Launch of controversial memoir "Life" by Elvis Phuong

The uproar arose when Ms. Thu Huyen (wife of the late journalist and musician Truong Ky) spoke out that Elvis Phuong had illegally used the memoir Wild Horse Confidences About Elvis Phuong written by her husband 28 years ago, along with some photo materials related to her late husband, to print the above memoir. According to the family of the late journalist and musician Truong Ky, Mr. Truong Ky wrote Wild Horse Confidences (more than 400 pages) for Elvis Phuong in 1995.

Ra mắt cuốn hồi ký vướng ồn ào — Elvis Phuong's memoir The Life of a Man. Photo: CMH

Singer Elvis Phuong and his wife, Le Hoa, said that Elvis Phuong had asked journalist and musician Truong Ky to write his memoirs. At that time, Mr. Truong Ky flew to Elvis Phuong and his wife's house to write them. All accommodation and travel expenses were paid by Elvis Phuong and his wife.

In 1995, Mr. Truong Ky showed his memoirs to Elvis Phuong. The famous singer also paid Mr. Truong Ky 3,000 USD. But later, for personal reasons, Elvis Phuong wrote a memoir with nearly 200 pages, added pictures to print as the memoirs Stream of Life .

With 60 years of singing from the beginning of his career to becoming a famous singer, Elvis Phuong had to make a lot of efforts to achieve great success. Having loved music since childhood, often humming songs and not knowing when, little Phuong dreamed of becoming a singer. When his father decided to send Elvis Phuong to study abroad in France, he asked his father to let him stay in Vietnam to become a singer, but he received two slaps and was kicked out of the house. His music career started with difficulty, but lasted until now, more than 60 years. Music and singing are forever breath and when he no longer breathed, Elvis Phuong stopped singing.

"This is also an opportunity for me to tell the truth about myself, about my life, and more precisely, 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 fulfill" - Elvis Phuong wrote in the introduction to the memoir " Dong Doi" .

The title of the memoir, "Stream of Life", is taken from the song of the same name that Elvis Phuong once performed. "Stream of Life" is a song whose 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 in 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...

In the book, Elvis Phuong recounts the hardships he went through when he had to "beg for a guitar that had a broken back and only one string left, to spend hours standing in front of the bathroom mirror, twisting and making gestures and singing childhood songs" and becoming a rich man today.

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

The book allows readers to feel a more real Elvis Phuong with his thoughts. A man of present experience is the crystallization of bitterness, mixed emotions of a young man who is still impulsive but full of aspirations, of a middle-aged man who is calm and steadfast in what he wants... Elvis Phuong compares himself to a "wild horse", so most of the titles in the 12 chapters of the book are named after the life of a wild horse.

In the introduction, he compared himself to a "wild horse". And that "wild horse" was "reined" by a woman. He wrote: "I compared myself to a wild horse. Am I a wild, scandalous, and gangster? No! Absolutely not!".

Indeed, the "wild horse" is not completely unruly or just wandering on the music path. Love is an exception that makes the "wild horse" retreat in chapter 10 "Tears of a flower and that's why I love you". The woman who can do that is Le Hoa - the wife that the male singer loves very much and vows to devote the rest of his life to her.

According to Elvis Phuong, the motivation for him to live happily every day, to be able to work hard in his profession for more than 60 years is thanks to his wife who is always 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 and Got hong thoi het phieu du .

Source: https://danviet.vn/ra-mat-cuon-hoi-ky-vuong-on-ao-dong-doi-cua-elvis-phuong-20230829135323421.htm