Sinn Sisamouth

Sinn Sisamouth (c. 1933 – c. 1976) was a Cambodian singer-songwriter active from the 1950s to the 1970s. Widely considered the "King of Khmer Music", Sisamouth, along with Ros Serey Sothea, Pen Ran, Mao Sareth, and other Cambodian artists, was part of a thriving music scene in Phnom Penh that blended elements of Khmer traditional music with the sounds of rhythm and blues and rock and roll developing unique sounds. Sisamouth died during the Khmer Rouge regime under circumstances that are unclear.

Early life Sinn Sisamouth was born in Stung Treng Province, he was born to Seb Bunlei (mother) and Sinn Leang (father). He was the youngest of four siblings (one older brother, two older sisters). However, general consensus accepts Sisamouth was Khmer with partial Lao descent. 1932, or 1933. However, 1933 is likely the correct year according to a short biography on original liner notes of his album លាហើយហុងកុង. Furthermore, people that had been alive during Sisamouth's era state that he was born during the year of the Rooster which would translate to 1933 in the Gregorian calendar. Sisamouth's father was a soldier during the French Protectorate period and also served as prison warden in Battambang Province. His father died when he was a child and his mother then remarried. According to a prominent Khmer statesman of that time, he had hired Sisamouth along with a band to perform at his wedding in 1951 indicating that Sisamouth’s earliest public performance was around the age of 18, corroborating with the liner notes. He first gained popularity around this time by writing and performing songs in traditional Khmer styles. Around the mid-1950s, the romantic ballad Violon Sneha, one of Sisamouth’s earliest songs, composed by musician Has Salan, put Sisamouth into fame across Cambodia. while his stage presence has been compared to that of Frank Sinatra. Sisamouth was a polygot, he could speak in Khmer, French, Lao, Chinese, Thai, and some English which helped with his versatility in genre. As for his first song, it was either never pressed on a record or was lost during the Cambodian genocide. In 1962, Sisamouth began recording singles under the record label Wat-Phnom Disques. —produced in Hong Kong—was released the same year and features soulful melancholic balladry, bossa nova, and other styles. was the first piece of content aired during the inauguration of the Royal Khmer Television in 1966. This resulted in a unique sound in which Western pop and rock were combined with Khmer vocal techniques and instruments. Sisamouth also made use of bossa nova and doo-wop influences. Sisamouth had become established as Cambodia's most popular singer and songwriter. Nevertheless, his popularity did not eclipse that of other singers such as Im Song Soeum and Huoy Meas. He collaborated directly with Mao Sareth and Chhuon Malay, among others. He also wrote songs for, and duetted with, other popular Cambodian singers to nurture their careers. For example, starting in the mid-1960s he recorded many popular duets with Pen Ran.

Sisamouth’s most notable duet partner was Ros Serey Sothea, and he is credited with launching her career. Sothea had been singing at weddings and other functions, later becoming the leading female singer in the Cambodian rock scene. Sisamouth and Sothea recorded many popular duets from the mid-1960s into the early 1970s. In later years, Sisamouth contributed songs to the soundtracks for a number of popular Cambodian films, such as Orn Euy Srey Orn, Tep Sodachan, and Thavory Meas Bong.

Sisamouth's highly prolific songwriting became well known during this period; he is confirmed to have sung and written more than one thousand songs for himself and others (see Sinn Sisamouth discography). The true total may be considerably higher. His son, Sinn Chanchhaya, believed that Sisamouth sung/wrote roughly one song every day during his career as a professional musician, a period of nearly 20 years. plus covers of "Hey Jude" by The Beatles (titled “នៅតែសង្ឃឹម” [Still Hoping]), "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum (titled “ព្រាត់ស្នេហ៍សំណព្វចិត្ត” [Away From My Lover]), and "Love Potion No. 9" by The Searchers (titled “ក្រៅពីអូនបងមិនស្ម័គ្រ” [Only You]). By the 1970s, Sisamouth’s fame reduced the time he had available for writing, so he began to work regularly with lyricist and composer Voy Ho. Most of his discography between 1970-1975 was written by Voy Ho. Reportedly, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand admired Sisamouth’s works ever since he adapted a Thai song in the late 1950s. It’s also claimed he received an award from Bhumibol as well but that remains unverified. In addition, during major escalations of the Cambodian Civil War in 1973, it is said that Bhumibol had offered Sisamouth and his family refuge in Thailand but Sisamouth declined. One of Sisamouth’s other hobbies were rooster-fighting which he would bet with his friends on. Additionally in a 2006 documentary, his son Sinn Chanchhaya recalled.

