Famous singer Thanh Tuyen: From earning 5 taels of gold per 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 when in 1959, she won the "Dalat 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

Singer Thanh Tuyen was known for her unmistakable voice when she was young.

With a strong, youthful voice that resonated throughout the schoolyard, 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 musician Nguyen Van Dong heard the song "Vong gac dem dew" on the radio, he felt her aspirations. 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 the 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 sang, you could immediately tell that Thanh Tuyen was unmistakable because of her special voice and her unique and strange way of singing bolero. She sang in a white voice, with a high-pitched, humming, and deep voice.

Thanh Tuyen had experienced 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 they had 3 children. However, when the third child was only 1 month old, Thanh Tuyen's husband left for America and promised to bring the mother and children later, but after waiting for 3 years, the female singer did not receive any 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 mother".

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. After years of singing to earn money, Thanh Tuyen had to work as a worker, doing manual labor. She cried and suppressed her pain to try her best, thinking 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 to her 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 a solid support for Thanh Tuyen to not fall down and 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 greatest 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 have lived together for more than 30 years but no one knows my husband's face. My husband said: You are an artist, just appearing is enough. I am with you, the audience does not know who you are." Indeed, he is both my life partner, my teacher and the most difficult audience I have ever met. Although I am not an artist, every time I sing a new song, he gives me feedback 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 is 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 did not 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 more than enough pain in life 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.