Come every Hari Raya, one of the classic tunes most of us have become accustomed to is definitely the cheerful duet number Seloka Hari Raya.
And the singers of the song, are familiar faces many of us can still recognise — Datuk Hail Amir and Uji Rashid.
The pair are legendary, there's no doubt about it.
Although their heyday were in the 1970s through '80s, at least one of them is still performing even until today.
At 75, Hail looks robust, and the testament to that is his recent concert at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, where he shared the stage with another three singers — fellow '70s legendary singer Sanisah Huri, Ziana Zain and Bob Yusof.
Hail, whose full name is Abdul Hail Amir, hails from Penang.
The singer whose popular numbers include Wajah Kesayangan Hamba, Menunggu Nasi Minyak and Merpati Dua Sejoli shares that in the early days as a performer, he was part of a music band, which used to play at weddings.
"But I wasn't the band's singer," he recounts.
"As I could play the guitar, naturally I became the band's guitarist."
Hail says although the band was paid between RM50 and RM60 at each gig, it was quite a big deal then.
"And we were getting a lot of invitations to perform at weddings as well. The steady income was enough for us to get by.
But since only the rich could afford a car those days, none of the bandmembers owned a car or transport.
"In order to get around, along with our musical instruments, we had to hire a lorry," he says with a laugh.
Dancing his way into showbusiness
While Hail has created a name as a singer for the last few decades, whether by singing or being part of a music band, or even acting, these were not his first venture in showbusiness.
"I began my life as a performer by being a dancer under the ministry, which was then responsible for culture and arts.
"As a dancer with the troupe under the ministry, I had the opportunity to travel the world, to perform in countries such as in (then) Burma, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Indonesia and Kuwait," shares the father of four and husband to Datin Safiah Ibrahim.
For Hail, performing on stage has always been a happy pill for him.
While many would get nervous when forced to perform, it has never been a problem for him.
"I've always been comfortable whenever I am on stage. There's no such thing as having butterflies in my stomach when I'm standing under the spotlights," Hail says.
"I could never imagine a life without singing, dancing or entertaining others.
"Performing art has always made me happy. I think my life would be so dull if you take that away from me.
1970s heartthrob
In his heyday, Hail was a very popular male artiste, with a throng of female fans, even some obsessive, fanatical ones.
"Fans, especially young girls, could behave rather extremely, if I remember some events correctly.
"Pushing in the crowd just to shake hands with their favourite artistes is nothing unheard of even then," he shares.
Autographs and fan mails were the things he used to deal with a lot during those days.
"Whenever we have performances, fans would also come with books for us to sign our autographs in.
"As for mails, there were also strange things inserted inside the envelope instead of just plain paper," says the singer, who has recorded 12 albums throughout his singing career.
"I've even received a necklace and money in some of the mails," says Hail, who still keeps the interesting mails in his home as mementoes.
"Besides, it's the least I could do to appreciate my fans."
Despite his age, Hail still gets invitations for performances, even from Singapore and Brunei.
Having suffered a heart attack in 2018, Hail has since been more careful in keeping healthy.
"It was a harrowing experience, which left me a little reluctant to go anywhere alone, God forbid," shares Hail frankly.
"I never missed my check-ups at the National Heart Institute.
"I'm also watch my diet, so that I continue to be healthy and continue to entertain my fans."