Singer Thanh Mai "Dolls without love", the voice of Saigon, famous through 1 photo

In the Saigon music scene before 1975, although not the most famous singer, Thanh Mai was still known and loved by many people. She has a small physique, a cute gourmet face and a clear cheerful voice.

Her real name is Nguyen Thi Ngoc Mai, but her stage name is Thanh Mai. He first appeared on Vietnamese television in Xuan Phat's children's department with The Painting of the Countryside (Van Phung) at the age of 14.

Thanh Mai used to be a popular singer in Saigon before 1975. The singer was dubbed "Thanh Mai Doll" after her success with the once-popular song "Loveless Doll". In addition to outstanding musical talent, Thanh Mai is also loved by the public for her radiant physique. In her heyday, she was considered one of Saigon's colorful vocalists with a big face and big black eyes.

Singer Thanh Mai fell in love with music early on. After spending time in children's bands, the singer began pursuing her career in earnest at the age of 17. During a singing trip at the teahouse, the singer met musician Nguyen Anh 9. Realizing her potential, he accepted her as a student. "From the moment he put me on TV, I was famous. My life is like a dream. That time, I was happy. I became famous very early," Thanh Mai shared.

She became even more famous when she combined with singer Quoc Dung and became a popular duo at that time. Duo Thanh Mai - Quoc Dung performed 2 songs Ai Bring Em Back (Nguyen Anh 9) and Sideburns Short Strand Long Yarn (Pham Duy) on Saigon Television, which was extremely praised by the audience.

Both not only won the public's hearts with their lyrical music but also with their self-composed young music. When meeting singer Thanh Mai, musician Quoc Dung was inspired to compose some more songs suitable for her voice such as Homeland and Dream, Sea of Dreams, Together on Happy Days...

Not only famous in music, with her pretty face, Thanh Mai also made her mark on the film industry. During a trip to watch football at Republic Stadium, Thanh Mai met musician Lam Phuong and was invited by him to participate in the film Church Bell Steeple produced by Tuc Hong (wife of musician Lam Phuong).

After successfully auditioning for the role in this first film, director Le Hoang Hoa went on to invite Thanh Mai to participate in the film Underground Trap which was screened in 1972. In this film, Thanh Mai plays the daughter of the character played by actor Le Quynh. For this role, she was honored to receive the Best Supporting Actress award, which is an award for literature and art presented by the president personally.

Later, Thanh Mai was cast in a classic and popular Saigon comedy, The Year of the Clown King in the Village in 1974, released in February 1975. This film had the most famous actors in Saigon at that time: La Thoai Tan, Shen Thuy Hang, Thanh Nga, Thanh Duo, Tung Lam...

In early 1975, Thanh Mai was invited to join the band of the General People's Commissar, planning to go to France and Thailand to perform. The mornings when practicing singing choirs with many famous singers at that time, hometown songs such as Mother Chongduong (Pham Duy), are still good memories in Saigon. In the evening singing many tea rooms, recording tapes for Ngoc Chanh, Tung Giang, Quoc Dung centers and appearing on Saigon TV, Thanh Mai's musical activities are quite busy.

Sharing about the golden age, artist Thanh Mai said: "My income is 10 times that of my father. My father's monthly salary was about twenty thousand. My salary is about two hundred and tens of thousands. Because the artist gets a lot of rights, especially when doing commercials."

The photo of Thanh Mai sucking on the pendant is one of the famous and remembered photos by many people. Sharing about the origin of this photo, the singer said: "The photo was taken when I was 18 years old. The photographer gave me the name Thanh. He is the one who takes the most pictures of me because in his free time the two brothers go to shoot at the sights in Saigon."

Her name and career were on the rise when Thanh Mai married at the age of 19 and moved with her husband's family to France in June 1977. In France, Thanh Mai continued to sing and perform for compatriots in Europe and recorded 8 cassettes for the Phuong Nga Center in Paris in the early 80s in 3 books Phuong Nga 1,2, 3. Thanks to the remuneration, she bought the first used car in the country.

In 1983, Thanh Mai was invited to Houston, USA to sing Christmas season and visit Southern Cali to play. In 1984, the Liberty Teahouse in Orange County offered to collaborate for a month, and upon returning to France, she decided to move her family to the United States in November 1984. Invited by many Vietnamese communities in the United States to perform, Thanh Mai continues to make a living by singing. Her Young Love Song with Jo Marcel, Tung Giang, Duy Quang, Elvis Phuong sold well and continued to self-publish books 2, 3, 4 and New Wave music.

During a New Year's Eve concert in Houston, feeling lonely because he was away from his family, the singer decided to switch businesses and open Thanh Mai restaurant in 1988 in Little Saigon, Southern Cali.

Nearly 70 years old, singer Thanh Mai still has the innocent beauty of a Saigon era before April 1975, called "Thanh Mai doll" by fans because she sang Vu Xuan Hung's Vietnamese lyrics "Dolls Without Love", the French music sung by Thanh Lan, this version was very famous among young music lovers in the past.

Thanh Mai has a daughter who is also a promising young vocalist named Fatima, and the mother and daughter have performed together several times on stage.

Regarding her current life, singer Thanh Mai said: "Life is very comfortable. I'm no longer working in restaurants, I'm now working for a health insurance company for the Vietnamese community in the United States. Every week I go on TV to introduce insurance plans. My life is very peaceful."

Sharing about her partner, singer Thanh Mai said that he is always by her side despite going through many ups and downs in her life. The singer decided to stop her career after many years of hard work because she wanted to devote herself to her family: "I am lucky that my career lasts, I go to France and then to the United States to sing. I sang until I was over 40 before I stopped. I stopped singing because I wanted my husband to run a restaurant. At that time, I wanted to go back and take care of my family," she said

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