Mar Mar Aye

Mar Mar Aye (; July 26, 1942 – January 8, 2024) was a Burmese singer and actress. She was considered one of the most successful female singers in the history of Burmese classical music.

Early life and career Mar Mar Aye was born Aye Myint in Myaungmya, a town in the Irrawaddy delta to musician parents. Her father, U Aye, was a hne (flute) musician while her mother Than Hnit was a singer with the stage name Myaungmya Than. She began singing at an early age. In 1955, she gained national recognition as a singer with the song "Playing on the Rainbow". By the 1980s, 80% of film soundtracks were sung by Mar Mar Aye.

In 1961, she worked as an assistant broadcaster at Burma Broadcasting Service (now Myanmar Radio). She was an executive member of the country's Modern Music Council and a committee member of Gita Padaytha magazine. In 1971, she established Taythanshin Records. Additionally, in 1976, the Aye Singing Training School was established. During that period, she wrote poetry and songs using the pen name "Lay Mar". She published the novel Lamb's Mommy.

Mar Mar Aye emigrated from Burma in 1998 under General Than Shwe's military regime and resettled in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the United States. She has been politically active. During the Saffron Revolution, she released a song entitled "Heartache Till the End of the World" . In 2012, she returned from exile to Myanmar, at the authorization of President Thein Sein.

On 25 July 2012, she released a Burmese language memoir, Dear Friend, Look Deeply Into My Heart , which recounts the aftermath of her divorce in 1970.

Mar Mar Aye died at her home in Fort Wayne on January 8, 2024, at the age of 81.

Discography

Solo albums

(Love and Virtue)

(Kyi Kyi Htay's Mar Mar Aye) (Eating a Snack) (Sounds of Auspiciousness)

(Lady Water Buffalo) (A Thousand Ceylon Ironwood Flowers)

(The Eight Victories)

(Emerald Flower Cassette)

(Eugenia Gold)

(Dark Blue Paso) (Golden Rose)

(Dharmacakra)

(Sister-in-Law) (Colors of the Buddhist Sasana)

Collaboration albums

(Metta Bridge) - with May Sweet (Records of the Radio) - with Tin Tin Mya and Cho Pyone

Filmography Mya Chu Than Ko Chit Thu Hma De Mandali