Composer, bassoonist and musicologist Jason Gibbs, seen here after his first bong hit of thuốc lào, has written extensively and expertly about Vietnamese music

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Linh Dinh and Hai-Dang Phan in Illinois, 2007

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Trần Diệu Hằng reading in Orange County, California, 2001

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Khánh Ly with Trịnh Công Sơn, Saigon, 1966

He was born in Daklak, grew up in Huế, studied in Qui Nhơn, taught school in Bảo Lộc, then finally moved to Saigon in 1965. After the collapse of South Vietnam in 1975, he was sentenced to four years of hard labor by the Communists. A heavy drinker and smoker, he died of diabetes, liver and kidney failure. He wrote over 600 songs, achieving his first hit, "Ướt mi" ["Wet Lashes"], in 1957. Joan Baez dubbed him the Bob Dylan of Vietnam. He was frequently under pressure from the South Vietnamese government, which was displeased with the anti-war sentiments in songs such as "Ngủ đi con" ["Lullaby"], about a mother grieving for her soldier son, and "Cho một người nằm xuống" ["To one who has lain down"]. He often wrote about the ephemeral nature of life, as in the classic "Cát bụi" ["Sand and Dust"]. The singer most associated with him is Khánh Ly, whose husky, mournful voice helped to popularize his music. They often performed together on South Vietnamese university campuses. More recently, Hồng Nhung has also been celebrated for her jazzy interpretions of his songs. Along with Lou Reed, Arab Strap and The Married Monk, his music is featured on Trần Anh Hùng's film Vertical Ray of the Sun (2001).

In 1973, he starred in a film, Đất Khổ [Land of Sorrows], which compressed three seminal events of the Vietnam War: (1) the Buddhist uprising in Hue during 1965; (2) the Tet Offensive in 1968; and (3) the 1972 "Summer of Fire" (mùa hè đỏ lửa). It includes real footage of refugees fleeing the North Vietnamese' Easter Offensive of 1972. Steven Hunter of the Washington Post comments:

"A fictional family melodrama [...] it follows the course of the war as it implodes the life of five members of a family in Hue, including a draft dodger and a ranger captain. Those explosions in the background? Well, let's put it this way -- special effects courtesy of the North Vietnamese regular army."

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