Aldro john gaisah taragang
Aldro john gaisah taragang
~Fire Garden~: Special Tribute To John Gaisah!
HE may be dead but John Gaisah lives in the hearts of Sabahans," declares Sabah Records managing director Chong Ten Siong.
That is perhaps the best tribute to the Kadazandusun singer who was nicknamed Sabah's Tom Jones.
Twenty-five years after his death, Gaisah, whom many Sabahans consider their greatest singer, continues to influence the present generation of Kadazandusun singers.
"When I was a teenager, I was always with a guitar singing John Gaisah's songs and imitating his voice," recalls 27-year-old Jimmy Palikat, a popular independent label Kadazandusun singer from Gaisah's hometown, Tambunan.
"In the 1970s, the Kadazandusun music grew rapidly thanks to him.
He was number one because of his voice," recalls veteran singer Monica Ongkosing, 46.
Gaisah fan Lee Khoi Min, who distributes and retails records, says the legendary singer "started the ball rolling for the Kadazandusun music scene."
"After Gaisah got third place in the 1976 Bintang RTM competition (the winner was