Suraphol Sombatcharoen
Suraphol Sombatcharoen (
1930 -
August 16,
1968) (
Thai: สุรพล สมบัติเจริญ, also
Surapon Sombatjalern) was a
Thai luk thung singer. Dubbed the "King of Luk Thung", he was one of the first major stars of Thailand's own
country music genre. He was fatally
shot after a live performance in
Nakhon Pathom.
Suraphol was born in
Suphan Buri Province. His first hit was in
1952 with "Nam Da Sow Vienne" ("Tears of a Lao Girl"). It marked the emergence of
luk thung, a Thai counterpart to such
crooning styles as
Japanese enka and
Indonesian kroncong, and embodied such influences as
Hollywood film music, American
country music,
Malay pop and
Afro-Cuban rhythms.
Enjoying popularity at the same time when
Elvis Presley and
The Beatles were popular in
Western world, Suraphol was sometimes referred to as the "Thai Elvis".
Suraphol composed more than 100 songs. Among his most well-known numbers are "Sao Suan Taeng" ("The Girl from the Cucumber Orchard"), "Mong" ("Look"), "Nam Ta Ja Tho" ("The Tears of a Corporal"), "Khong Plom" ("Fake Stuff") and "Muai Cham" ("Broken-Hearted Chinese Girl").
Shortly before he was killed, he released his last and most memorable song, "Siphok Pi Haeng Khuam Lang" ("16 Years of Our Past"), in which he wrote sadly about the end of his 16-year marriage, reflecting on the happiness and bitterness of the union.
Another one of his songs, the mournful "Mai Luem" ("Don't Forget"), was featured as a poignant refrain in
Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's
2001 film,
Monrak Transistor.
Suraphol's recordings are widely available in Thailand, from shopping malls such as
MBK Center in Bangkok to rural markets.
Whenever Suraphol is commemorated on radio, the song that's inevitably played is his "16 Years of Our Past", and the 16-year period has become symbolic for
numerologically minded Thai people.
And so it came to pass that on the 33rd anniversary of Suraphol's death in 2001, the third generation of the Sombatcharoen family luk thung singers made his debut. The son of Surachai Sombacharoen (and grandson of Suraphol), Surabodin sang in front of a packed hall at the
Thailand Cultural Centre on August 16, 2001. He was 16 years old, and of course sang "16 Years of Our Past".
*
Luk thung*
Thai music at Nanaplaza.com* Khanthong, Thanong (September 6, 2002).
"OVERDRIVE: PM Thaksin to embrace Suraphol Doctrine?".
The Nation.
*
"SUNDAY TALK: 'Look thung' family keeps going strong", August 26, 2001,
The Nation.
*Napack, Jonathan (May 12, 1999)
"A revival of authentic Thai pop",
International Herald Tribune (retrieved from
Google cache April 3, 2006)
*
LukTungFM.com (
Thai)
*
Suraphol Sombatcharoen CDs
