A poster spread from 'Majallah Filem' (magazine) in February 1965, featuring the Shaw Brother's film stars of the day. In the 1960s, some Hari Raya songs were popularised through Malay movies. Photo: Penang House of Music
Nearly a century after one of the earliest known "lagu Raya" recordings, Malaysians have enjoyed a joyful multitude of Hari Raya songs, in all kinds of music genres. How and when did this festive song tradition take root? And who tops the charts?
It’s become a conditioned reflex – radio and TV stations and shopping malls playing the songs of the season.
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Hari Raya songbook origins
A poster spread from 'Majallah Filem' (magazine) in February 1965, featuring the Shaw Brother's film stars of the day. In the 1960s, some Hari Raya songs were popularised through Malay movies. Photo: Penang House of Music
One of the earliest song request cards from the Penang House of Music archives dates to 1957, where a listener sent in a request card for ‘Selamat Hari Raya’ by Salmah Ismail (Saloma). Photo: Penang House of Music
Pop yeh yeh star M. Osman, backed up by the Siglap Boys, gave the Hari Raya single a dash of youthful guitar energy in the 1960s. Photo: Naza Mohamad
Suria Mohd Noor and Orkes Mutiara Timor's pop EP, released in 1968, which features a Hari Raya tune. Photo: Penang House of Music
A Radio Malaya listener requested for the ‘Ballad Of Davy Crockett’ (a popular Disney TV series in the 1950s) on Hari Raya day in 1956. Photo: Penang House of Music
A late 1960s Raya single, featuring A. Talib, Jefrydeen and The Wanderer's 'Selamat Hari Raya' and The Wanderer's 'Jala Jala Itek'. Photo: Naza Mohamad
P. Ramlee and Saloma's 'Selamat Hari Raya' single, released by Parlophone Records in 1960. It features P. Ramlee's 'Suara Takbir' and Saloma's 'Selamat Hari Raya'. Photo: Naza Mohamad
