Muscat: Legendary Omani singer Salim Ali Said passed away in Thailand on Wednesday after a long battle with cancer.
Salim, who is known as the “Omani song ambassador” started singing at the age of seven.
He was born in 1959 in Oman’s southern Salalah province.
His first album ‘Eisha Saeed’ was released in 1974 and featured ‘Tabatel fe hub Al-watan’, a national song that became immensely popular.
He was among the first Gulf singers to make music videos for his songs, with his first video released in 1976.
Salim was also famous for his love songs like Musafeer (Traveller), Lak Youm (You have a day) and Al Bulbul Al Shadi (The singing Bulbul).
In 2007, he obtained Sultan Qaboos Second Class Order on Culture, Science and Arts in appreciation for his efforts in disseminating Omani songs.
Tributes dedicated to Said have been pouring in on social media platforms under an Arabic hashtag which translates to “the ambassador for Omani songs”.
“Salim passed away but he is in our hearts forever,” wrote Raheeq Al Farsi.
“Omanis are still singing his songs. Salim rest in peace,” he said.
Many users also shared his songs on social media platforms.
