Iconic singers of all time
We have seen blockbuster movies and many hit songs. Many songs became legendary, and he has unique experiences listening to them. Music plays an important part in our life, be it we are at a party, or we are sad, or we are going through an emotional breakdown one thing that remains constant in all these situations is the music.
Meanwhile, singers give life to that music, gives that emotion which drives us away and some singers become legendary, no one can match their level in this field, the hard work they did to prove themselves and survived in the industry from the beginning at the time where the film industry was not considered a place for reputed people.
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar is a 13-year-old girl who stepped into the industry to support her family after she lost her father to cancer but who knew she would rule millions of hearts and would create an era of her charm.
She has sung more than fifty thousand songs in more than 36 languages, a mountain in itself. Lata Didi is recognized as one of India’s most influential & greatest singers. She was born in Indore on September 28, 1929, and she was named Hema Mangeshkar.
Lata Didi’s contribution to the music industry field will remain till the end. She was known as the ‘Nightingale of India’, ‘Queen of Melody’, ‘Voice of the Millennium’. She was also awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India.
Apart from being a playback singer, she was a music composer and film producer. She has won many awards like National Film Award, Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, Padma Bhushan, Dadasaheb Phalke Award, and many more. She has given her voice to many iconic songs like Aye mere Watan Ke logo, lag jaa gale, ye Pyaar ka nagma hai, and many more, which will inspire the generation to look for one of the best voices India has.
Lata Didi left the world on February 6, 2022, at the age of 92, leaving behind the legacy of her music for the future generation. Words are less for describing her achievements and her nature. ,Everyone loved her and her melodious voice will always be remembered. No one else can match her level.
Mohammad Rafi
Rafi Sahab, like an ocean in the music industry, won the hearts with his diverse singing, from Gazhal to Bhajan. He was born in Punjab, British India (present Punjab), on December 24, 1924.
Mohammad Rafi shifted to Mumbai, the city of dream in 1944, Mumbai welcomed one of the future iconic singers to its city. He was introduced to film producers like Mehboob Khan Abdur Rashid Kardar, and later, he got the opportunity to sing with G M Durrani.
That was just the beginning of a legend, he started singing with other artists as well, and by the year 1949, she got the opportunity to sing the solo song from the music directors.
He became an inspiration for the singers like S P Balasubrahmanyam, Udit Narayan, Mohammed Aziz, Sonu Nigam, and many more, and it is his legacy, the versatile singer he was. Mohammed Rafi lost his life to a massive heart attack on July 31, 1980, at the age of 55, and the rest is his legacy that his name is still remembered & will be remembered.
Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle, the Indie Pop Queen of India. The sisters rocked the music industry with their unique charm & talent and are one of the best playback singers country will ever have. She was born in Sangli (present Maharashtra) on September 8, 1933, & she started her musical career in the year 1943.
She has worked in the industry for seven decades, and her melodies voice is an identity to many iconic songs in the Indian Film Industry. Asha Bhosle has sung over twelve thousand songs, and later she was acknowledged as the most recorded artist in music history by the Guinness Book of World Records.
She has been part of many film music, qawwalis, classical music, Rabindra Sangeet, pop, bhajans, and ghazals. She has received many awards like Padma Vibhushan in the year 2008, Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the year 2000, not only this 7 Filmfare awards for best female playback singer belongs to her, she won Filmfare lifetime achievement award in the year 2001 and won the National Award for best playback singer female twice for the song “Mera Kuch Samaan” & “Dil Cheez Kya Hai”.
Kishore Kumar
Abhas Kumar Ganguly became Kishore Kumar for the world and spread his magic in the film industry with his acting and singing skills. He was born in Khandwa, British India (present-day Madhya Pradesh), on August 4, 1929. Many spent their childhood listening to his songs, and still, he is considered as one of the most dynamic & greatest singers in the music industry.
Kishore Kumar is known for his ability to sing in different voices, and he was very versatile, going from a soft song to a peppy song. He has sung many peppy songs, rock & roll, Rabindra Sangeet, semi-classical, romantic moods, sad numbers, and even rare compositions.
Apart from being a playback singer, he was an actor, film producer, screenwriter, composer, music director, lyricist, and film director. Some of his famous works are Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, New Delhi, Naukri, Bhai Bhai, Jhumroo, Half Ticket, Mr X in Bombay, Padosan, Aasha, and many more.
He has worked in multiple languages like Marathi, Bengali, Odia, Gujrati, Assamese, Bhojpuri, Malayalam, Kannada, Urdu, etc. Kishore Kumar has won many awards like Lata Mangeshkar award in the year 1985 eight Filmfare Awards for best playback singer male, which is the highest in the category.
His last song was sold for Rs 15,60,000 in New Delhi at Osian’s Cinefan Auction. Kishore Kumar died on October 13, 1987, in a heart attack at the age of 58, and left his legacy of music behind for the world.
Jagjit Singh
Jagjit Singh, the Gazhal King of India and was also referred to as the ‘King of Gazhals’, is one of the dynamic musicians of all time. Jagjit Singh was born in Bikaner state, British India (present Rajasthan) on February 8, 1941. He was named Jagmohan Singh Dhiman.
In five decades, he has been the most successful ghazal singer & composer. He took his training from Ustad Jamal Khan, who was from Maihar Gharana, and he taught him Hindustani Classical & other vocal traditions like Thumri, Dhrupad, Khayal, and many more.
