The Queen of Thai country music

PUMPUANG DUANGCHAN was a Thai singer called the Queen of Thai country music ("RATCHINI LUUK THUNG KHONG MEUANG THAI" ) She came from the province of Suphanburi,

a rural area in central Thailand that has produced several Luuk Thung heroes.

Luuk Thung translates literally as children of the fields. A commercial country music style that's actually a blend of a few different Thai folk and traditional forms of music, it started around the mid-twentieth century. People who are born-and-bred natives of the City of Angels (yes, Bangkok goes by that nickname, too) don't appreciate the music much. But people with rural roots tend to really like it.





Pumpuang Duangjan herself was an example ofwhat is both exciting and tragic about the countryside in Thailand. She was an incredible singer with great style
who inspired many people, but her formal education ended at the age of eight. Pumpuang's importance for Thai music and life is unmatched. She is the 'American Dream' in a Thai version, the girl who, with nothing else than her talent, came from the rice fields (5th child of a 12 children family) in the North to become Thailand's by far most famous and loved singer. She could convincingly sound like a young schoolgirl in love, as well as a mature woman looking back on her life.







Just as quickly as she had arrived on the stage, she was lost to us. Peung died of kidney failure at Phra Phutthachinnarat hospital in Phitsanulok. She was just 31 years of age. At her funeral at Wat Tapkradan in Suphanburi province, an estimated 200,000 people turned up to pay their last respects. Even HM The King attended. Her voice and songs remains outstanding and the frequency with which her songs are still played, one and a half decade after her death,suggest that she will be remembered far beyond any foreseeable future.







References : http://edutainmenttlc.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/63053_headline.jpg
http://th.wikipedia.org

BY : Pattiporn Yoonui
Thanyaporn Sriseem