Elvis Phuong's memoir 'Life' released in Vietnam

For more than 60 years of singing, since he fell in love with music and devoted himself to his passion, Elvis Phuong has traveled a lot to become famous and stand firm on stage until today. And the memoir "Stream of Life" , not only through Elvis Phuong's words but also with many vivid images, helps readers visualize the life of an artist, but also the vibrant musical life of a time.

"This is also an opportunity for me to speak honestly about myself, about my life; and more precisely, to have the opportunity to confide in all my close friends, as well as audiences everywhere, as a spiritual gift that I have cherished for a long time and now have the opportunity to carry out," Elvis Phuong wrote.

PNB

The book will let readers know more about Elvis Phuong, who loved cinema. As a child, he watched many movies from the black-and-white era to color, with all genres from Indian musicals to cowboy movies.

The turning point in his life came when he watched the movie O'Cangaceiro , which according to him was not very special, the plot was the same as other movies of the same genre, but the music of the movie impressed him, especially the ending music with the harmonica... Then he asked his mother for money to buy a very small pocket harmonica, Piccolo brand, and practiced playing it day and night to the melody of the song. And from then on, the boy Elvis Phuong suddenly liked singing more than watching movies, starting his journey of pursuing music with endless passion.

Elvis Phuong said that in the beginning, he had to "beg for a guitar that had a broken back and only one string left, so he could spend hours standing in front of the bathroom mirror, twisting and making gestures and singing childhood songs". But that did not make him sad, when he played the guitar and sang, he still "felt the joy running through his veins"...

"I had money, a house, a car; but who knew that I had to pay for those things at a very high price, with both extraordinary efforts and tearful patience," from the memoir.

PNB

1962 was an important milestone in Elvis Phuong's musical journey. After passing the Baccalaureate, his father decided to send him to study abroad in France. After a long time of having to endure countless times his father's insults about the singing profession with the popular notion at that time that "singers and singers are of no class", or his father's slaps that made him "see stars in his eyes", the pain when "my beloved acoustic guitar was smashed by my father's merciless hands with a murderous look on his face"..., Elvis Phuong decided not to follow the path his father had laid out for him. His love for music was big enough to make him choose not to go to France and he could boldly declare to his father that he wanted to stay in Vietnam to sing.

As a result, Elvis Phuong was disowned by his father, forcing him to abandon the familiar warm atmosphere, pack up and leave home to follow the call of music. From here, Vietnamese music officially marked the name Elvis Phuong.

Elvis Phuong compared himself to a "wild horse" so most of the titles in the 12 chapters of the book are based on the life of a wild horse. He confided in the introduction: "I compared myself to a wild horse. Am I a wild, scandalous, gangster? No! Absolutely not!" Indeed, that "wild horse" was not completely unruly or just absorbed in wandering on the music path. Love was an exception that made the "wild horse" retreat in chapter 10 "Tears of a flower & That's why I love you". The woman who could do that was Le Hoa - the wife he loved dearly and vowed to devote the rest of his life to.

In addition to the 12 main chapters, the memoir 'The Stream of Life' also has two appendices "Elvis Phuong's CDs" and "Elvis Phuong - 62 years of singing", including the most valuable documentary images throughout Elvis Phuong's 62-year career.

PNB

According to Elvis Phuong, the motivation for him to live happily every day, to be able to work hard for more than 60 years is thanks to his wife always being by his side, understanding and taking care of him. It is his deep affection for his wife that inspired Elvis Phuong to write 7 songs dedicated to her, the lyrics of which are published in the book, respectively: Loi hanh uoc, Yeu, Bai hat cho em, Still in love with you, Be bang, Chieu thu Paris, Got hong thoi het phieu du.

The title of the memoir, The Stream of Life , is taken from the song of the same name that Elvis Phuong once performed. The Vietnamese lyrics were written by musician Nam Loc based on the famous song My Way performed by Frank Sinatra. The lyrics of the song – both the Vietnamese translation and the original English lyrics – fully capture the spirit of the book about the image of a calm, thoughtful man reflecting on his life with many ups and downs – a life that, whether he regrets it or not, he always feels is too little compared to gratitude, love, happiness…

Elvis Phuong's real name is Pham Ngoc Phuong, born in 1945 in Binh Duong, in a wealthy family of Western-educated intellectuals. His parents were from Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province, but moved to Binh Duong in the 1940s. His father was an architect and a French professor. Elvis Phuong was the eldest son in a family with eight younger sisters (including singer Kieu Nga) and one younger brother. From the age of 5, he attended kindergarten at the French school Aurore, so he had early exposure to Western music.

He performed in public for the first time in 1962 at the Regina Pacis seminary. The first song Elvis Phuong performed was Midnight in the Street by musician Truc Phuong. He participated in many bands such as Rockin' Stars, Les Vampires..., was one of the first people to stir up the youth music movement in Saigon in the Phuong Hoang band which at that time also included Nguyen Trung Cang, Le Huu Ha... and later became a singer who could sing many genres from rock, pop, lyrical to folk songs.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/phat-hanh-hoi-ky-dong-doi-cua-elvis-phuong-tai-viet-nam-185230828180555182.htm