LÊ TOÀN
As a young man, Lê Toàn began his musical career at Taberd high school in Saigon. In 1971, he
formed a group called Constellation and performed at school
productions and functions, playing contemporary songs by CCR and the
Beatles... In 1972, he joined the Family Love band, formed by his older
brother Lê Trí, which eventually became the hottest band in Saigon in 1974.
During the late 70's and early 80's, there was a creative movement in the Vietnamese Music Industry abroad. It was in this period that Lê Toàn began to write lyrics and compose music. In 1980, already a veteran in the Vietnamese music industry, he introduced his music through the album, T́nh Vàng. Most notable of his music in this period was, Vắng Bóng Em, also a title in his debut album.
At the time, Lê Toàn was also involved with the Voice of America (VOA) program. He was able to broadcast Về Trong Giấc Mơ, Hát Cho Một Quê Hương and Cơn Mê, his country/folk Vietnamese music. The songs were compiled in his next album, Nhạc Trẻ Hiện Đại, in 1981.
In 1985, Lê Toàn produced his third album, Mơ Ước Người Yêu. In 1988, he wrote Vietnamese lyrics and recorded for the album Hey, a compilation of Julio Iglesias songs. In 1992, Lê Toàn released his first CD Sóng T́nh and in 1995, introduced another hit “Bên Bóng Dừa" in his second CD titled ”Si Mê T́nh Em”. During this time, he also wrote the script for "Copacabana" and appeared with Tommy Ngô and Kỳ Duyên in Paris by Night video 38. In 1999, he successfully released the “Thu Quyến Rũ” CD at Majestic club in Huntington Beach, CA.
Lê Toàn continued to write lyrics for popular foreign songs such as "A Whole New World" and "Colors of The Wind", "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", performed at the 1995, 1996 and 1997 Áo Dài Tết Pageant respectively. He was also the co-host of the shows. In 1998, he wrote lyrics for 3 French ballads which were recorded by Thanh Hà on Thuy Nga's "Tim Vẫn Trong Ta" CD. In 1999, he wrote the lyrics for the song "Như Cuốn Phim" (Comme Un Film) and was featured in a Tektronics CD album with the same title.
Lê Toàn's favorite music spans the spectrum from French and Vietnamese ballads, American oldies. He also specializes in doing songs by Julio Iglesias, Enricos Macias, Francois Feldman, Christophe, Adamo, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Frank Sinatra and Andy Williams... Besides being a professional singer and musician, Lê Toàn also got a BA degree in Business and has been working in the IT industries for many years before he retired in 2021.
Lê Toàn is a talented guitarist. He is also well verse with the piano and many percussion instruments. Being from San Jose, Lê Toàn naturally has the hometown support behind him. He is currently living in Southern California. He occasionally appears in local concerts or tours around the US. One of Lê Toàn's greatest achievements has been his unique music Arrangement behind the U-Sing-Along phenomenon that continues to capture the hearts of the Vietnamese Karaoke lovers around the world. Another one of his previous projects involves writing musical scores for many AT&T commercials in Vietnamese media.