P. Ramlee & Saloma

Together with his wife, Saloma, P. Ramlee permanently altered the sound of Malaysian music, during the 1950s, by adding modern western instruments to the traditional dondang sayang lineup. Lyrically, Ramlee stuck with romance as a subject, but his vocal style gave a European inflection to the Arab-based classical traditions of Malaysia. With his westernizing tendencies, Ramlee influenced many other performers, including, notably, Zaleha Hamid, Sharifah Aini, and Herman Tino. ~ Leon Jackson