Vietnamese Composer/Songwriter: Lam Phương

When talking about the living legends of the music and entertainment world of Vietnam, I definitely cannot and will not overlook our beloved songwriter of more than 50 years, Lam Phương. When Lam Phương was a young lad, he actually was very poor, but his road to stardom took off like a rocket!  He rose to stardom quickly and was considered one of the wealthiest songwriters of South Vietnam. This was the period before the Vietnam War ended in 1975.  

Mr. Lam Phương, born as Lâm Đình Phùng on 03/20/1937 in Kiên Giang, Rạch Giá, Vietnam, started writing music at the tender age of 15 and became publicly known at the age of 16, only a year later.  His beautiful songs are all about love—love for his country, love for his lovers, and love for his friends. This living legend is another hopelessly romantic person. 

With more than 200 beautiful songs written by him, my three most favorite melodies from Lam Phuong are “Cỏ Úa,” "Kiếp Nghèo," and “Nắng Đẹp Miền Nam.” Each of these three melodies has its own beautiful, very different rhythm and lyrics, yet, you can tell they are distinctively his. 

The historical event that took place on 04/30/1975 (the end of Vietnam War), Mr. Lam Phương was among the 125,000 people who left Vietnam, the first wave of Vietnamese boat people. He then resided in the USA and moved to France. In 1995, he moved back to USA. In early 1999, Mr. Lam Phương suffered from a brain stroke and became partially disabled, including speech complications. 

I admire Mr. Lam Phương for his courage, his passion for love, for music, and for life. No matter how his life has changed tragically through time, nothing could stop his loving heart from writing more beautiful melodies. This is my dedication to the music idol of many generations, a living legend of the music and entertainment world of Vietnam, Lam Phương. 

I've uploaded two of my most favorite songs/melodies from Lam Phuong on my YouTube channel, "Kiếp Nghèo" and "Cỏ Úa."

To watch my upload of "Kiếp Nghèo," performed by Khánh Ly, click on the link below: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr8K5A7Fxuo

To watch my upload of "Cỏ Úa," performed by Lâm Thúy Vân and Đan Nguyên, click on the link below: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3neHnPPyb00

To watch my upload of "Cỏ Úa," performed by Lân Thúy Vân and Don Ho, click on the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExO37nY_7EA

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