Ros Serey Sothea

Ros Sothea was born in circa 1948 to Ros Bun (Khmer: រស់ ប៊ុន) and Nath Samien (Khmer: ណាត់ សាមៀន) in Battambang Province.[2] Growing up relatively poor on a farm, Ros Sothea was the second youngest of five children; her older sister Ros Saboeut later became known as an activist.[1] She displayed vocal talent as a toddler and grew up listening to early Cambodian pop singers like Mao Sareth and Chhoun Malay. Sothea's talent would remain relatively hidden until friends persuaded her to join a regional singing contest in 1963. After winning the contest she became widely known in her home province and was invited to join a musical troupe that regularly performed at Stung Khiev restaurant in Battambang; she also performed in a family band with her brother Serey.[3] It is believed that Im Song Seurm, a singer from the National Radio service, heard of Sothea's talents and invited her to Phnom Penh in 1967.[4]

Ros Serey Sothea

In Phnom Penh, she adopted the alias Ros Serey Sothea and became a singer for the National Radio service, first performing duets with Im Song Seurm. Her first hit, "Stung Khieu (Blue River)" appeared in 1967 and she quickly became popular across Cambodia, particularly for her high and clear voice.[3] Eventually she became a regular partner with Sinn Sisamouth, the era's leading singer, resulting in many popular duet recordings.[2] She also collaborated with other prominent singers of the era like Pen Ran, Huoy Meas, and Sos Mat, while maintaining an active solo career as well.

Sothea's early recordings were largely traditional Cambodian ballads. She would eventually adopt a more contemporary style incorporating French and American influences, adding western pop/rock instrumentation, as was common in Cambodian music starting in the late 1960s.[2] Eventually Sothea and her contemporaries were strongly influenced by American radio that had been transmitted to U.S. troops in nearby South Vietnam, inspiring experimentation with American/British rock and soul sounds.[5][6] Sothea combined her high and clear voice with backing provided by young rock musicians, characterized by prominent electric guitars, drums, and Farfisa organs. This resulted in a sound that is often described as psychedelic or garage rock,[7] and Sothea became the leading female singer in the thriving Cambodian rock scene.[2][8][9] Sothea was also one of many singers in that scene to create new versions of popular western rock songs with Khmer lyrics, such as "Cry Loving Me" (based on "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival) and "Wolly Polly" (based on "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham).

Romantic ballads would remain her most endearing work amongst the more conservative populace.[2] She was often sought out by film directors to perform songs in their movies.[2][10] Sothea's collaboration with the Cambodian film industry is invaluable in identifying over 250 films lost during the Khmer Rouge regime. Sothea never sang under any one record label and made a modest living as a musician. She was recognized as a national treasure and was honored by Head of State Norodom Sihanouk with the royal title of Preah Reich Theany Somlang Meas, the "Queen with the Golden Voice" (sometimes translated as "Golden Voice of the Royal Capital").[1] During the Cambodian Civil War in the early 1970s, Sothea became involved in the Khmer Republic military[11] and recorded patriotic songs supporting the Republic's stance against the Khmer Rouge insurgents. Her career would continue until the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh in April 1975.[12]

Little information about Ros Serey Sothea's personal life has survived, though her personality has been described as modest and reserved. She is known to have been involved in a few high-profile relationships. As documented in the film Don't Think I've Forgotten, when she arrived in Phnom Penh she was courted by fellow singer Sos Mat and they eventually married. As Sothea's career moved forward, Sos Mat became jealous of her success and of the men who came to watch her perform, culminating in physical abuse.[5] Sothea fled the marriage within six months and obtained a divorce. Believing that her career would be ruined by the stigma of divorce, Sothea went back to her family in Battambang but was convinced by Sinn Sisamouth to return to Phnom Penh and resume her career.[13]

Sothea's popularity rebounded and she met a prominent member of a film-making family while recording film songs. This relationship led to marriage and the birth of a son, but for undocumented reasons the marriage was short-lived. The film Don't Think I've Forgotten also reports that Sothea had a relationship with an officer in the Khmer Republic army and learned to be a paratrooper during the Cambodian Civil War, though her boyfriend is believed to have been killed in combat.[3] This relationship increased her participation with the military; a film of Sothea parachuting out of a plane during a paratrooper exercise is the only known video footage of her to have survived.[11] Fans believe that Sothea's unhappy relationships were a primary influence on her singing style and lyrics, indicated by song titles (in translation) like "Don't Be Mad," "Brokenhearted Woman," and "Wicked Husband."

Ros Serey Sothea disappeared during the Khmer Rouge genocide and her exact fate has never been confirmed, with multiple sources making contradictory claims. For example, her sisters have alleged that Sothea is likely to have died immediately after the Khmer Rouge seized control of Cambodia in April 1975; as a famous entertainer with "western" influences, qualities widely known to be disdained by the Khmer Rouge, she would have been targeted for imprisonment or execution immediately. Her whereabouts at the time are also uncertain, with some sources claiming that she had traveled to Pailin Province for the 1975 Buddhist New Year, as the lyrics of her final recordings are on that topic, although others are skeptical of this claim because of the dangers of traveling in Cambodia during that period. She may have also been in Phnom Penh at the time and was forced to evacuate like all other residents, and some sources also claim that the outgoing government made efforts to get her out of the country.[12]

Further sources claim that Sothea, like most city dwellers, was relocated to the Cambodian countryside for farm work; having grown up on a farm she was able to adjust to the work and hide her identity for a time. According to this story, she was eventually discovered, after which she was forced by Pol Pot to marry one of his officers and perform regularly for the party leadership. This story contends that her marriage to the officer was abusive and the party leadership determined that her presence was too controversial, so she was allegedly led away and executed in 1977.[3]

Yet more sources claim that Sothea died from overwork in a Khmer Rouge agricultural camp, or that she survived until the Vietnamese invasion of late 1978/early 1979 but soon died in a hospital from malnutrition.[2] Whatever the cause, Sothea almost certainly died during the Khmer Rouge regime but her remains have never been discovered.

• "Sra Muy Keo" (One Shot)