T

hose born before the 1990s should remember the unique figure of home-country ballad musician Deddy Dores, recognizable by his dark glasses and shoulder-length haircut.

The 65-year-old composer and songwriter was the man behind the hit songs of the late Nike Ardilla, such as “Bintang Kehidupan” (The life star), “Seberkas Sinar” (Gleam of light) and “Mama Aku Ingin Pulang” (Mom I wanna go home).

Deddy passed away of a heart attack on Tuesday at 11:45 p.m. at the Bintaro Premier Hospital in Tangerang, Banten, as reported by kompas.com.

JK Records’ Twitter account was the first to break the news.

According to rock band Godbless through their Facebook account, Deddy’s body is currently being held at a funeral home in Tangerang prior to his funeral in Sumedang, West Java.

Deddy just returned from a business trip and met with friends in Singapore, his brother Yori Dores explained via the telephone.

“He was exhausted after returning from Singapore. He took a taxi from the airport and went straight to his private doctor in Kelapa Gading [North Jakarta] but the latter was not there,” Yori said as quoted by Kompas TV.

Deddy called his children and was admitted to the Bintaro Premier Hospital, located near his house, but at the hospital he only stayed alive for another 15 minutes, Yori added.

Born in Surabaya, East Java, on Nov. 28, 1950, Deddy started his career with the Rhapsodia band in 1971. He once was part of Indonesian rock band Godbless and legendary pop band Koes Plus. His fame skyrocketed when he became the producer of late singer Nike Ardilla in 1990.

Yori said Deddy is survived by his six children and four grandchildren.

Singer Glenn Fredly said he and some other musicians planned to hold a tribute concert for Deddy.

“He had put color in the country’s music industry,” Glenn said, adding that he liked Deddy’s songs that were written for Nike. — JP