Chrisye

Hajji Chrismansyah Rahadi (16 September 1949 – 30 March 2007), born Christian Rahadi, better known by his stage name Chrisye , was an Indonesian progressive pop singer and songwriter.

Chrisye was born Christian Rahardi (Lauw Peng Liang) in Jakarta on 16 September 1949 to Laurens Rahadi (Lauw Tek Kang, 1918–2005), a Chinese-Betawi entrepreneur, and Hanna Rahadi (Khoe Hian Eng, 1923–2004), a Chinese-Sundanese housewife from Bogor.

He was the second of three sons born to the couple; his brothers were Joris and Vicky.

The family lived on Talang Street near Menteng, Central Jakarta, until 1954, when they moved to Pegangsaan Street (also in Menteng).

While attending GIKI Elementary School, Chrisye befriended the neighbouring Nasution family; he became especially close to Bamid Gauri, with whom he played badminton and flew kites.

He also began listening to his father's record collection, singing along to songs by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Dean Martin.

After graduating from elementary school, Chrisye attended Christian Middle School III Diponegoro.

Beatlemania reached Indonesia while Chrisye was in Senior High School PSKD Menteng, and increased his interest in music.

Responding to Chrisye's desire to play an instrument, his father bought him a guitar; Chrisye chose the bass guitar, as he considered it the easiest to master.

As they could not read music, Chrisye and Joris learned to play by accompanying their father's records and songs recorded from the radio.

In time they began playing at school events, with vocals by Chrisye.

During this period he began smoking in school; when caught, he was punished by being forced to smoke eight cigarettes at once, in front of the assembled pupils.

However, this failed to cure his habit and he eventually became a chain smoker.

In the late 1960s he joined Sabda Nada (later Gipsy), a band led by his neighbours, the Nasutions.

In the mid-1960s, the Nasution siblings formed a band; Chrisye and Joris watched them play songs by Uriah Heep and Blood, Sweat & Tears.

In 1968 Chrisye registered at the Christian University of Indonesia (UKI) to fulfill his father's wish that he become an engineer.

Around 1969, however, Gauri invited him to join the Nasutions' band, Sabda Nada, as a replacement for their bassist Eddi Odek who was ill.

Pleased with his performance, the Nasutions asked him to stay as a permanent member.

The group had a regular gig at Mini Disko on Juanda Street and freelanced at birthday and wedding parties.

When Chrisye had a chance to sing while performing covers, he attempted to sound as much like the original artist as he could.

The group was renamed Gipsy in 1969, which they considered more macho and Western-sounding.

The schedule for the band, which had no manager, became increasingly busy, since they had begun giving regular performances at Ismail Marzuki Park.

As a result, Chrisye decided to drop out of UKI; in 1970 he transferred to Trisakti Tourism Academy, where he considered the study schedule to be more flexible.

In 1972 Pontjo Nasution offered Chrisye the opportunity to play in New York.

Although ecstatic, Chrisye was afraid of telling his father, who he thought would disapprove of the idea.

He eventually fell ill for several months, during which time the rest of the band left for New York.

After Chrisye discussed his fears with Joris and his mother, his father agreed that he could drop out of college to join Gipsy.

In 1973, after a short hiatus, he rejoined the band to play in New York for a year.

He briefly returned to Indonesia and then went back to New York with another band, the Pro's. After once again returning to Indonesia, he collaborated with Gipsy and Guruh Sukarnoputra to record the 1976 indie album Guruh Gipsy.

Following the success of Guruh Gipsy, in 1977 Chrisye recorded two of his most critically acclaimed works: "Lilin-Lilin Kecil" by James F. Sundah, which eventually became his signature song, and the soundtrack album Badai Pasti Berlalu.

Their success landed him a recording contract with Musica Studios, with whom he released his first solo album, Sabda Alam, in 1978.

Over his almost 25-year career with Musica he recorded a further eighteen albums, and in 1980 acted in a film, Seindah Rembulan.

He received two lifetime achievement awards, one in 1993 from the BASF Awards and another posthumously in 2007 from Indonesian television station SCTV.

Chrisye died in his Jakarta home on 30 March 2007 after a long battle with lung cancer.

Known for his stiff stage persona and smooth vocals, Chrisye was critically acclaimed in Indonesia.

Five albums to which he contributed were included in Rolling Stone Indonesia list of the 150 Best Indonesian Albums of All Time; another four of his songs (and a fifth to which he contributed) were classified as some of the best Indonesian songs of all time in a later issue of the same magazine.

Several of his albums received certification of silver or gold.

In 2011, Rolling Stone Indonesia declared him the third-greatest Indonesian musician of all time.

Born in Jakarta of mixed Chinese-Indonesian descent, Chrisye became interested in music at an early age.

At high school he played bass guitar in a band he formed with his brother, Joris.