian - Pioneer Amerasian Singer
 of the Overseas Music Industry

When I entered the singing profession in the Vietnamese community, a slew of other Amerasian singers also started to appear onto the scene.  Growing up, there was one Amerasian singer who had made her mark by the name of Lilian.  I remember the first time I saw Lilian perform was at a club in Orange County called Club Rex along with another Amerasian singer named Kathy Dung.  I was then just seventeen years old.  The way that these two girls looked on stage made them stand out from the rest of the Vietnamese singers that night.  Lilian's explosive voice and high energy performance brought the house down.  When I came by to say hi to the both of them, a simple hello led to a warm hug which only further supports my theory of this mysterious bond we Amerasians have for one another.  Years later, I would become close friends with both of these Amerasian singers.  As far as Amerasian singers go, Lilian and Kathy Dung should be given credit as the pioneers of Amerasian singers in the overseas Vietnamese music industry.  I had heard of two other Amerasian singers that had made their mark back in Vietnam.  The first being a singer named Kim Anh who had achieved national fame in the 1980s but was shot to death by her jealous husband at the peak of her career.  The other was Phuong Thao who continued to live in Vietnam for many years passing up the chance to come live in the United States under the Amerasian Homecoming Act.  In recent years, she would change her mind and relocated to the United States, but has since hardly participated much in her music career. 

Jenny Trang and Thien Phu

This slew of Amerasian singers I was talking about who first came onto the scene in the overseas Vietnamese music industry during the 1990s included Randy, Phi Nhung, Thanh Ha, Luu Quoc Viet, Hoang Dung, Ngoc Anh, Dai Trang, Danny Tuan, Lam Minh, Thuy Hang, Y Linh, Jenny Trang, and myself, Thien Phu.  Having worked with, thus becoming friends with this group of talented Amerasian singers was like gaining a whole new family of brothers and sisters.  Through these fellow Amerasian singers, I've learned more about the hardships they each faced having grown up in Vietnam being racially mixed.

The first close friendship I was able to form with another Amerasian singer was with Jenny Trang.  Most people might recognize Jenny Trang for her portrayal of Amerasians in her song, Kiep Con Lai, for May Productions.  Though Jenny's father was an African-American servicemen, I never really saw much of a difference between us.  We spent so much time travelling around the United States together, performing at shows, sharing hotel rooms, we were very much like brother and sister.  Jenny was blessed with an incredible, electrifying voice.  On every show that we had performed together, Jenny would have the ability to mesmerize the audience with her powerful stage presence

Thien Phu and the Late Luu Quoc Viet

and husky singing voice.  I really thought she was on her way to superstardom.  But in the middle of it all, Jenny, sometime in the late 1990s after releasing her first solo album, decided to settle down and get married to an Anglo-American fellow by the name of John.  Today, she is still happily married to John, who speaks Vietnamese just as well as any native speaker, and is the mother of three beautiful young daughters. 

Through Jenny Trang, I became good friends with another Amerasian singer, Dai Trang.  It's rather hard to believe, but Dai Trang and I have maintained our friendship for more than twenty years now.  Not only am I close with Dai Trang, but I also consider her husband, Chau, as an adoptive older brother.  Out of all my Amerasian friends, I must say that Dai Trang is the most driven.  Throughout the course of our friendship, Dai Trang has managed to have a successful singing career, become a wife and mother, earn an MBA degree at UC Irvine, and also become a successful businesswoman running several different businesses with her husband.  As I've always said, it's hard to keep up with Dai Trang.  She's always running, while the rest of us are walking.

