{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2014}} {{family name hatnote|Ros|lang=Cambodian|Saboeut}} {{Infobox person | name = Ros Saboeut | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing brackets --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = c. 1942 | birth_place = | death_date = March 5, 2014 (age 72) | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = | years_active = | known_for = Activism on behalf of musicians | notable_works = }}
'''Ros Saboeut''' (c. 1942 – March 5, 2014) was a Cambodian activist known for working on behalf of that country's musicians.<ref name="pppost">{{cite web|last1=Jackson|first1=Will|title=Woman who reunited early rockers dies at 72|url=https://www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle/woman-who-reunited-early-rockers-dies-72|publisher=The Phnom Penh Post|access-date=12 April 2018|date=March 10, 2014}}</ref> Saboeut was one of five siblings born to her parents, Ros Bun and Nath Samean. Her younger sister was singer Ros Serey Sothea.<ref name="Cohn">{{cite web|last1=Cohn|first1=Nik|title=A voice from the killing fields|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/may/20/worldmusic.features|work=The Guardian|access-date=13 February 2018|date=May 19, 2007}}</ref>
In the 1960s, Cambodian Head of State Norodom Sihanouk, a musician himself, encouraged the development of popular music in Cambodia. This inspired a flourishing rock music scene based in Phnom Penh,<ref name="Sisario">{{cite web|work=New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/movies/dont-think-ive-forgotten-a-documentary-revives-cambodias-silenced-sounds.html|title='Don't Think I've Forgotten,' a Documentary, Revives Cambodia's Silenced Sounds|date=9 April 2015|last=Sisario|first=Ben}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=Columbus Alive|url=http://www.columbusalive.com/content/stories/2015/05/28/film-preview-director-john-pirozzi-traces-the-history-of-early-cambodian-rock-n-roll-in-dont-think-ive-forgotten.html|title=Film preview: Director John Pirozzi traces the history of early Cambodian rock 'n' roll in "Don't Think I've Forgotten"|date=28 May 2015|last=Downing|first=Andy}}</ref> in which Saboeut's sister Sothea achieved great fame and influence.<ref name="Cohn"/> This music scene was abruptly crushed by the Khmer Rouge communists in 1975.<ref name="Woolfson">{{cite web|last1=Woolfson|first1=Daniel|title=Cambodian Surf Rockers Were Awesome, but the Khmer Rouge Killed Them|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-tragic-bloody-history-of-cambodian-surf-rock-930/|website=Vice|access-date=23 March 2018|date=September 19, 2014}}</ref> Saboeut survived the ensuing Cambodian genocide, but her sister Sothea disappeared and is presumed dead, as is the case with many of Sothea's contemporaries in Cambodian popular music.<ref name="Cohn" /><ref name="Woolfson" />
After the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, many musicians contacted Saboeut to inquire about her sister Sothea's fate. Maintaining a list of contacts, Saboeut took the opportunity to reunite Cambodia's surviving rock musicians. Her efforts are widely credited with reviving Cambodian music in the aftermath of the genocide.<ref name=pppost /> According to Youk Chhang, the executive director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, Saboeut sought to restore Cambodian music as a tribute to her sister, saying "I think she was bound by the legacy of her sister to help."<ref name=pppost />
Shortly before her death, Saboeut was interviewed extensively for the 2015 documentary film on the history of Cambodian rock music, ''Don't Think I've Forgotten'', in which her sister Sothea is profiled in detail.<ref name="Sisario" /> Saboeut died of complications from a fall at age 72 on March 5, 2014.<ref name=pppost/> She is survived by her daughter, her three grandchildren, and her last living sibling Ros Sabeoun.<ref name=pppost/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ros, Saboeut}} Category:1940s births Category:2014 deaths Category:Cambodian activists Category:Cambodian musicians Category:Accidental deaths from falls Category:Cambodian women activists Category:Cambodian genocide survivors