Famous singer Thanh Tuyen: From earning 5 taels of gold a night, suddenly became a printing worker

Singer Thanh Tuyen's real name is Pham Nhu Mai, born and raised in Da Lat. She is the eldest sister in a poor family of 15 siblings. Thanh Tuyen started her singing career in 1959 when she won the "Da Lat Prodigy" award with the song "Beautiful Southern Sunshine" by musician Lam Phuong. In the following years, Thanh Tuyen went to school and sang at the radio station, and was taught basic music theory by her uncle.

The singer is sought after by many people with a salary of 5 taels of gold per night.

Young singer Thanh Tuyen was known for her unmistakable voice.

With a strong, youthful voice, resonating and making the whole school yard bustling, Thanh Tuyen's voice seemed to burn with a dream, a hope for the bustling city that nurtured her dream of becoming a professional singer. When listening to the radio, musician Nguyen Van Dong heard the song "Watching the misty night" by Thanh Tuyen, expressing her feelings of those desires. At that time, he talked about Thanh Tuyen's parents and family, who nodded in agreement to let her go to glamorous Saigon to start her singing career.

Within only 8 months of being in Saigon, Thanh Tuyen had released CDs and introduced them to music lovers. Like a strange bird from the land of fog, a wild flower still wet with dew, Thanh Tuyen quickly won the admiration of Saigon music lovers. After 17 shows, the name Nhu Mai given by her parents was changed by musician Nguyen Van Dong to the stage name Thanh Tuyen - as an implication of her beautiful voice like the green stream of Da Lat Plateau.

At the age of 19, Thanh Tuyen started singing at dance halls. With a salary of about 5 taels of gold per night, Thanh Tuyen became one of the most famous names in Saigon at that time. When she started singing, you could immediately tell she was Thanh Tuyen because of her unique voice and unique bolero singing style. She sang in a white voice, with a high-pitched, melodious, and deep voice.

Thanh Tuyen had gone through bitter times, many sufferings that until now she still thinks are familiar pains.

Then, to avoid boring the audience, Thanh Tuyen sang a duet with Che Linh - a singer who was also admired and sought after at that time.

At the age of 21, Thanh Tuyen got married to a man who was also of high status at that time, and three children were born one after another. However, when the third child was only one month old, Thanh Tuyen's husband left for America and promised to bring the three mother and children over later, but after waiting for three years, the singer received no news. Thanh Tuyen lived in fear, thinking that something bad had happened to her husband, but she still had hope.

Having to be both a mother and a father, Thanh Tuyen felt extremely miserable. Of course everything will pass, but until now, when she recalls it, she still feels shudder, as if she were a "super mom".

The fateful turn

In 1975, Thanh Tuyen and her three children went to America with the family of a friend who had been with her during the difficult days in Saigon, hoping to find a father for the three children. But the day of reunion was also the day Thanh Tuyen was heartbroken when she heard that her husband was happy with someone new.

Starting a new life in America with a job other than a singer - Thanh Tuyen worked as a worker for a printing factory. For years, she only knew how to sing to earn money but then had to work as a worker, manual labor. Thanh Tuyen cried and suppressed her pain to try her best with the thought that "I will take this sadness on myself" as long as her children do not suffer.

Having gone through much pain, Thanh Tuyen shared that she cherishes the present days because she doesn't know what will happen tomorrow.

But perhaps God created Thanh Tuyen to sing, so she only worked as a factory worker for 2 years. The person who was by Thanh Tuyen's side during her time in America was the one who helped her and her mother come to America. When her faith in life was broken, the man was the solid support for Thanh Tuyen not to fall, to have more motivation.

"My ex-husband abandoned me and my three children in Vietnam to go to America. Luckily, he was kind enough to ask after us and help us. As fate would have it, in a foreign land, we shared many things with each other and naturally bonded and have been living together ever since. I can't think of what made him and I stick together for so long. Maybe it was fate," Thanh Tuyen shared.

Sharing about her current husband, Thanh Tuyen said he is the great man in her life, the great father of her children, the man who only wants to stand behind and share success in her career with the famous female singer.

"We've lived together for more than 30 years, but no one knows my husband's face. My husband said: 'You're an artist, just showing up is enough. I'm with you, but the audience doesn't know who you are.'" Indeed, he is both my life partner, my teacher, and the most demanding audience I've ever met. Although I'm not an artist, every time I sing a new song, he comments on every note, pitch, and way of expressing emotions. If my husband is not satisfied, I have to sing it over and over again until he feels there's nothing to criticize. In the past, my husband only loved Thai Thanh's music. Later, he became fascinated with my singing. He once told his wife: "At first, your voice didn't leave much of an impression, but the more I listen, the more addicted I become," famous singer Thanh Tuyen shared.

Currently, the children of famous singer Thanh Tuyen all have their own families. She and her husband live in Texas, USA. On weekends, she performs, and during the week, the two of them are close, gardening, cooking, and enjoying the peaceful moments of their old age.

"I have gone through life with so much pain that sometimes I feel like those pains have become familiar. I have become enlightened in Buddhism. My husband and I practice at home so everything is very peaceful. Now for me, everything seems like nothing exists. I don't know what will happen tomorrow, the present life is the most precious," famous singer Thanh Tuyen once confided.