Thanh Ha

Dai Trang

Randy

There are two Amerasian singers that I must give credit to for helping me regain interest in singing.  Because of some personal matters, I had purposely put my career on hold and went on a seven years long hiatus from 2001-2008.  When I attended the funeral of a good friend, fellow Amerasian singer, Luu Quoc Viet, in 2008, I ran into Randy.  During this brief reunion for the two of us, Randy invited me to perform on a show in Oklahoma City, some benefit for Amerasians.  This would be the first time I would walk on stage in seven years.  Thanks to Randy, I was again bitten by the singing bug.  Right around this time, I would also be reunited with another Amerasian singer friend, Thanh Ha.  One thing I've always liked about my friend, Thanh Ha, is that she always tells it like it is.  While everyone else wouldn't have the heart to tell me I had gained too much weight, Thanh Ha sat me down once and said, "Listen to me, Thien Phu, if you really want to go back into singing, since you still can sing, the first thing you must do is lose weight."  When Thanh Ha and I first were reunited after so many years, I weighed at 236 pounds.  I know I had put on weight.  But I didn't realize the severity of it, until someone had to tell me.  Thanh Ha helped push me with the determination I needed to lose all that weight.  We became even closer than before.  But after a period of a couple years, our lives caused a distance in our friendship.  No matter what, I still consider her a good friend to this day.  The image I have of Thanh Ha will always remain as a beautiful Amerasian girl who at one point was like a sister to me. 

I can honestly say I've been fortunate not to have faced such discrimination being an Amerasian singer for Vietnamese audiences.  The singing profession has allowed to meet many incredible people, in particular other Amerasians.  While I'm aware that discrimination toward Amerasians from both Vietnamese, as well as from mainstream Americans do exist, I'm a bit puzzled as to why there is such discrimination especially from Vietnamese.  After all, before there were us Amerasians, there were Eurasians from the French colonial era.  I've met and worked with quite a few during all my years as a Vietnamese singer.  Among these Eurasians from the French colonial era, there have been Luu Hong, Dung Thanh Lam, the late Cai Luong performer and film actor, Jeannie Mai, my late aunt, Pauline Ngoc, Marie Louise, Christiane Le and Julie Quang, whose father was a French national of Indian origin.  So when you think about it, Vietnamese people are not that homogenous as a race.  There have been interracial Vietnamese people for centuries.  What's so new and shocking with Amerasians?  We clearly are in existence.  Get used to it, because we're not going anywhere anytime soon. 

Ai Ve Song Tuong - Thien Phu

Ever since I was a little kid, I've loved this song.  Despite the fact that I hadn't really gotten into Vietnamese music just yet, from as long as I remember I had always been enchanted by this song's melody.  Of course, I really had no idea what this song was about as a child, but I do recall that somehow I had managed to know the lyrics by heart and would sing along to it every time I heard it.  Well, I must confess that I was only able to sing along to the lyrics verbatim.  I'm sure, my pronunciation in Vietnamese back then was ghastly in song and was probably as remote from what is considered to be proper Vietnamese as one could even imagine.  But that didn't matter to me all that much in comparison to the reactions I would get whenever I'd sing this song in front of my mothers' friends at parties and get-togethers.  Even as a child, I had already started my life long love affair of entertaining and performing in front of an audience. 

"Ai Ve Song Tuong" was a last minute decision among my selection of songs on my album, "Ngay Em Di".  Originally I had been scheduled to record a cover version of a popular contemporary Vietnamese hit song entitled, "Hoa Tim Ngay Xua" (written and composed by Thanh Son) to be featured as the tenth track on the album.  I remember how enthralled I was with that song immediately after attending a live concert of Thu Phuong in Saigon during the summer of 1998, in which she had delivered a gorgeous live performance of "Hoa Tim Ngay Xua".  When I returned to the United States, I kept bugging my friend, musician Vu Anh Tuan, to come up with the arrangements to the song for me to record on my next album.  Although he had done an adequate job with the arrangements, he did confess to me that he really didn't care much for the song and also felt that the song was not suitable for my singing voice.  As it turns out, he was absolutely right.  As soon as I got into the recording studio to begin recording Hoa Tim Ngay Xua, immediately after the first take, I then realized this song and my voice were just not meant for one another.  I was really disappointed with myself.  And to make matters worse, my good friend, Alan Nguyen, who was my recording engineer for most of the tracks on the "Ngay Em Di" album would jokingly ask me over and over, "So what exactly were you smoking while you were in Vietnam that caused you to select this song to record?"


