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Kamahl (born November 13, 1934) is the stage name of an Australian cabaret/easy listening singer and recording artist who is perhaps best known for his song The Elephant Song, as well as his sensitive interpretations of standards in the repertoire of popular music. Kamahl begun his music career in small time band "Radial Arm".
His real name is Kandiah Kamalesvaran AM and he is of Sri Lankan Tamil heritage born in Malaysia to Tamil Hindu parents. He arrived in Adelaide, South Australia in 1953 to receive a higher education at Pembroke School, Adelaide, however, his arrival was not without prejudice on the part of an Australia still influenced by the White Australia Policy. This experience gave bite to his well-known quote: "Why are people so unkind?"
As he made his way into the Australian music industry, Rupert Murdoch was an early important mentor. He performed at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall, as well as pubs and clubs throughout Australia. In 1982 Queen Elizabeth II asked him to give a Royal Command performance in Brisbane for the Commonwealth Games there, and in 1984, he sang with Cathy Lee Johnson at the LA Variety Telethon.
Kamahl received the Australian Father Of The Year award in 1998 and the Order of Australia in 1994.
His first album was A Voice to Remember, which was released in Australia in October 1967. He has released singles and albums in the United States, Canada, England, New Zealand, South America, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Germany - this last in German - as well as the Netherlands, Belgium and all the Scandinavian nations. From 1967 onwards in Australia his records, tapes and CDs were primarily on the Philips label, but he also recorded on EMI, Mercury, Festival, Dino and Readers' Digest.
He has been in the Australian music industry for fifty years, and throughout that time has made some memorable TV and film appearances, as well as concerts. He was one of the first people to appear in concert at the Sydney Opera House. He was a particularly popular guest on the variety show Hey Hey It's Saturday. In 2004 he appeared at the Big Day Out rock festival, and the year before he had cameos in the Australian films Harvie Krumpet and Fat Pizza. He collaborated with the Wiggles for some of their performances, showing his inter-generational appeal.
His latest album is Imagine the World in Unison as of 2005. He is also making appearances as a judge on The X-Factor and has a sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola. He previously appeared in advertisments for Dilmah tea.
He has accumulated more than a dozen speeding fines since 1991.
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