Anh Ngoc

Anh Ngọc (1925-    ) is a legendary Vietnamese pop male vocalist.

Originally from Hanoi, he was brought up in a family consisting of 9 children.  He had been given the full name, Từ Ngọc Toản, at birth.  His younger brother was the late singer Từ Ngọc Long.

In 1947, Anh Ngọc relocated to the imperial city of Huế where he worked as a singer for the local radio station for nearly two years at the personal invitation from singer Minh Trang.  In 1949,  Anh Ngọc relocated to Saigon and began working for Đài Phát Thanh Pháp Á (French Radio Broadcasting Network - Asia) as host and performer. This would be followed by stints at other radio broadcasting network programs based in Saigon such as Đài Phát Thanh Sài Gòn, Đài Mẹ Việt Nam, Đài Tiếng Nói Tự Do and Đài Truyền Hình Việt Nam.  His longest tenure was as host and performer on the radio program, Tiếng Nhạc Tâm Tình, from 1960 until the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 where he had worked with the likes of famous Vietnamese singers such as Thái Thanh, Kim Tước, Mai Hương and Hà Thanh.

Anh Ngọc (left) and Musician Nhật Bằng (right) in 1965

Unlike many of his colleagues, Anh Ngọc remained in Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon for many years.  Finally, in 1990 Anh Ngọc left his native homeland to resettle in the United States.  During the first three years in the United States, Anh Ngọc lived in Orange County, California.  Since 1993, Anh Ngọc has taken up residence in Burke, Virginia.  He has since performed occasionally on live shows for Vietnamese audiences in various cities across the United States and Canada, but has refused all offers to take part on any audio recordings or music video appearances since the Fall of Saigon.

Prior to 1975, Anh Ngọc had been one of the most successful male recording artists in Saigon.  He had recorded for various record labels such as Continental, Việt Nam and Tâm Anh Nghệ Thuật.  Among his most popular recorded songs include Tà Áo Xanh (written by Đoàn Chuẩn), Kỷ Vật Cho Em (written by Phạm Duy), Biệt Ly (written by Dzoãn Mẫn) and Em Đến Thăm Anh Một Chiều Mưa (written by Tô Vũ).