With only completed recordings of 9 tracks and still short of one more for the album just days before the scheduled release date, I was in total panic to say the least.  There was no way that I could just delay the release date for this album.  Besides the financial losses that would take place should the release date for the album be delayed with all the costs of prepaid advertisements and promotions for the album, and the possibility of more financial loss in not being able to fulfill the pre-orders from several music retailers, a live show to be held at the Majestic Nightclub in Orange County for the release of this album had already been planned and scheduled with a significant number of presold tickets already disbursed.  I was really that close to having a nervous breakdown by then.  But just when I was about to throw in the towel, I turn to Alan Nguyen to see if he could help me in this difficult predicament.  And wouldn't you know it, like a knight and shining armor, Alan came through by rescuing me with his unique arrangments of this classical Vietnamese song I had loved for quite some time.  When I first heard Alan's arrangements for "Ai Ve Song Tuong", I couldn't even recognize it.  It wasn't until I got in the recording studio and Alan handed me the sheet music with the lyrics to "Ai Ve Song Tuong" instructing me to just speak the lyrics to the rhythm and beat from the music arrangements he had just made for the song.  After just one take, Alan turned to me and said, "That's a wrap!  You got it, kid!"  And that was how I recorded "Ai Ve Song Tuong" in the studio. 

Huong Tho - Singer and TV/ Radio Personality

Before the release of the album, "Ngay Em Di", I'd have to say that I was most apprehensive of my  recording of the track, "Ai Ve Song Tuong".  I kept thinking to myself that there would be no way possible that anyone should like it.  Afterall, I didn't even sing it.  Instead, all I did with the recording of this song was just speak.  So when I would later discover how this song had become a favorite to many listeners of Little Saigon Radio, as one of the hostess, my good friend and fellow singer, Huong Tho, had taken a real liking to it and so it had been given quite a bit of airplay, I was really delighted yet completely surprised.  I really appreciate the kindness and generosity Huong Tho has given to me and this song.  That is why I dedicate this version I had recorded of "Ai Ve Song Tuong" to the beautiful and gracious, Huong Tho, herself. 

Anh Tu.... Je Pense à Lui

It's hard to believe but it has been more than 10 years since Anh Tu's passing.  I miss him dearly and from time to time feel that his spirit is still here with us on earth.  Of course, I'm fully aware that there is no scientific proof to back up what I feel and intellectually, this could be due to the fact that part of me refuses to let go and accept what is reality. There have been times where I've sensed his spirit so strongly beside me,  I can almost say that I've never felt as sure about anything else.

Anh Tu was one of those people that can leave a lasting impression with just about anyone upon the very first meeting with him.  He was that charismatic.  Prior to my first meeting with Anh Tu, of course, I had already known of him through his recordings and several live concert shows I had attended that where he and his sister, Khanh Ha, along with the rest of their family band members known as the Uptight had headlined.  I have always been a huge fan of both his sister, Khanh Ha, and older brother, Tuan Ngoc.  To this day, they are still among my all time favorite Vietnamese singers.  Although I had enjoyed some of the recordings Anh Tu had done on several cassettes produced by Khanh Ha Productions that I had owned, I really didn't pay that much attention to him as a vocalist, as I had done with his siblings that were more famous.  Although it was undeniable that all 7 members of this family of singers had been blessed with musical genes and tremendous talent, the success that both Tuan Ngoc and Khanh Ha had achieved being deemed as the top male and top female vocalists, respectively, of Vietnamese pop music for many years along with the popularity Luu Bich, the youngest sibling, later on overshadowed Anh Tu as a performer.  Anh Tu's impeccable ability to harmonize with perfect pitch had been taken notice of by his family from early on which is why he had been chosen to sing background vocals for the Uptight, while his other siblings sang lead.  Being in the background, he always struck me as being the shy, timid member of the family.  However, Anh Tu's talents were not overlooked completely as he, too, was able to achieve longevity as a successful singer and acquired a cult following of loyal fans that remained throughout his entire career.

