Abdullah Totong "A. T." Mahmud (3 October 1930 – 6 July 2010) was a renowned Indonesian composer of children's songs.
Born in Palembang, South Sumatra, he taught as a teacher in Riau and Jakarta prior to beginning work as a composer.
[1] It was while teaching at the School for Kindergarten Teachers that Mahmud began to write songs, upon the request of his students.
One of his first songs, "Cicak di Dinding" ("Lizard on the Wall"), was taught to kindergarten students throughout Jakarta by teachers that he had trained.
[2] During his songwriting career, Mahmud wrote some 500 educational children's songs[4] with simple lyrics and rhythms.
Some of Mahmud's best known works include "Pelangi" ("Rainbow"), "Ambilkan Bulan" ("Take the Moon"), "Anak Gembala" ("Shepherd Boy"), "Bintang Kejora" ("The Morning Star"), "Mendaki Gunung" ("Climbing a mountain"), "Ade Irma Suryani", and "Amelia".
[1][2] He was buried in Menteng Pulo Cemetery, Jakarta on 7 July 2010,[1][3] with well-wishers on Twitter and other social networking websites expressing their condolences.
[3] His melodies are so memorable that the prominent Indonesian classical music composer and pianist Ananda Sukarlan has made variations, paraphrases and fantasies for piano solo based on several of his memorable children songs, such as "Ambilkan Bulan, Bu", "Pelangi, pelangi", "Pemandangan" and many others.