Cambodian king of music 1950-1975

Dear all, You all know Mr. Sinn Sisamouth. He was the idol for every Cambodian. He was the king of music in Cambodia. Mr Sinn Sisamouth was born in 1933 in Stung Treng Province. He was part of two different nations, namely his father was a Cambodian and his father’s name is Mr. Sinn Leang. His mother Mr. Seb Bunlei was from a Lao-Chinese descent. Mr. Sinn Sisamouth was the youngest of four siblings, with one brother and two sisters. Unfortunately, his father died of disease and his mother remarried, and the union resulted in two more children. He was not a picky eater. He generally preferred to eat Lao food. When he ate Khmer food, he liked to eat pror-huk and phork tpul trey. He never drink wine or soft drinks, ate chili peppers, or smoked cigarettes, all of which would harm his voice. Mr. Sinn Sisamouth attended Central Province of Stung Treng Elementary School when he was five. At the age of six or seven, he started to show interest in the guitar, and he would be asked to perform at school functions. He was interested in Buddhist scripture, and he learned Pali from the Buddhist monks. He enjoyed reading books. In 1951 he finished elementary school, and went to study medicine in Phnom Penh, where he lived with an uncle. Despite the rigorous demands of medical school Mr. Sisamouth still managed to find time to learn how to sing and compose songs. Just as he had in elementary school, he became well known in his school for his musical skills and lyrical talent, and was asked to sing at school ceremonies. At his earliest age of 18 he has performance his first tour for the public. By the time Cambodia was granted independence from France in 1953, Mr. Samouth's found singing voice landed him a spot on national radio as a regular singer. He also continued his studies, working at Preah Ketomealea Hospital.  Mr. Samouth possessed a clear crooning voice which, combined with his own compositions about the pleasures and pains of romance, made him an idol. He sang many ballads, as well uptempo rock numbers that featured prominent, distortion-laden guitar, pumping organ and loud, driving drums. Other arrangements were more Latin jazz-sounding, featuring woodwinds, brass, and auxiliary percussion. He composed melodies on a mandolin. His songs were usually of a sentimental nature, reflecting on the longings, pains, and pleasures of romance. His lyrical talent was a result of hard work as well as natural ability. He was known to have used up to three different dictionaries in searching for just the right word in the Khmer, Sanskrit, or Pali languages.  In the early 1950s he became a protege of Queen Kossomak Nearyrath. He was selected to join the Vong Phleng Preah Reach Troap (classical ensemble of the Royal Treasury) where together with Sos Matt, he performed at royal receptions and state functions. A number of songs he wrote subsequently bore the unmistakable melancholic melodies of traditional Khmer music he performed in those formative years. By the mid-sixties, Samouth's fame had reached its zenith and had him in great demand. One measure of his appeal is examplified in "Prey Prasith", Prince Norodom Sihanouk's second full length feature film, available on the Prince's website. Samouth's popularity nevertheless did not eclipse the work of other recording artists. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Samouth sang the soundtrack songs to a number of popular Cambodian films, such as Orn Euy Srey Orn, Tep Sodachan, and Thavory meas bong. Over his long career, Samouth recorded many duets with female singing partners including, in the early 1960s, Mao Sareth, Keo Montha, Keo Settha, Chhunn Vanna, Huoy Meas, Ros Sereysothea, and Pan Ron.  Mao Sareth could arguably be called the first female Khmer singer to have achieved nationwide acclaim in the years following Cambodia's emerging political independence. As his popularity increased, Samouth could no longer keep up the pace of writing his own material, so he started performing works by other songwriter. He initially picked songs written by Pov Sipho, Svay Som Eur, and Ma Laopi, but he would also occasionally sing songs composed by Mae Bunn, a close friend of his, and Has Salorn. Between 1970 and 1975, he almost exclusively sang songs written by Voy Ho, a long standing colleague. Regardless of who had written the songs, Samouth always managed to make them popular. Samouth also adapted a number of Thai songs into his repertoire, including "Chnam Mun" and "Thnom Snaeh. Sinn Sisamouth had a reputation for being very serious about his work. In business affairs, according to publisher Kruoch Polin, he would always deliver what he promised. At home, he was a quiet man, and would sometimes not speak more than ten words in an entire day. When he was not performing, Samouth would lock himself in his room and dedicate his time to writing more songs. His failure to socialize contributed to a reputation for being elitist. From 1972 to 1973 music publisher Kruoch Polin issued A Collection of Sentimental Songs, which contained 500 of Sinn Sisamouth's songs. It is estimated that he wrote thousands of songs, possibly at least one for each day he was famous, his son Sinn Chaya has said. Along with his original works, Samouth also introduced many Western pop tunes to Cambodia, simply writing new verses in Khmer language. Examples include "The House of the Rising Sun" as "I'm Still Waiting for You. In the 1990s and 2000s, his songs were rediscovered by Western audiences through cover performances by the Khmer-American rock band Dengue Fever (band), based in Los Angeles, who performed them both in concert and on their recordings   Marriage and family After finishing medical school, he wedded his cousin, Keo Thorng Gnut, in an arranged marriage. They had four children. After the Khmer Rouge, only one daughter and one son survived. His family life deteriorated as a consequence of the pressures of his career and the temptations that his voice attracted. With regard to his relationship with his wife, one of his sons, Sinn Chaya, commented that no woman could pay that price. At the age of thirty, his wife left him to become a Buddhist nun. Interested Khmer readers can view a recent interview she gave, posted on a popular video site. Now in her seventies, with most of her family devastated by the wars, the video also contains her appeal for financial support from Khmer fans of the late singer living overseas.   He has had a wonderful years and Mr. Sinn Sisamouth died in 1975.  Mr. Sinn Sisamouth’s years of active 1950–1975. In our memory he always freely gave up-and-coming singers advice and reminded them to take care of their voices. His affable, caring attitude thus won him favor among his contemporaries. The Khmer Rouge takeover of Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975 saw Samouth forced to leave the city, along with millions of other residents. He died November 1, 1975 Koh Thom district, Kandal Province. My comment: Dedicated fans should consider making more of these songs available on the web to future generations of Khmer listeners. They are priceless examples of Samouth's earliest vocal style and the poetry that pervades his art. As for me my favorite songs are as below:    Interview with his wife: https://youtu.be/LjuKHXRthPI So dear friends let we listening together to a number of his songs: https://goo.gl/images/yKrWbk https://youtu.be/Bjzf79WwXTs https://youtu.be/FL9GjNlne7c Some video https://youtu.be/wrTJrq2dgzs 🇰🇭🇰🇭🇰🇭🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎵🎶🎵🎼🎶🥁🎺🎻