When I think about how Anh Tu and I first met, our friendship almost never happened.  It was on a night at the Can club here in Orange County, Southern California.  The year was 1996.  At any of the Vietnamese nightclubs that I had worked at, every now and then some special event would take place sponsored by some organization.  On this particular night, the show was sponsored by an organization known as Club O'Noodles, an innovative group of young Vietnamese actors that had achieved notoriety for their plays that focused on issues of the day such as women's rights and gay rights.  I was singing over at the Queen Bee in Stanton, California.  It was a slow night, so I was able to go home early along with some of the other singers.  I had heard about this event over at the Can club, and since it was only midnight, I figured why not drop by and relax for a bit before I would head on home.  Right when I got to the Can club, I ran into some friends, singers Hoang Liem and Jenny Trang when I went to go greet the owner, singer Le Uyen who also goes by the name, Wendy.  As a singer, wherever you go whether it's the club where you work or not, people will ask you to come up on stage to sing a song or two.  Wendy kept on insisting I go on stage to sing a song.  As she says, and I'm sure she says this with every singer who drops by her club, "Please sing me a song.  I haven't heard you sing in so long."  Before I had the chance to even agree to singing a song that night, I was hit with the instructions from Wendy that after Hoang Liem went on stage, he would introduce my name, and after I'm finished with my song, I was supposed to introduce Jenny Trang.  Hoang Liem sang his song and introduced me on stage.  And after I was done singing Aline, which was the song that I took with me everywhere I went during that time.  And as soon as I was done, I did just what Wendy had instructed me to do, which was introduce Jenny Trang.  As the crowd applauded I saw Jenny walk up toward the stage and prepared to hand the microphone over to her.  All of the sudden, Anh Tu appeared out of nowhere, took the microphone from my hand and introduced another singer on stage.  I was in total shock.  I thought to myself, "What a jerk!  Who does he think he is to snatch away the microphone from my hand?  And how dare he embarrass Jenny Trang by introducing someone else on stage like that?" 

I was just livid.  I walked Jenny back to the bar counter.  As I was fuming, I told Wendy to get me another shot of Tequila.  And then another.  And another.  I think I called Anh Tu every name in the book as I vowed to Wendy that he should steer clear away from me or else.  As far as I was concerned, Anh Tu was dead meat.  I had never been so humiliated.  Wendy tried her best to calm me down.  Just as I was about to leave, Wendy persuaded me to stay a little longer to listen to Jenny sing.  Shortly thereafter, Anh Tu went on stage and reintroduced Jenny along with an apology for the mix up.  The sincerity in his voice was so convincing that Jenny readily agreed to walk back onto the stage.  It made things calm down a bit.  But I was still miffed.  I thought to myself, "Well, Anh Tu cleared things up with Jenny.  But what about me?"

A couple weeks went by before I would see Anh Tu again.  I was still mad.  But then on one Friday night, two weeks from that disastrous previous meeting with Anh Tu, my friend, Christopher, convinced me to swing by and hang out at the Can club.  When I walked in, I saw that the club was rather empty.  Christopher quickly saw Anh Tu sitting at the table with other singers and suggested that we go over to say hi.  I told him that I'd rather not and proceeded to the bar counter to talk with Wendy.  As I drank and talked with Wendy, I noticed Anh Tu passing by me a few times.  Christopher kept coming back and forth from Anh Tu's table to the bar counter to tell me that Anh Tu really wanted to talk to me.  I responded by saying, "Well, tell him to come over to me.  Why should I come to him?"  A few minutes later, the situation between myself and Anh Tu only got worse when he got on stage and sang "Aline".  I thought to myself, "Oh, that does it!  How dare he sing my song?  After what happened a few weeks ago, I'm really going to give it to him." 

