Anh Tu

Anh Tu (1950-2003) was a famous Vietnamese singer and the third eldest child of Lu Lien, a legendary singer/musician and founding member of AVT, the renowned singing trio of Northern Vietnamese folk music.

Born as La Anh Tu on April 16, 1950 in Da Lat, South Vietnam, he was raised primarily in Saigon.  He had come from a family of performers as all 6 of his siblings, Bich Chieu, Tuan Ngoc, Khanh Ha, Thuy Anh, Lan Anh and Luu Bich, would grow up to become established singers.

Anh Tu began his career as a professional singer in Vietnam during the year of 1969 when he and his younger sister, Khanh Ha, began performing for nightclubs and venues which catered to mostly patrons of US military personnel where they would cover songs of popular world music in English and French.  Their very first gig was an engagement performing for US GIs at the USO in Saigon alongside singer/actress Mai Le Huyen.  Shortly thereafter, one other younger sister, Thuy Anh, would join them to form a pop music singing group based in Saigon called The Blue Jets.  By 1972, they became known as the trio, Thuy Ha Tu, and later The Uptight, which included musicians Tung Giang and Quoc Thang.  The Uptight headlined exclusively at the prestigious Queen Bee Nightclub in Saigon.  Anh Tu and his two sisters recorded for various record labels while in South Vietnam such as Tung Giang, Nhac Tre and Nhac Hong.  Among their most well received recordings during this period included covers of songs in both English and Vietnamese lyrics such as Killing Me Softly With His Song, Waterloo and Puppy Love.  Their first recording of a Vietnamese composition was a medley of two songs written by Trinh Cong Son, Cat Bui Tinh Xa.  Anh Tu recorded two solo renditions while in Saigon which were covers of Harry Nilsson's Without You and Michel Fugain's Une Belle Histoire, for the Nhac Tre record label.

Anh Tu and Khanh Ha

Just days before the Fall of Saigon, Anh Tu along with members of his extended family which included five of his siblings and both of his parents fled from Vietnam to begin a new life in the United States.  His eldest sister, Bich Chieu, had left Vietnam in the 1960s to resettle in Italy.  The Uptight quickly resumed as a popular music group for overseas Vietnamese music audiences.  As one of the most innovative music acts among overseas Vietnamese performers, The Uptight played at live shows for overseas Vietnamese audiences all over the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia.  They even played at the legendary Palladium in Los Angeles to a sold out crowd in the early 1980s.  With Khanh Ha's solo career taken to unimaginable heights and Thuy Anh's absence for nearly two decades, Luu Bich, the youngest sibling, was recruited as the female lead singer of the group during the 1980s.  One other edition to the group was Lan Anh, another of Anh Tu's younger sisters, as the group's drummer.  Anh Tu was the only consistent original member of The Uptight.  Although he initially was the background vocalist for the group, it became evident through the years that Anh Tu, indeed, was the backbone The Uptight's success.

The formation of Khanh Ha Productions in 1988 reintroduced Anh Tu as a recording artist in the Vietnamese music industry worldwide.  Other than the recordings he had made back in Saigon prior to 1975 and a couple of duet tracks with Khanh Ha on her solo studio album, Co Hong (1986) for the production label, Lang Van, until then Anh Tu as a recording artist had pretty much drifted to obscurity.  With the release of Uptight 1 by Khanh Ha Productions in 1988, Anh Tu was reintroduced to the Vietnamese music industry with his unforgettable recorded version of Lac Mat Mua Xuan (Le Géant de Papier).  The song would become one of Anh Tu's signature songs for the remainder of his career.  The following year, Khanh Ha Productions released a full duet studio album of Anh Tu and Khanh Ha, Premier Amour, a selection of popular French love songs covered in both French and Vietnamese lyrics.  Anh Tu's popularity as a recording artist would gradually grow through the years with Khanh Ha Productions which included his recorded versions of songs such as Mo Ve Em (Je Pense à Toi), Xa Nhau Tu Day, Dong Song and Tron Doi Yeu Em (More Than I Can Say).

In the 1990s, with the closing of Chez Moi, a nightclub owned and operated for several years by family members of The Uptight in Alhambra, California, Anh Tu ventured out as a solo artist and finally experienced his career peak.  After several years as an exclusive performer at the Can Nightclub in Garden Grove, California, Anh Tu was recruited by nightclub owner and musician Ngoc Chanh to join the lineup of singers at the Ritz Nightclub in Anaheim, California in 1996.  Later that year, Khanh Ha Productions released Anh Tu's solo studio album, Yeu Em.  He remained with Ritz until the closing of its doors in 2001 and continued to perform at live shows all over the world.  During these years, Anh Tu enjoyed a highly successful career as a recording artist with various overseas Vietnamese music production labels such as New Castle Entertainment, Mai Productions, Love Music, Tektronic, Sao Dem and Eagle Productions.  He also recorded several well received duet albums with other artists like Thanh Ha, Ngoc Hue and Ngoc Thuy.  Anh Tu had appeared on Thuy Nga's Paris By Night on volume 10 performing Tinh La,  a cover of Depeche Mode's Strange Love, in both English and Vietnamese.  Anh Tu had also appeared with his two sisters, Khanh Ha and Thuy Anh, as Thuy Ha Tu on several volumes of Asia Entertainment's live show music video series.  Among his most popular recorded songs during the 1990s decade include Nhung Loi Doi Gian, Chi Con Minh Anh, Hoai Mong and Cay Dan Bo Quen.

On December 3, 2003, Anh Tu met his untimely death.  He left behind a son, Julian, from a brief marriage back in the early 1980s, and countless adoring fans from all over the world.  At the time of his passing, Anh Tu was only 53.