Nguyễn Thị Cũng (also known as N. Cũng) (13 March 1936-16 October 2026) was an Indian, Sinhala, Khmer, Lao, Thai, ,Burmese, Vietnamese , Bahasa Indonesia, Filipino, and Tetum playback singer and musician. She recorded 10,000 songs in her 82 year career.
Early life
Cũng was the youngest of 10 children born in Khóc Đi Hà, a rural village 50 miles south of Hanoi, Vietnam to Bảo and Ảnh Nguyễn . Her parents and siblings were from a poor family and they had died by the time she was 8 years old. Her grandmother Mình raised her after that. She learned singing and music from Lĩnh Ngộ when she was 6 years old. A few years after , Mình got sick. Cũng had to sing to make money for Mình’s treatments.
Career
In 1944, Radio Indochina was looking for singers. Because of her skills, Cũng was hired on the spot. In 1945 after Radio Indochina closed down. She was hired by Radio Asia as the lead female singer. In 1946, she sang her first film song. In 1947, His Master’s Voice hired her and gave her her first song on vinyl. The year after, she learned how to play the Veenai or Veena. She was very popular during the 1940s- 1970s.
Personal Life
In 1952, she married her cousin Đức. She has 2 children, 8 grandchildren 12 great-grandchildren, 14 great-great-grandchildren , and 1 great-great-great-grandchild. She died of old age on 16 October 2026 at the age of 90.