Jagjit Singh spent his teenage performing on stage shows, and he also used to compose music. Later in the year 1965, he moved to Bombay and started his music career in the Hindi film industry, where at the beginning, he worked as a singer for jingles, and his hard work & dedication made his journey to a successful playback singer.
In the year 2012, a biography of Jagjit Singh was released based on the interviews. Jagjit Singh has won many awards like Padma Bhushan from the Indian Government in 2003, Sahitya Academy Award in 1998, Lata Mangeshkar Award in 1998, Rajasthan Ratna Award in the year 2012, and many more.
He died on October 10 due to a brain haemorrhage after being in a coma for two weeks. Jagjit Singh announced 70 concerts in different parts of the world on the occasion of his 70th birthday, but in between that tour, he suffered a brain haemorrhage.
Mukesh
Mukesh Chand Mathur became famous with Mukesh and became an unforgettable name in the history of music. Mukesh was born in Delhi, British India, on July 23, 1923. He is recognized as one of the acclaimed and popular playback singers of the Indian film industry.
He has given his voice to many popular actors like Raj Kapoor, Feroz Khan, Dilip Kumar, Manoj Kumar, and Sunil Dutt. His journey in the music world began with the song ‘Dil Hi Bujha Hua Ho Toh’ in the year 1941. He created his style of singing along with music director Naushad Ali.
Mukesh has worked in many movies like Andaz, Mela, Anokhi Ada, etc. Some of his iconic songs are ‘Ye Mera Diwanapan Hai’ ‘Jeevan Sapna Toot Gaya’. He has won many awards like National Award for best male playback in the year 1974 for his song ‘Kai Baar Yuhi Dekha Hai’ and has won Filmfare awards for many songs.
In his musical career, he has sung 19 songs for Dilip Kumar, 46 songs for Manoj Kumar, and 110 songs for Raj Kapoor. Mukesh died of a heart attack on August 27, 1976, in the United States of America, as he went there for a concert.
Usha Uthup
Usha Uthup, once you listen to her songs, you can’t stop yourself from dancing; it comes with so much energy, full of positivity. She is one of the known playback singers who is indulged in pop, jazz, filmi, and Indian pop in the late 1960s, 1970s, 1980s.
Usha Uthup was born in Bombay on November 7, 1947. She started her career in the music industry in 1966, but she sang her first song in public at the age of 9. At that time her sisters were already looking into their musical career, and later they introduced Usha to a famous radio announcer Ameen Sayani.
Usha started singing at night clubs and one day, Dev Anand visited the club & offered her to sing a movie playback. This was her beginning in the film industry. At that time, she had sung one of the iconic songs, ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’, and she was also selected for the song ‘Dum Maro Dum’ along with Asha Bhosle to certain reasons, she was not able to do that song.
In the year 2006, Usha Uthup was seen in a Malayalam film Pothan Vava & later made a cameo appearance in the movie ‘Bombay to Goa’. She has won many awards like Padma Shri in 2011, Filmfare awards for best female playback singer, IIFA Awards, Mirchi Awards, etc. She has ruled the music industry for over five decades, and she is still in demand for her power-packed performances.
Manna Dey
Prabodh Chandra Dey, recognized with his stage name Manna Dey was a well-known Indian playback singer. He was born in Calcutta, Bengal province, British India, on May 1, 1919, and he belonged to the Bhendhibazaar Gharana & took his training from Ustad Aman Ali Khan.
Manna Dey is considered one of the greatest & dynamic playback singers of his time, and his versatility was celebrated in the Hindi film industry. He was known for the infusion of Indian classical music with pop music, which became a golden period for Hindi cinema.
He was in the music industry for over five decades and has recorded more than 3500 songs mainly in Hindi & Bengali. Apart from these two languages, he also sang in multiple languages like Chhattisgarhi, Bhojpuri, Gujrati, Punjabi, Assamese, and Malayalam.
He has sung iconic songs like “Ek Chatur Naar”, “Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli Hai”, “Laga Chunri Mein Daag”, “Aaja Sanam Madhur Chandani Mein Hum”, and many more.
Manna Dey has won many awards, including Padma Shri in 1971, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, Padma Bhushan award in the year 2005, Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2007. He died on October 24, 2013, at the age of 94, in a cardiac arrest.
Pankaj Udhas
Pankaj Udhas is a well-known name in the music industry and Indian ghazals. He was born in Jetpur, Saurashtra (present Gujrat), on May 17, 1951. Pankaj Udhas started his career in 1980 by releasing a ghazal album named Aahat. Later, he started recording for hits like Mukrar in 1981, Tarrannum in 1982, and the list goes on.
He has given many iconic songs to the Hindi Cinema like ‘Chitthi Aayi Hai’, ‘Na Kajare Ki Dhaar’, ‘Chandi Jaisa Rang Hai Tera’, ‘Aur Aahista Kijiye Baate’, etc. He has won many awards, including Padma Shree in 2006 for his contribution to the music industry, Indian Arts Award Gala, etc.
He has also given voice to some of the Bollywood songs, and he is one of the musical gems India has.
So these are some of the singers who have created their legacy and a level in the music industry. Currently, the nation has lost ‘Lata Didi’, and her place can not be filled by anyone, one of the purest souls. They struggled and created her identity, such a strong identity that the name and talent will always be remembered, the nightingale of India.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
