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Benny Panjaitan, leader of Panbers, passes away at 70
Legendary singer Benny Panjaitan, lead vocalist of the Panjaitan Bersaudara band, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 70.
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Born in Tarutung, North Tapanuli, on Sept. 14, 1947, Benny was a member of the band Panjaitan Bersaudara (Panjaitan Brothers), popularly called Panbers. (Courtesy of Panbers Official Facebook/File)
L
egendary singer Benny Panjaitan, lead vocalist of the Panjaitan Bersaudara (Panbers) band, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 70.
Benny's manager, TA Rusland, told The Jakarta Post that the vocalist passed away at 9 a.m. at his home in Tangerang, Banten.
"He had been sick for a while. He had a stroke seven years ago and had been trying to recover ever since," Rusland told the Post over the phone on Tuesday morning.
Rusland said Benny's remains would be laid out at Rumah Duka Dharmais funeral home. No funeral arrangements have been made as yet as the family are still discussing the matter.
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Born in Tarutung, North Tapanuli, North Sumatra, on Sept. 14, 1947, Benny was a member of the band Panjaitan Bersaudara (Panjaitan Brothers), popularly called Panbers.
The band was established in 1969 by the children of the late JMM Pandjaitan and Bosani SO Sitompul.
Benny was the singer and also played rhythm guitar, while Hans Panjaitan was lead guitarist. Doan Panjaitan played the bass and Asido Panjaitan was on drums.
In recent years, there have been greater interests towards the early work of Benny with Panbers, especially among psychedelic rock-minded rock collectors and disc jockey.
The band's single "Haai" from the debut album "Kami Tjinta Perdamaian (We Love Peace) was the first track chosen by the Los Angeles-based label Now Again to open "Those Shocking, Shaking Days: Indonesian Hard, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock and Funk 1970 – 1978)."
Earlier this year, Kelompok Penerbang Roket covered "Haai" and "Rock and the Sea" for their new EP, effectively introducing Panbers' music to young fans of rock. (asw)
Update: The funeral would be held on Oct. 26 in Menteng Pulo public cemetery.