He also enjoyed reading books at the library and watching French films. Sisamouth had contracts with three restaurants in Phnom Penh to regularly perform music for customers. After performances, he would meet with friends and eat rice porridge. For a year Sinn Sisamouth worked for the Ministry of National Defense’s Fifth Bureau, and then joined its orchestra where he became a second lieutenant.

Also in Don't Think I've Forgotten, Sisamouth's son states that many different people have given him contradictory stories of his father's death.

In 2006, Khmer Apsara magazine granted a long interview to a government official and former Khmer Republic soldier named Keo Chamnab who claims to have seen Sisamouth's execution at a jail in Prek Ta Duong village in 1976.

Sisamouth looking very sad, told me that he was sent from Prek Eng, Kien Svay district, Kandal province, and he was jailed there for three days already. He did not commit any fault but he was accused by the Khmer Rouge as being an imperialist. It was difficult for Sinn Sisamouth to hide his identity and his face because he was a very famous singer dubbed the emperor (singer) of the country since long ago. Even if the Khmer Rouge did not accuse him of being a singer serving a regime which was a sworn enemy to that of the Khmer Rouge, he was also a soldier serving the former regime.

…

In the jail, we were forced to perform hard labor for 5 months. Then in November, I did not remember the exact day—around 5:30 PM—it was already late when 2 to 3 chhlobs [cadres] came in with a list to call the prisoners to be taken away (for execution) as usual. On that day, Bong Samouth’s name was called among the names of 4 or 5 other prisoners. He did not change his name and he was still known as Sinn Sisamouth. When his name was called, I was very distressed. I saw that his face was very sad and was ashened. Before he was escorted out, he hugged me but he did not leave any message for his family. He simply said, “I am leaving before you ph’oun (honorific for younger person), may you remain behind in peace”. I did not want to say much, I only replied to him, “Yes, bong (honorific for older person)”. His face was the face of a romantic person, he did not express anger nor unhappiness. While in jail, he only stared at the jail ceiling and looked at other prisoners, and shaking his head although no one knew why he did so. When he left the jail, he did not sing nor hum any tune as some would later claim. Whatever the cause, Sisamouth almost certainly died during the Khmer Rouge regime but his remains have never been discovered.

Legacy

Practically all studio master recordings by Sinn Sisamouth were either destroyed by the Khmer Rouge regime in its efforts to eliminate foreign influences from Cambodian society, However, collectors and entrepreneurs located, reproduced copies, and archived his recordings after the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979. The largest archival database of original Cambodian songs from that era, including nearly the entirety of Sisamouth’s surviving discography, is known as the Cambodian Vintage Music Archive. Some of his songs have been covered by modern Cambodian singers, such as "Srey Sros Khmeng" by Suong Chantha in 2002. Western listeners were introduced to his work starting in the late 1990s with the release of the Cambodian Rocks bootleg album, followed by the soundtrack to the film City of Ghosts.

Sisamouth’s son recalls a profound statement by his father about his love for music that couldn’t be far from the truth. It was that if the country didn’t survive, he believed his music and name would still live on because of music’s impact one one’s soul. He is extensively profiled in the 2015 documentary film on the history of Cambodian popular music, Don't Think I've Forgotten, in which several interview subjects describe Sisamouth as the most important Cambodian musician of all time. Often called the "King of Khmer music" or "the Cambodian Elvis," his lasting cultural impact is difficult to overstate.

Cambodia passed its first copyright law in 2003, allowing families to claim the artists' intellectual property for the first time. In 2014, Sisamouth's family provided proof of composition and was awarded copyright ownership for over 180 songs. The event was commemorated with a celebration and tribute concert.

Sisamouth's son Sinn Chanchhaya became a singer for the Cambodian Radio station, though he admitted he could not be compared to his father. Chanchhaya died in 2015. A tribute concert titled "It's Time to Give Back: A Tribute to the Golden Voice of Cambodia," promoting Sisamouth's music and the need for intellectual property benefits for his family and the families of his contemporaries, was held in Phnom Penh in November 2015. In 2023, former Kun Khmer boxer Bout Samrech claimed he is Sisamouth's son. According to Samrech, Sisamouth had taken his mother as a secret mistress, and he learned that Sisamouth was his "father" at the age of 14 when informed about it by his foster mother.

Singer-songwriter Sin Setsochhata, a granddaughter of Sinn Sisamouth, has gained international notice for combining Cambodian rock influences with modern pop sounds. Documentary filmmakers Chris G. Parkhurst and Stephanie Vincenti have produced a documentary about Sinn Sisamouth called Elvis of Cambodia. The film is 74 minutes long and is available in Khmer and English.