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Musician Vu Xuan Hung - author of a series of foreign hits with Vietnamese lyrics "Anh thi khong" and "Bup be khong tinh yeu" - passed away at the age of 79.
Ms. Xuan Hoa - the musician's wife - said that he passed away on the evening of May 1 after a period of treatment at Cho Ray Hospital (District 5). In the last years of his life, he suffered from many illnesses such as heart failure, respiratory failure, and difficulty walking. "He passed away peacefully because all his plans were completed," she said.
Singer Quang Thanh said that a few days ago, when he heard that his illness was serious, he and many other artists prayed together, hoping for a miracle. To him, Vu Xuan Hung is one of the best Vietnamese lyricists for foreign music, with a legacy of more than 100 songs. "He contributed to enriching Vietnamese music in the 1970s, helping many generations of singers make their mark on the public," Quang Thanh said.
Musician Vu Xuan Hung has been composing for over 50 years, becoming famous in the 1970s. He taught foreign languages and philosophy at many schools in Saigon. In addition to English, he knows French, German, and Italian, which makes it easy for him to translate foreign songs into Vietnamese. He did not join any Saigon bands, he taught himself music, and knows how to play guitar and piano.
In 1972, while working at a newspaper specializing in film and music, he set up an artists' roundtable, gathered a number of bands to discuss art, and started youth music programs at La San Taberd School (now Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted) and Hoa Lu Stadium. At that time, most of Saigon's youth bands had foreign names, and the songs performed were also in foreign languages. "I suddenly thought why not translate foreign songs into Vietnamese lyrics, so that the general public could understand the content of the very good foreign songs of that time. So I started doing it," he once said.
Together with many musicians such as Nguyen Trung Cang and Le Huu Ha, he tried to breathe Vietnamese soul into foreign music to stimulate the creation of purely Vietnamese songs. Many of his French songs with Vietnamese lyrics became hits, such as Bup be khong tinh yeu (Poupee De Cire Poupee De Son), Anh thi khong (Toi jamais), Biet khuc (Je Suis Parti), Dong song tuoi nho (La-maritza). Some of his works became classics, contributing significantly to the careers of many singers, such as Thanh Lan, Ngoc Lan, Y Lan, Duy Quang, Le Uyen.
After many years of settling in the US, in 1997, the musician and Xuan Hoa returned to Vietnam and founded the Tieng Xua tea room. In addition to editing and organizing music nights, he also staged musicals based on famous songs, such as Hon vong phu, Trau cau, Cung dan xua, Tieng zither toi, Tieng flute thien thai, Moi tinh Truong Chi, Lan va Diep.
