Nihal Samarasinghe, (Sinhala: නිහල් සමරසිංහ; 1937 – 11 July 2017), popularly known as Sam The Man was a famous Sri Lankan saxophonist and singer, who was considered an icon of the Sri Lanka English music scene. He played the Saxophone for Leonard Franke’s band “The Manhattans" (Sri Lankan", “The Jetliners” in the 1960’s, and also in his own band. He was active as a musician for 6 decades. Nihal was considered by many Sri Lankans as the ‘King’ of the Sing Along, he is said to have introduced the first Sing Along Concert in Sri Lanka in 1997.

References

1937 births

2017 deaths

20th-century Sri Lankan male singers

Sinhalese singers

21st-century Sri Lankan male singers

Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia

People from British Ceylon

20th-century saxophonists

21st-century saxophonists

Nihal Samarasinghe