Jo Marcel was born in 1938 in Hanoi under his birth name, Vũ Ngọc Tòng. As a child, he attended École Puginier, and in 1954, he migrated to the South, continuing his studies at Taberd School.

In the early 1960s, he began singing with a band led by a French conductor at the La Galère restaurant in the Caravelle Hotel under the stage name Ngọc Minh.

In 1967, he co-founded the nightclub Chez Jo Marcel and changed his stage name to Jo Marcel. Before that, he had already been performing international music alongside singer Như An at the Baccara nightclub and was emerging as a phenomenon in the urban pop music scene.

In 1969, Jo Marcel sold all his shares in Chez Jo Marcel to musician Phạm Đình Chương, who then renamed it Đêm Màu Hồng (Pink Night). Around this time, Jo Marcel invested in two other nightclubs, Ritz and Queen Bee. At Queen Bee, he organized highly successful Jo Marcel music nights that garnered significant media attention.

Although he was renowned for his smooth yet powerful baritone voice—both captivating and versatile—performing French songs such as Et Maintenant, Les Neiges Du Kilimandjaro, Fais la Rire, Capri C'est Fini, Merci Chérie, as well as Vietnamese songs like Ai Về Sông Tương, Mộng Dưới Hoa, Xin Mặt Trời Ngủ Yên, Jo Marcel did not have a major influence as a singer. As a result, he shifted towards organizing grand music shows at various prominent nightclubs like Queen Bee, Ritz, Ma Cabane, and Key Hole. At the same time, he took on roles as a concert promoter, producer, and music arranger. He was behind several popular music albums featuring renowned singers like Lệ Thu, Anh Khoa, and Khánh Ly, all of which bore the Jo Marcel label on their covers.

Within the Nhạc Trẻ (Vietnamese pop/rock) movement, Jo Marcel was considered one of the key figures, alongside Trường Kỳ, Nam Lộc, Tùng Giang, and Kỳ Phát. He personally researched and produced two music films, Thế Giới Nhạc Trẻ (The World of Young Music) and Vết Chân Hoang (Wild Footsteps), which were both entertaining and documentary-like. These films captured the vibrant energy of the Nhạc Trẻ era in South Vietnam, showcasing legendary bands such as The Hammers, The Peanuts Company, Phượng Hoàng, and The Enterprise. The films aired on Vietnam Television and were widely loved.

In 1975, as Saigon was on the verge of collapse, Jo Marcel left Vietnam and settled in the United States. Initially, he worked for the USCC agency in Los Angeles but occasionally performed at grand music events and appeared in video productions. In 1995, he announced his retirement, though he occasionally participated in Nhạc Trẻ reunion nights or performed for charity events. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.