Apart from being a singer and actor, he was also a lawyer, a composer, writer (specifically focused in producing memoirs and children books), cartoonist, and entrepreneur.

His father, Arshad Hassan, was a manager of a local bus company in Sudirman's family hometown, whereas his mother, Romlah Dahalan, used to work as a seamstress and was also the first woman to become a Malaysian state assemblywoman in Pahang during the 1950s.

He then received his degree with third class honours four years later together with Malaysia's current and former Attorney General Idrus Harun and Abdul Gani Patail.

Possessing of a clear piercing tenor with a breadth of range and dynamic control especially at the extreme high end, Sudirman's voice was instantly recognisable.

His ability to act through his voice is evident from songs such as "Bercanda di Pasiran Pantai", a Latin-flavoured duet with Anita Sarawak.

His unique talents had helped him to win many local competitions from Bintang RTM's Best Singer (1976) to Muzik-Muzik TV3's Best Performer and Berita Harian's Most Popular Artist, which was voted by fans.

He topped Malaysian, Brunei and Indonesia charts with songs such as "Merisik Khabar" (Seeking News), "Milik Siapakah Gadis Ini" (Who Does This Girl Belong To) and "Salam Terakhir" (Final Greetings).

Sudirman was also the first Malaysian singer to perform at The Paddock at the Hilton of Kuala Lumpur in 1983[10] and was the singing ambassador for companies such as Proton, Malaysia Airlines, Honda and honoured pioneer card member with Hong Leong Bank.

There were also women, whom he refers to as "The Girls", who have performed with him as his dancers, including supermodel Samantha Schubert and Linda Jasmine Hashim, who is now one of the leading dancing choreographer-cum-teachers in Malaysia's reality TV program show Akademi Fantasia.

Some even distributed warning pamphlets that "something would happen" during his Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Bangi concert to deter people from attending, possibly about concerns that his songs were claimed to be mixed with Western influences, which would derail their Muslim faiths.

Tan Sri Zaman Khan, the Head of KL police, then mentioned 'the crowd was so huge that we were praying at the office that it would be controlled' .

The Star, wrote that "Kuala Lumpur came to a standstill and it had nothing to do with the recession, but with one man, Malaysia's top entertainer, an electrifying performance and most memorable night".

1 position for two months while his second song "Milik Siapakah Gadis Ini" from the same album came in second and stayed at the top for a few weeks after "Merisik Khabar".

[12] Judges in the contest include Sinitta Renau Malone, a mentor in Britain's famous TV program, UK X factor and was dating Simon Cowell of American Idol.

As Malaysians united in celebration of his historic success, Sudirman dedicated the win to his country and then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Kelvin Tan Look Siew, Director of Singapore Armed Forces Music & Drama company, said, "We wanted to bring down a prominent artist from the region and Sudirman's name automatically cropped up."

EMI London took him on to work together with the British production trio Stock Aitken Waterman with a song titled "Love Will Find a Way", released with the album Rising by Donovan.

During his life, he had also adopted and brought up an Indian boy from a poor family and he would actively seek charity work through the Singers, Musicians and Composers Association of Malaysia (PAPITA).

The company initially planed to launch "Sudi Rasa", with canned meals such as sardines, coconut powders, fruits, cocktails and instant noodles.

Sudirman's companies ceased to exist in September 1991, shortly before his death, due to financial and management problems as well as his worsening illness.

His remains were brought to his hometown in Temerloh, Pahang, where he was laid to rest at Chengal Muslim Cemetery near the graves of his parents, which was what he had wished.

Simon Napier-Bell, the manager for George Michael's band Wham!, referred to Sudirman Arshad as the 'institution of Malaysian music industry'.

In the Malaysia Book of Records, he was given a posthumous award together with P Ramlee, Mokhtar Dahari, Tun Ghafar Baba and Ramasamy Letchemanah (Mighty Man).

On 26 July 2010, The National Choir paid a tribute to Sudirman by organising a concert in conjunction with the KL Music Festival 2010, with an audience of about 1,000 present.

[19][20][21] On 2014, Malaysia's 57th independence day's theme is "Disini Lahirnya Sebuah Cinta" (Here Is The Birth Of Love) which is the starting line for Sudirman's "Warisan" (Legacy).

From 3 to 5 November, 2016, Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre created a musical tribute for Sudirman, having sponsors from JTI Malaysia, UEM Group, My Kasih Foundation, Yakult, Ambank and Nationwide Express.