Kannur: Well-known Mappilappattu artist Peer Mohammad passed away at his residence in Muzhappilangad, Kannur on Tuesday morning after ailing from age related health problems. He was 75.
Earlier, he had been undergoing treatment for paralysis following a stroke a few years ago.
The funeral will be held at 4 pm today at Valapattanam Manna Cemetery.
Mohammad, the creator of many hit Mappila songs, performed a significant role in popularizing Mappila songs.
Born in Tenkasi in Tamil Nadu, he later moved with his family to Thalassery in present-day Kannur district of Kerala.
He started singing songs at the age of four and had his first song recorded at the age of seven. In a career spanning several decades, he had sung more than thousands of songs, dozens of them instant hits and on tongue-tips of youth and women, and played at thousands of marriage ceremonies and concerts.
Peer, as he is fondly called, also organised several Mappilapattu shows and shared stage with famous Mappilappattu artist VM Kutty who died a few weeks ago.
Muhammed is also hailed as a maestro for having performed Mappilappattu on Doordarshan's Chennai station for the first time in the history of Indian television in 1976.