When he got down from the stage, Anh Tu walked over to the bar counter where I sat.  He ordered two beers and brought them over to me.  He handed one to me and said, "You must be Thien Phu."  Just when I was about ready to really give it to him, Anh Tu flashed his dazzling smile at me and that was it.  He went on to explain how he didn't know that I had introduced Jenny Trang on stage that night, given how crowded and noisy it was at the Can club that night, and that he had been instructed to introduce another singer by the band since there was no emcee.  From that moment on, we became the best of friends.

Anh Tu and Thien Phu.

There have been three people that have been most influential throughout my career as a singer; Ngoc Lan, Julie Quang and of course, Anh Tu.  Both Ngoc Lan and Julie had been my idols.  Anh Tu, on the other hand, I had met as a colleague at first.  But the more I got to know him, the more I realized there is just no one like him.  Anh Tu had a way of making everyone around him feel comfortable and laughing constantly with his jokes.  I remember once he made me laugh so uncontrollably right before I got on stage to do a song, I couldn't stop laughing and had to walk off the stage during the middle of the song.  That was Anh Tu.

Throughout the course of our friendship, Anh Tu showed me his kindness and generosity by always giving me the best advice both in the music business and in life.  When it was time for me to record my debut album, Tiec Nho, Anh Tu was one of the driving forces behind it.  He said, "You must put yourself out there.  How the hell will anyone ever hear of Thien Phu unless you do an album?"  That got me to thinking.  That is why I'm forever grateful to him.  To me, he was more like family.  He was always there for me whenever I needed him every minute of the day.  There never was any rivalry what so ever between Anh Tu and myself.  On one particular weekend, coincidentally Anh Tu and I both had separate bookings to perform in Seattle.  Anh Tu and his sister, Khanh Ha, were headlining at some hotel in Seattle that weekend, while I was singing at the Palace nightclub.  Just to show how wonderful he was, right before the trip Anh Tu and I went shopping for clothes and he picked out the outfit for me to wear.  On the night of that performance, when I got back to the hotel, Anh Tu telephoned me to ask if everything went alright with my performance and to make sure that I wore the outfit he had selected.  That just goes to show just how wonderful and caring of a person Anh Tu was. 

The day Anh Tu died was probably one of the worst days of my life.  I remember receiving a telephone call from Viet Dzung with the startling news.  I dropped everything and rushed over to UCI Medical Center to be there with him.  I didn't want to believe what I had just heard.  After I parked my car, I saw Tuan Ngoc and his wife, Thai Thao, exiting the hospital with his father, Mr. Lu Lien.  I looked at Tuan Ngoc and asked, "How is he?"  I'll never forget the look in his eyes when he said, "I'm sorry, Phu.  He's gone!"  I couldn't help but burst into tears and put my arms around him.  I ran into the hospital to Anh Tu's room hoping what they just told me was a lie.  But it wasn't.  He was indeed gone. 

Part of me to this day still can't believe that Anh Tu has died.  I still hear his voice momentarily.  I feel his spirit.  In my heart, Anh Tu has never left us and is always surrounding me everywhere I go.  I truly miss him. 

Ngoc Lan - Voice of an Angel: Memories of a Big Sister, Idol, and Inspiration 20...

Ngoc Lan - Big Sister, Idol and Inspiration to Thien Phu



Thien Phu, Ngoc Lan and Perry Zeild - 1989

Poster of Ngoc Lan Autographed
to Thien Phu

Ngoc Lan - Voice of an Angel: Memories of a Big Sister, Idol, and Inspiration 2014: I have told this story several times before.  Among the various blogs, social media websites and tribute sites that had been created by Ngoc...NgocLanRemembered.BlogSpot.com

Thien Phu - Ngay Em Di (When You Left)

Title Track of Thien Phu Album, "Ngay Em Di"

It has been said that this song I had recorded was the Vietnamese equivalent to "Ne Me Quitte Pas".  When I recorded this song, it was the then recent passing of my good friend, singer Michelle Diem My, that I thought of.  Now when I listen to this recording, two other friends also come to mind that have also passed; Anh Tu, and of course, La Suong Suong.

