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".
[2]
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
[3]
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 (whom he
refers to as "The Girls") include Joanne (Zainal Abidin's wife), 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 his Universiti 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
disbelieve with tears - that someone like Sudirman would still remember and
make a song solely on her.
In 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".
[4]

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.