history Datuk Sudirman Arsyad

Sudirman Arshad

Sudirman Arshad
Birth name	Sudirman bin Arshad
Born	25 May 1954 Temerloh, Pahang, Malaysia
Died	22 February 1992 (aged 37) Lucky Garden, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Genres	Irama Malaysia, Pop, Pop Rock,R&B
Occupations	Singer, lawyer, actor, writer,businessman
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1976-1992
Labels	Warnada Record EMI (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
Associated acts	Zaleha Hamid, Sharifah Aini,NoorkumalaDato' Sudirman bin Haji Arshad, DIMP (Posthumous), JMN, AMN, AMP (25 May 1954 – 22 February 1992) was a Malaysian famous singer and songwriter. He had started his career after winning the "Bintang RTM" on 11 August 1976. Besides, he is the title holder of "Asia's No. 1 Performer" on 19 March 1989 as he won the ‘‘Asian Popular Music Awards’’ competition in Royal Albert Hall in London.[1]He was known as the "Singing Lawyer", the "People's Singer", the "Patriot Singer" and the "Elvis Presley of Malaysia". He was also a composer, lawyer, writer (memoir and children books), cartoonist, entrepreneur and actor.

Music

Possessing of a clear piercing tenor with a surprising breadth of range and dynamic control especially at the extreme high end, Sudirman's voice was instantly recognizable every time one of his songs are played in local radio or television. His ability to act through his voice is evident from songs such as "Bercanda di Pasiran Pantai", a Latin-flavored duet with Anita Sarawak which displayed the sultry quality of his voice. His unique talents had helped him to win many local competitions from Bintang RTM Best Singer (1976) to Muzik-Muzik TV3 Best Performer and Berita Harian Popularity contest Most Popular Artist. He topped Malaysian, Brunei and Indonesia charts with songs such as "Merisik Khabar", "Milik Siapakah Gadis Ini" and "Salam Terakhir".Songwriters who have supported him in the past include S. Atan, Manan Ngah, Michael Veerapan and Syed Harun. Even today, his songs are popularly played especially during National Day and Eid-ul-Fitr.

Sudirman was also the first Malaysian singer to perform at The Paddock at the Hilton of Kuala Lumpur in 1983 and was the singing ambassador for companies such as Proton,Malaysia Airlines, Honda Cup and honored pioneer card member with Hong Leong Bank. He was known for his versatility and sang Malay, Indian and Chinese songs with outstanding choreography. He was even known for sketching the portrait of his fan while singing.

Local musicians who have played for him include Alex Boon, Jay Jay (singer guitarist), Hillary, Ricky, Fauzi Marzuki, Michael Veerapan, Mac Chiew and Jenny Chin. Local women who have performed with him as his dancers  supermodel Samantha Schubert and Linda Jasmine Hashim (now one of the leading dancing choreographer cum teacher in Malaysia's reality TV program show Akademi Fantasia).

Some Muslim fundamentalists and leftists detested his concert performances. Some even threatened and distributed warning pamphlets of "something would happen" during hisUniversiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Bangi concert to deter people from attending. The concert was postponed following protests from the UKM students union body, its academic staff association and the dean of the Islamic Studies faculty and six other student bodies. This incident was captured by Zainuddin Maidin (then journalist, now former Minister of Information) in his book "The Other Side of Mahathir". He narrated that the then-Prime Minister had called a few ministers to his residence to review the situation as the issue reflected Malaysia's position in terms of modernization. The meeting led to the conclusion that the show had to be allowed to go on. Sudirman's fans turned up in force. He went about pleasing the crowd, crooning his hits. One campus resident said, "At last something alive has come here." The negativity surrounding the UKM incident was not long-lasting. The irony of it is that, a couple of years after Sudirman's death in 1992, UKM held a Sudirman karaoke competition.

Sudirman produced an album for his favourite nephew, Razman Azrai, under Sudirman Productions. Also known as Atai, he had a couple of hit songs that topped the charts in 1985.

In April 1983, Sudirman sang a song for the late Puan Sri Saloma titled "Mama". When Sudirman approached her shortly before her death, Saloma expressed her disbelief with tears — that someone like Sudirman would still remember and make a song solely for her.

On 14 April 1986, Sudirman held an open air concert on Chow Kit Road, which was the first time ever that a street concert drew a 100,000-strong crowd on a Monday night. It jammed the stretch of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Raja Muda to Jalan Raja Alang. Several fans fainted in the crowd, a few suffocated and were rushed to the hospital. A Malaysian English tabloid, The Star, wrote that "Kuala Lumpur came to a standstill and it had nothing to do with the recession, but with one man, Malaysia's top entertainer, an electrifying performance and most memorable night".

Sudirman's songs topped the charts with every new album that he released. There was a time when his song "Merisik Khabar" climbed up to the #1 position for two months while his second song "Milik Siapa Gadis Ini" from the same album came in second and stayed at the top for a few weeks after "Merisik Khabar".

In 1989, Sudirman won the title "Best Performer" at the Asia Music Award 1989 contest at the Royal Albert Hall, London. There, Leslie Cheung (Hong Kong Cantopop founding father), Anita Sarawak (Singapore's Best), Epo (Japan singer song writer), Kuh Ledesma (Philippines pop diva) and many other singers represented their respective countries.^[5]

As Sudirman was known by many as "Malaysia's No 1 Entertainer", he was chosen to perform for Malaysia's SEA Games closing ceremony in 1989 and many others such as the opening ceremony of Sepak Takraw competition, Merdeka, New Year and other national functions. In most cases, he would use his own money to ensure a successful concert.

Sudirman Arshad also had a strong fanbase in Singapore. His concert there resulted in a large turnout at the Kallang National Stadium in August 1987. People came from all classes, races and ages. Kelvin Tan Look Siew, Director of Singapore Armed Forces Music & Drama company, said, "We wanted to bring down a prominent artist from the region and Sudirman's name automatically cropped up."

EMI London took him on to work together with Stock, Aitken & Waterman (British producer trio who took on Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Rick Astley) for the world market with a song titled "Love will Find a Way". Vic Lanza, manager of WHAM (duet of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley) pronounced Sudirman as the institution of Malaysian Music industry. He was brought to The Beatles famous Abbey Road Studios and recorded the album, but died soon afterwards.