Anh Tu

La Suong Suong

Michelle Diem My


 

  

Facebook.com/ThienPhuVietSinger

Facebook.com/ThienPhuVietSinger

Hi there, friends!  I have set up a Facebook page about my music and writings.  It has been about a week now, and I've had 139 likes.  Thanks! 
By the way, my big sister, singer Dai Trang, was the first person to like my Facebook page.  Isn't she sweet?

Julie and Me

I remember the first time I saw Julie Quang, the famous Vietnamese singer, was on a television weekly show called Vietnam Program which aired each Saturday morning on KSCI, channel 18.  I was about 14 years old at the time and hadn't really gotten into Vietnamese music all that much yet.   Having left Vietnam at such a young age and lived in the United States for so many years, I had been Americanized and like many typical Vietnamese-American kids I had found Vietnamese music altogether rather boring.  Each week I would see Vietnamese singer after Vietnamese singer appearing on television singing the saddest songs, wearing "ao dai" after "ao dai", our Vietnamese traditional dress for women's attire, and looking so lifeless as they each would stand still, almost motionless while lip-synching to the lyrics.  Not to discredit the following artists, but I had gotten really tired of seeing Huong Lan, Khanh Ly, and Thanh Thuy week after week doing basically the same thing over and over again as they appeared as the special guests during the music segment of the weekly show.  Just when I was about to give up on the possibility of acquiring any interest in Vietnamese music and performing arts, one day I saw Julie's performance on Vietnam Program covering a French popular song, Enrico Macias' classic, Paris, Tu M'as Pris Dans Tes Bras,  my perspective on Vietnamese entertainers changed completely.

Unlike the rest of the Vietnamese singers I had seen before, Julie stood out with a distinct look and sound of her own.  Instead of wearing an "ao dai", Julie appeared dressed as a French male waiter with a drawn-on mustache for the first half of the music video and then changes into an elegant evening gown for the second half.  I loved how natural her gestures were as she mouthed the words in French and Vietnamese.  She looked so beautiful and chic.  And then there was her singing voice, so likable, yet so unique.  But what really caught my attention about Julie was the fact that she really didn't look Vietnamese.  I remember asking my mother, what is she?  Is she Vietnamese?  South American?  Italian?  She can't be Vietnamese.  My mother answered to me, "She's just like you.  A mixed Vietnamese."

My mother would later on tell me about how she had known Julie from way back in the day in Saigon, South Vietnam prior to 1975.  You see, my grandmother back in Vietnam had owned a popular cabaret nightclub in Saigon called Au Ma Cabane where many famous Vietnamese singers performed there nightly.  Among the line-up of regular performers was a Vietnamese pop music group known as the Dreamers, which were comprised mainly of the children of the late legendary Vietnamese composer, Pham Duy. The group started out with two lead vocalists.  Duy Quang, Pham Duy's oldest son,  the group's male lead vocalist and his then girlfriend, a beautiful half-Indian, half-Vietnamese girl named Julie,  the group's female lead vocalist.  The Dreamers first found their success performing at clubs and music venues around Saigon which catered to primarily US military personnel and civilians whom were either stationed or working in Vietnam, respectively, during the years of the US involvement in the Vietnam War.  Upon becoming Duy Quang's bride, Julie would then become known as Julie Quang.

Julie Quang and Duy Quang during a performance in Saigon, 1970.

By the time of the Dreamers' collaboration at my grandmother's nightclub, Au Ma Cabane, Julie Quang had gone solo after she had achieved stardom with her recording of Mua Thu Chet, a song that had been penned by her father-in-law, Pham Duy, and was inspired by the French poem, "L'adieu", by Guillaume Apollinaire.  Julie Quang was then one of the headliners as a solo act at a larger nightclub in Saigon called the Ritz and only occasionally would appear with the Dreamers over at Au Ma Cabane, since the group's new female lead vocalist was now Duy Quang's younger sister, Thai Hien.  According to my mother, what she remembered of Julie Quang back in the day was that she was "incredibly beautiful', that she "looked like a French or Italian girl" despite of her being of part Vietnamese and part Indian mixed origin , and that "Duy Quang was one lucky man to have landed her."

