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Legendary songstress Titiek Puspa dies at 87
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Indonesian singer and songwriter Titiek Puspa poses during a photo shoot in Jakarta on Dec. 24, 2017 to promote her new movie soundtrack. (AFP/Bahtiar)
Legendary singer and songwriter Titiek Puspa died at the age 87 on Thursday of complications from a brain hemorrhage.
Titiek’s daughter Petty Tunjungsari said she died at 4:25 p.m. at Medistra Hospital in South Jakarta and will lie in repose at a funeral home also in South Jakarta, as reported by kompas.com.
In an earlier statement on Thursday morning, her family said Titiek had undergone “smooth and successful surgery” for a brain hemorrhage she suffered last month.
She reportedly collapsed on the evening of March 26 after shooting three episodes of the comedy show Lapor Pak for private television channel Trans7. She was immediately rushed to Medistra Hospital, where doctors discovered a hemorrhage on the left side of her brain.
The legendary songstress was born in Tanjung district, Tabalong regency, South Kalimantan, on Nov. 1, 1937 and named Soemarti. She was the fourth of 12 children.
Her career spanned over six decades, starting in 1954 when she won second place in the Central Java round of the Bintang Radio competition held by state-owned radio station RRI in the provincial capital of Semarang. Titiek often cited the nationwide competition as the beginning of her music career.
Among her most memorable songs were “Jatuh Cinta” (Falling in love), “Marilah Kemari” (Come over here), “Apanya Dong?” (What Is It?), “Kupu-Kupu Malam” (Evening Butterfly) and “Bing”, which was a ballad inspired by and dedicated to late singer, songwriter and comedian Bing Slamet, whom she referred to as her “best friend”.
