Mai Hương (1949-2020) was a Vietnamese singer who had come from one of the most well known and respected lineages of Vietnamese entertainers. Her parents were
Pham Dinh Sy and stage and film actress
Kieu Hanh who was mostly known for having acted in such plays as
Loi Vu and
Trong Bong Hau Truong and in feature films like
Chung Toi Muon Song (We Want to Live) (1956)
starring
Le Quynh and
Mai Tram and
Song Tinh (1972) starring
Tham Thuy Hang. Her father was the eldest brother of
Pham Dinh Viem who was also known as singer
Hoai Trung of the Northern Vietnamese singing group,
Thang Long. He also had three younger half-siblings,
Pham Thi Quang Thai, a singer known as
Thai Hang who was also the wife of legendary composer
Pham Duy,
Pham Dinh Chuong, a songwriter and singer known as
Hoai Bac and
Pham Thi Bang Thanh, Vietnam's most celebrated legendary female singer of popular music known as
Thai Thanh.
Born in Da Nang in 1941,
Pham Thi Mai Huong spent her childhood years moving from various different cities throughout Vietnam including Hue, Hanoi and finally, Saigon, which would become her permanent home from the age of 11 up until 1975 when she left her homeland just days prior to the Fall of Saigon. Before making her stage debut as a singer, Mai Huong as a child had made her first appearance on stage as an actress with a small part in the play.
Tam Guong Nhi Nu, starring her aunts and uncles, Thai Thanh, Hoai Trung, Hoai Bac and
Khanh Ngoc. At the age of 12, she successfully competed in the vocals talent search hosted by
Pháp Á French-Vietnamese Radio Broadcasting held at the Norodom Venue. The following year Mai Huong performed her first solo, Han Ly Huong written by Anh Hoa, on stage in front of a live audience.
During her senior year at Nguyen Ba Tong High School in Saigon, Mai Huong had also enrolled at Quoc Gia Am Nhac, which was then known as National Conservatory of Music and has since been renamed as Conservatory of Ho Chi Minh City. During her 3 years at National Conservatory of Music, she learned to play the violin and the dan tranh, a Vietnamese plucked zither instrument similar to the Japanese koto, She also studied French and took many courses to hone her skills in chorale music vocals while at the conservatory.
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| Mai Hương on Her Wedding Day (1960) |
From the mid-1950s until 1975, Mai Huong enjoyed one of the longest tenures as a professional singer for Radio Vietnam. She worked alongside such renowned Vietnamese vocalists like Thai Thanh, Quynh Giao, Chau Ha, Mai Han, Mai Ngan, Anh Ngoc, Thanh Vu, Moc Lan, Duy Trac, Ha Thanh and Hoang Oanh. Mai Huong introduced songs written and composed by some of Vietnam's most prolific songwriters such as Pham Duy, Van Cao, Van Phung, Y Van and Ngoc Bich and became one of the most recognizable voices throughout Vietnam. Among the most popular songs interpreted by Mai Huong include Suoi Toc written by Van Phung, Gui Gio Cho May Ngan Bay written by Doan Chuan and Tu Linh, Ta Tu written by To Vu, Dua Em Tim Dong Hoa Vang written by Pham Duy and Chieu Mo written by Ngoc Bich. In addition, she also hosted a program for Radio Vietnam as narrator of short stories and novels.
Mai Huong had gained national stardom through Radio Vietnam, but unlike most other singers in Vietnam of her day she rarely made any live performances. For more than a decade since turning professional, she shied away from performing at nightclubs and cabarets. Finally, in 1970 after having repeatedly turned down offers from various nightclub owners and promoters, Mai Huong agreed to a 6-month contract to perform nightly at the prestigious
Tu Do cabaret venue in Saigon which was then run by singer
Khanh Ly. However, on the very last night of her 6-month engagement at Tu Do, tragedy struck when a bomb exploded inside the nightclub unexpectedly which left at least 20 victims injured and took the life of actress
Thuy Ngoc, wife of musician
Le Van Hien. Although Mai Huong did not suffer any serious physical injuries, the traumatic experience devastated her so that she swore off to performing at cabarets altogether.
On April 22, 1975, just 8 days before the Fall of Saigon, Mai Huong and her family left their native Vietnam for the United States. After a week spent in Guam, they resettled in Southern California making it their permanent new home. Beginning a new life in the United States faraway from her homeland, Mai Huong had already prepared herself mentally for the likelihood that she would not be able to continue with her music career. Since the Vietnamese community in the United States during the 1970s was still at its early stages of development, she was well aware of the limitations set out against her should she choose to continue pursuing her career in music. Mai Huong then embarked on an entirely different new profession and became a full time employee at Bank of America. Just as she was settling into a quiet life with a daily nine to five routine, the small but growing overseas Vietnamese entertainment industry then came calling for her once again. Her first one-night engagement performing for an overseas Vietnamese audience was in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The well received performance then led to numerous other gigs as the overseas Vietnamese population gradually increased with new arrivals of refugees on an almost weekly basis during the final years of the 1970s. For more than two decades, Mai Huong sucessfully juggled a full time job at Bank of America on weekdays, traveling off to faraway places performing at live shows for Vietnamese communities across the United States and Canada on weekends while maintaining a family life. In 1977, Mai Huong toured France as the featured special guest along with a gala of other overseas Vietnamese performance artists in a live show revue directed by musician/show promoter
Hoang Thi Tho. Ten years later, she would be invited back on another successful European tour where she played to overseas Vietnamese audiences in France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland. Mai Huong had also performed in concert for the Vietnamese community of Australia.
During the 1980s, Mai Huong along with fellow singers
Kim Tuoc and Quynh Giao formed the trio,
Tieng To Dong, which specialized in performing the genre of Vietnamese classical music known as
Nhac Tien Chien. She recorded a total of 10 solo studio albums for various overseas Vietnamese music production labels such as
Truong Hai,
Diem Xua Productions,
Mai Ngoc Khanh,
Giang Ngoc and
Tu Quynh. In 1982,
Bong Ngay Qua, her first solo studio album for the overseas Vietnamese market was released under the label,
Tu Quynh. Among her most well received solo studio albums include
Giac Mo Hoi Huong (1983),
Nhat Canh Sao Roi (1990),
Di Choi Chua Huong (1993),
Tinh Ca Duong Thieu Tuoc (1992),
Vang Phai May La (1997),
Lo Chuyen Do (2000) and
Nhu Ngon Gio Buon Roi (2002). In addition to her interpretations of Vietnamese classical music, Mai Huong was also a highly respected gospel singer.
Retired from Bank of America since 2000, Mai Hương and her husband resided in the Los Angeles County suburb of Rowland Heights, California. Married since the age of 19, she and her husband were parents to 4 grown children. On November 29, 2020, Mai Hương passed away at the age of 78, just 9 days shy of what would have been her 79th birthday.
