Trường Hải

Trường Hải (1938-2021) was a famous Vietnamese singer and songwriter.

Tạ Trường Hải was born in 1938 in the town of Sóc Trăng, South Vietnam.  At the age of 18, he along with fellow aspiring musician, Thanh Sơn, traveled to Saigon to enter a national singing contest.  Trường Hải's performance of the song, Gặp Nhau (written by Hoàng Thi Thơ), placed him in second behind his friend, Thanh Sơn, who had become the winner of the contest.  For the next several years, Trường Hải found work as a guitarist and saxophone player for various bands at some of the top cabarets in Saigon such as Kim Sơn, Hòa Bình and Đại Nam.  While working at these nightclubs, Trường Hải began his career as a songwriter.  His first published song was Còn Nhớ Tôi Không.  Other popular songs written by Trường Hải include Những Chiều Không Có Em, which was originally recorded and made famous by singer Hùng Cường, Nhịp Đàn Vui and Tình Ca Người Đi Biển.  In the early 1970s, Trường Hải formed his own band which headlined nightly at the Au Ma Cabane Nightclub in Saigon.  He also formed his own record label, simply called Trường Hải, and produced for various artists such as Nhật Thiên Lan, Giao Linh, Thanh Lan, Anh Khoa, Carol Kim, Mai Lệ Huyền, Thanh Thúy, Thái Thanh, Khánh Ly, Lệ Thu, Thanh Tuyền, Phương Dung, Nhật Trường and Trúc Mai.

In 1979, Trường Hải fled communist Vietnam along with his wife and two children by boat.  After a year spent at a refugee camp in Indonesia, he and his family resettled in Southern California.  In 1981, he reopened his music production label.  Among his most successful albums produced in the United States was a duet album recorded with singer Giao Linh, Khổ Qua (1986).  Following his divorce in the early 1990s, Trường Hải spent most of the decade living in Vietnam.  Trường Hải passed away in Orange County, California on June 11, 2021 after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease.