Sinn Sisamouth

Sinn Sisamouth (ស៊ីន ស៊ីសាមុត)

Sinn Sisamouth was a famous and highly prolific Cambodian singer and songwriter in the 1950s to the 1970s and is considered as the "King of Khmer music." Sin Sisamouth, along with other artists, sparked a fresh, new pop music scene in Phnom Penh. This scene combined elements of Khmer traditional music with the sounds and rhythms of the blues and rock and roll to make Western sounding music. He had a clear, crooning voice and sang about the pain and pleasures of romance. This made him a unique and famous idol. Sisamouth died from sickness during the Khmer Rouge regime.
What captured Sisamouth's audience was his use of a four-piece, rock and roll band instrumentation with guitars and percussion, instead of the usual band of wind instruments. It is estimated that he wrote thousands of songs, possibly at least one for each day he was famous, his son Sinn Chaya has said. His famous hit singles include "Anussavry Phnom Kravanh", "Chong Srol", "Thngay Dob Pee Thnou", "Thngay Muoy Kakkda", "Teuk Keb", "Stung Pursat", and "Prek Eng Oss Sangkhim".
Due to his presence and influence on Cambodian music being so great, he still remains highly popular in Cambodia today.