My friendship with Julie would begin while I had already gone into the singing profession.  I had been a tremendous fan of her music for many years before we actually met.  From that moment I had first watched Julie on television, I was a die-hard fan.  From that French song she sang on television led me to many other of Julie's recordings I would come to love.  I started collecting all of the cassettes that Julie had appeared on, whether it be her solo albums or her recordings on compilation cassettes featuring various artists produced by Asia Productions, Kim Ngan, Da Lan, etc.  Especially on those compilation cassettes featuring various artists, I would find myself often taking a liking to the songs recorded by Julie the most on each cassette.  I loved the way she sang in French, particularly her cover renditions of  "Chanson d'Orphee", "Qui Sait", "Une Femme a 40 Ans", "Parlez Moi de Lui", "Cheri", "Tu Te Reconnaitras", "Une Femme d'Aujourdhui".  And the list goes on and on.  Among her solo studio albums that had been released during the 1980s, "Ngan Nam Van Doi", released in 1987, and "Vao Thu Nua Doi", released in 1989, I had loved so much that I had to buy several copies after they were worn out from being played and replayed repetitively on a daily basis.  After so many years idolizing Julie and her music, one could just imagine how thrilling it was when I finally got to meet her.

I'll never forget the first night I met Julie.  Actually, we had met a few times in the past whenever I had gone to watch her perform at her live shows.  At these shows, I would make it a point to come up and greet  her with compliments just like the rest of her fans.  But this would be our first meeting where we had an actual conversation.  It was sometime in the fall of 1995.  I was singing at bars, coffee shops, and weddings with a local band.  Occasionally I would fill in for more established singers at the bigger nightclubs such as the Queen Bee and the Majestic whenever they were out of town touring.  Every time I would get a call to fill in for one of the singers at any of the nightclubs, I would jump at the opportunity because I had been told that by singing at these places would give me better exposure that I needed to further my singing career than I would singing at bars and coffee shops.  One of those nights at the Queen Bee would also be an event held in honor of Viet Hung, the late legendary performer of Vietnamese opera known as "cai luong".  It was a star studded event, as all the famous overseas Vietnamese singers were in attendance.  Among them was Julie.

Huy Khanh, the late famous Vietnamese film actor and singer from back in the day in Saigon, was manager of the Queen Bee nightclub and also whom I had affectionately referred to as  "Dad" was the person who introduced me to Julie that night.  I was really nervous and really didn't expect her to be so warm and welcoming.  We immediately exchanged numbers that night.  From then on a close friendship between Julie and myself was firmly established and continues to this day.

We've gone through a lot during the years of our friendship.  She experienced the death of her mother.  I experienced the loss of my grandmother.  Together, we both experienced the loss of another performer, Anh Tu, whom was also a close friend of Julie's.  We've been at times like mother and son.  When I think about it, she has been like a second mother to me.  Julie was generous enough to have contributed a song on my debut album, "La Vie En Rose", in which she had sung beautifully in both Vietnamese and French.  One of the things Julie taught me, which I'll never forget was when I'm in the recording studio, I should sing from the heart while standing still rather than to act it in animation.  For those who know me personally, that's something I tend to do, which is I speak with my hands.  Three people I'll always hold dear to my heart for helping me during the production of my first album, the late Anh Tu, Alan Nguyen, and of course, Julie.

It's been a while since Julie has participated in the music industry.  For the most part, Julie is pretty much retired from singing.  Not because her fans no longer exist.  Believe me, her fans have stayed loyal to her.  I hear her music being played all the time whenever I'm at a Vietnamese restaurant.  I tell her all the time that her fans are waiting for her return to the stage.  Her response usually is, maybe someday.  All I can say is, don't make us wait too long. 

Thien Phu and Julie