Chế Linh ( cjm, Jamlen; b. 1942) is a Vietnamese popular singer, songwriter. An ethnic Cham, his stage name Chế Linh is a Vietnamese transcription of his Cham name, but, like many Cham people, he also has an official Vietnamese legal name, Lưu Văn Liên.Vietnamnet
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Early life

In 1958, when Che Linh was 16 years old, an event changed his life when President

Ngo Dinh Diem Ngô Đình Diệm ( or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955), and then served as the first president of South Vietnam (Republic of ...

had forbidden teaching of the Cham language in the Cham villages, a prestige language considered as a second language since the

Bảo Đại Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , lit. "keeper of greatness", 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was em ...

’s era. This discrimination toward the minority group created conflicts between the

Chams The Cham (Cham: ''Čaṃ'') or Champa people (Cham: , ''Urang Campa''; vi, Người Chăm or ; km, ជនជាតិចាម, ) are an Austronesian ethnic group. From the 2nd century to 1832 the Cham populated Champa, a contiguous territo ...

and the

Kinh The Vietnamese people ( vi, người Việt, lit=Viet people) or Kinh people ( vi, người Kinh) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day Northern Vietnam and Southern China (Jing Islands, Dongxing, Guangxi). The native lang ...

inhabitants. When the Chams came to town, they were stopped and being prosecuted heavily. Che Linh has been injured on several incidents, however. The government ignored these incidences and was not a bit concerned about it. Che Linh moving to

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

was considered his first escape. Traveling to an unknown and unfamiliar place, with no relatives and no friends to turn to. He was disgusted with the presidential ruling of President Diem, and a lot of patriotism for his people. Fortunately, Che Linh found a small job with a respected employer. After nine months, Che Linh decided to go back to school. He attended Bo De and later to

Nguyen Cong Tru Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元）is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this s ...

Career

1960-1961

First time entering the musical industry. Biet Chinh Biên Hòa Musical Group was selecting new singers to entertain the far-away village in the Biên Hòa Provincce. Che Linh participated and won first prize. Not considering singing as a career at the time, but only because the pay is considerably high. Two years later, the group faded and dissolved and Che Linh became a driver for heavy construction organization in Bien Hoa. The love for music and as a hobby, Che Linh continues to learn the music, train his voice and composed several songs. Che Linh's musical career strongly excelled, and his first two songs were born: "Dem buon tinh le” and “Dem buoc co don” Recognizing that music is the shortest way to bring understanding between the Kinh and the Chams and all the other ethnic groups, Che Linh promised to continue and excel in the musical industry. With his effort and talents, Che Linh became a famous star and had sung together with many artists such as Anh Ngọc,

Duy Khánh Nguyễn Văn Diệp, stage name Duy Khánh (1936 in Triệu Phước village Triệu Phong – 12 February 2003 in Fountain Valley) was a Vietnamese songwriter. He was one of the many singers and songwriters to settle in " Quận Cam" (Ora ...

Thái Thanh Thái Thanh (born Phạm Thị Băng Thanh; August 5, 1934 – March 17, 2020) was a Vietnamese Americans, Vietnamese-American singer. She was one of the most iconic singers of the Western-influenced popular music in Vietnam, known as 'Popular ...

, Thanh Thúy,

Minh Hiếu Ngô Minh Hiếu (born 8 October 1989) is a Vietnamese cyber security specialist and a former hacker and identity thief. He was convicted in the United States of stealing hundreds of thousands of persons' personally identifiable information an ...

, Tùng Lâm. Continental Productions produced his first record, "Vùng Biển Trời Và Màu Áo Em”. Che Linh then signed with several Viet Nam Record Companies.

1964-1965

He produced and wrote many songs.

1972

Awarded by Kim Khánh for Best Male Artist/Vocal which was organized by the Daily Newspaper Trang Den. The Government of South Vietnam then forbade Che Linh's voice and songs during the summer war period.

1975

Che Linh was hoping to have his music released from the forbidden list, however he was jailed as a revolutionary at Song Mao, then My Duc.

1978

He was released from prison 28 months later.

1980

Escaped to Malaysia and later settled in Canada where he now resides in Toronto. He is presently performing, singing, writing and producing music.

Compositions

All of Che Linh's songs which he wrote goes under the name of Tu Nhi.

References

External links

* Official Website: https://chelinh.com * Official Facebook: https://facebook.com/chelinhsinger * Official YouTube: https://youtube.com/chelinh {{DEFAULTSORT:Che Linh 1942 births Living people 20th-century Vietnamese male singers Vietnamese Cham people Vietnamese Hindus People from Ninh Thuận province Vietnamese emigrants to Canada