Next up was Vietnamese psychedelic/acid rock. Sublime Frequencies is just an absolute awesome label and the liner notes (also by The Incomparable Mark Gergis) were as much an education as those for the Cambodian rock.
The Vietnam War spanned 1955 (really?!? where’s my knowledge of history?) to 1975 and the American physical presence in the country certainly created a deeper cultural presence. Western pop entangles itself in local pop anyway, but soldiers bringing in that culture seeded the influence more directly. Bands got albums and even sometimes music equipment from the GIs, they would play in local bars, and the cycle continued.
Some GIs forged friendships with the local musicians, and upon returning from leave of absence, would bring recordings and musical gear back to their pals in Saigon.
album liner notes
There a lesson here in “good coming out of bad” but it can be viewed more as just an example of humanity.
The most notable band represented on the collection is the sibling-fronted CBC Band (for “con ba cu” or “mother’s children” as dubbed by their mom (!)). They eventually made it to America via Thailand to Malaysia to Indonesia to India to France and finally to (I am not fucking kidding) Houston, Texas. Really? Houston?!
The Beatles of Vietnam, New York Times op-ed from 4 Jan 2018, fills in further information of the band’s heyday during the war, their departure, and eventual post-war experiences. And it includes this concert pic that makes you happy just looking at it:
Saigon fell to the Viet Cong in 1975. Popular music reflecting the West was completely banished. For those South Vietnamese that couldn’t flee, it became prudent to destroy all remnants of Western cultural affiliation. Photos, books, documents and music were often destroyed by their owners before the Viet Cong could discover the evidence and send offenders to ‘reform camps’.
album liner notes
And here we have a lesson of “bad coming out of bad”, so I guess unfortunately another example of humanity. The destruction of culture, and those who created that culture, parallels what happened with Cambodian artists and the Khmer Rouge not long after. Another sad quote from the liner notes that I’m sure could be written about any art:
The most common answer when inquiring about the whereabouts of older Vietnamese recordings, whether you’re speaking with a shop owner or producer, is, “We threw it away.”
album liner notes
The artists (Note: Vietnamese names are in the form “father’s family (mother’s family) given“. The variations in order for some of the references make each part uncertain. The VietCeleb.BlogSpot.com site is invaluable, but you need to scroll halfway down the page to see the content.):
| Musician | Pic |
|---|---|
| CBC Band Discogs Wikipedia |  |
| Bang Chan (1955-), singer, actor IMDB (as Chau Bang) VietCeleb.BlogSpot.com (as Bang Chau) |  |
| Hung Cuong (1936-1996), singer, actor IMDB VietCeleb.BlogSpot.com |  (with Mai Le Huyen) |
| Phuong Dung (1946-) Wikipedia |  |
| Phuong Hoang, also Elvis Phuong, born Pham Ngoc Phuong (1945-) Wikipedia VietCeleb.BlogSpot.com |  |
| Mai Le Huyen, born Nguyen Thi Kim Cuc (1946-) VietCeleb.BlogSpot.com |  |
| Carol Kim Discogs VietCeleb.BlogSpot.com Her daughter Trace’s web site (also a singer) |  |
| Giao Linh, (1949-) the Queen of Sadness Discogs VietCeleb.BlogSpot.com |  |
| Bich Loan (1949-), lead singer of CBC VietCeleb.BlogSpot.com |  |
| Thanh Mai | |
| Phuang Tam | |
| Thai Thanh | |
| Le Thu | |
| Minh Xuan |