Tuan Ngoc

Tuan Ngoc: Overseas Vietnamese Crooner 

Tuan Ngoc (1947-     ) is Lu Lien's oldest son and the second eldest in a family of 7 siblings that would all become professional singers. From the age of 4, Tuan Ngoc had started singing on a national broadcast children's music radio program with other musical child prodigies in Vietnam.  Bich Chieu, the eldest member of the family of 7 children altogether, was the first to turn professional and had become one of the most popular singers at major cabarets and dance halls in Saigon.  Tuan Ngoc was the second of his siblings to make a living as a professional singer, when he followed in his older sister's footsteps and began performing for clubs and smaller venues around Saigon which catered to primarily US military personnel and civilians.  By his early 20s, Tuan Ngoc had gained significant popularity with his flawless interpretations of songs in the English language.

As Tuan Ngoc entered the 1970s decade, he continued performing at major nightclubs in Saigon and became associated with two of the most successful  singing groups of South Vietnam that specialized in performing live covers of popular American rock and roll and pop music tunes, known as The Top Five and The Strawberry Four, which consisted of fellow bandmates Duc Huy, Tung Giang and Billy Shane.  In 1971, Tuan Ngoc recorded five well-received Vietnamese ballads, particularly Ru Em written by Trinh Cong Son and Bai Khong Ten So 5 written by Vu Thanh An, alongside an ensemble of Vietnamese singers which included Khanh Ly, Le Thu and Duy Trac, entitled as Tu Quy.  In 1975, Tuan Ngoc left Vietnam and resettled in Southern California for a number of years.  During the beginning years of the overseas Vietnamese pop music scene in the United States which centered primarily around Orange County, California, many established Vietnamese artists such as Tuan Ngoc had found themselves in total frustration with the struggles of having to start all over and rebuilding their careers in a fledgling, newly developing industry which eventually prompted his decision to abandon Southern California and relocate to Hawaii sometime in the mid-1980s.  Before packing up to start his new life in the Aloha state, Tuan Ngoc had made a handful of memorable audio recordings for the Lang Van music production label, most notably a duet album, Chuyen Tinh Buon (1985), in which he was paired with popular Vietnamese singer Julie Quang.

Tuan Ngoc on Volume 6 of Asia Entertainment's
live show video series (1995)

After several years taking up residence in Hawaii where he had found steady work performing at local clubs for mostly non-Vietnamese audiences, Tuan Ngoc decided to give Southern California and the overseas Vietnamese music industry another chance.  As the Vietnamese community had become more established, which came along with a gradually expanding and thriving music scene, Tuan Ngoc was finally able to resume his career as a Vietnamese singer in full force.  His first notable appearance on audio during this comeback to the Vietnamese music scene was on a duet album he had recorded with Thai Hien for Diem Xua Productions released in 1989.  Shortly after, Tuan Ngoc began collaborating with numerous major music production labels within the Vietnamese music industry including Thuy Nga Paris, Asia Entertainment, Van Son Entertainment, Mây Productions and Khanh Ha Productions, formed by his younger sister, Khanh Ha, who had since become one of the biggest names among overseas Vietnamese singers.  Tuan Ngoc's singing career and popularity would reach unimaginable heights in the years since his return to the Vietnamese music scene.  To many performers of younger generations, Tuan Ngoc has become an iconic Vietnamese male vocalist and pop music idol. Married to the second eldest daughter of legendary Vietnamese composer Pham Duy, singer Thai Thao, since 1994, he is a proud father of two grown daughters (the eldest of which was from his first marriage to singer Annie Nga while the younger daughter is from his current marriage).  Together, this husband-and-wife team have performed in numerous sold-out live concert shows to Vietnamese audiences all over the world for the last two decades, a streak of tremendous success that firmly continues to this day for Tuan Ngoc and Thai Thao.

Tuan Ngoc and Thai Thao at a Live Performance

Tuấn Ngọc Performing Live in Concert
 Together With His Sisters, Khánh Hà and Lưu Bích 

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20 Most Handsome Vietnamese Men of All Time