Sinn Sisamouth: History Continues

I only asked him briefly "is it true that Bong Samouth already died?"  He shook his head affirmatively and said "that’s right." This former security guard told us that he was the one who actually buried Bong Samouth with his own hand in a mass gave at an earthen mound known as “Khpob.” It is a banana plantation currently located at Village No. 1, Pau Ban commune, Koh Thom district, [Kandal province].  This mass grave is currently a banana plantation occupied by farmers."

 As for Chamnab, he survived because they moved him to another jail.  He said that before they moved him, they had already taken him out to be killed on three separate occasions.  However, fate would intervene on all three occasions, and something would happen to forced the Khmer Rouge guards to take him back in, allowing him to survive up to [the Vietnamese Invasion] in 1979.

Another story, which is probably not true but should be repeated because it has become part of the myth of Sinn Sisamouth, tells a tragic story of his final moments before being executed.  The story tells us that Sisamouth requested that he be allowed to sing a song, perhaps trying to persuade the guards to spare his life.  He expressed himself as sincerely as possible through his music, sharing his wonderful and unique gift one last time.  The solders, however, were unmoved.  After the singer had sung his last beautiful note, they killed him without mercy.

His Legacy
One of the companies which has worked to restore and record original Sinn Sisamouth songs onto CD is Reasmey Phean Meas. The producer, Sam Sovandeth, was informed by an aunt that old recordings had been placed in an archive in Singapore.  He researched and found about 2000 old songs duplicated and stored in the archive.

Many of Samouth’s works still sound good on the radio and in cassette tapes copied from the original.  In fact, the copies are openly sold in various markets.  Some production companies have made new recordings of Samouth’s old songs using new singers and new bands with modern equipment.  Although many listeners like the modern music in the new recordings, they acknowledge that the voices of the new singers cannot and do not compare with that of Sinn Sisamouth.  Thus, the new versions of Samouth’s songs could not compete with the popularity of the originals - prompting production companies to search for old recordings made by Heng Heng and Chann Chaya Productions and record them onto Compact Discs.

Among the recordings found include songs sung by Sinn Sisamouth, Suos Mat, Im Sung Serng, Meas Samon, Ta Saluort, Ros Sereysothea, Pan Ron, Huoy Meas, and more.  Regrettably, about 70% of the songs found were completely defective and could not be reproduced.  Sam Sovandeth selected the ones of good quality and, using new technology, reproduced them onto CD, thereby preserving these works for future generations of listeners.

Sinn Sisamouth has left Cambodia and the world a rich legacy of glorious songs expressing an enormous range of sentiments.  Despite his tragic end, the man with the golden voice, the Emperor of Khmer music, lives on in the hearts of all those who continue to listen to, appreciate, and admire his music.