Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a Pakistani musician and vocalist who is mainly known for his Qawwali and a form of Sufi Islamic devotional music. He is also known as Shahenshah-e-Qawwali.
He was also a known tabla player and belonged to the 600-year-old qawwali tradition family. They were known to be the Qawwal Bachon Ka Gharana which was a group of twelve qawwal children.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Wiki/Biography
Born on 13 October 1948, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s age was 49 years when he took his last breath on 16 August 1997. He was born and brought up in a Muslim Qawwal family from Faisalabad, Pakistan. He learned tabla from his father and after his father’s death, he got musical training from his uncles.
Since childhood, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was dedicated to music and qawwali as his family belongs to this tradition for the last 600 years. Even his father didn’t want him to be a musician or qawwal, he wanted him to be an engineer and doctor as according to him their profession didn’t get respect in society.
He got his musical training at an early age and after the death of his father and uncles, he became the leader of their group called Qawwal Bachon Ka Gharana.
Family Details
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan belonged to a traditional qawwal family from Faisalabad, Pakistan. He was Pakistan by nationality and had his belief in the Islam religion.
His father’s name was Fateh Ali Khan who was also a classical singer and qawwali musician and his mother’s name was Mrs. Khan who was a housewife.
He also had five siblings, his younger brother’s name was Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan who was a known harmonium player in qawwali. His nephew’s name is Rahat Fateh Ali Khan who is also a known musician and qawwal in the industry.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s marital status was married. He was married to Naheed Nusrat who was a housewife.
The couple also has a daughter, his daughter’s name is Nida Fateh Ali Khan.
Physical Appearance
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a good looking man with an attractive and charming personality. He was 5 feet and 7 inches in height and his body weight was around 136 Kg. He had black color beautiful eyes and had black color semi bald hair.
Career
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan started his career as a musician and qawwal. In the year 1971, after the death of his father and uncles, he became the head of their qawwal group named Qawwal Bachon Ka Gharana. He made his debut appearance as the leader of the group when he was invited to the annual music festival Jashn-e-Baharan by Radio Pakistan.
After that, he made his debut in the film industry with the film Nakhuda in the year 1981 in which he sang the hit song titled Haq Ali Ali. In the year 1998, he gave his music to a Canadian-American movie titled The Last Temptation of Christ along with an English songwriter, singer, and producer named Peter Gabriel.
He also recorded various popular albums like Khawaja Tum Hi Ho, My Heart My Life, Tere Bin Nai Lagda, and others with recording studio Red World Label. He also gave his music to popular movies like Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, Dead Man Walking, and Bend It Like Beckham.
Awards
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan had won many prestigious awards and honors throughout his career in the field of music. He had won the President of Pakistan’s Award for Pride of Performance in the year 1987. In the year 1995, he had won the UNESCO Music Prize. He had also won the Arts and Culture Prize in 1996, Legend Awards in 2005, other prestigious awards.
He holds the record for the most qawwali recordings in the Guinness Books of World Records. He was also listed among the 60 years of Asian Heroes list by Times Magazine and also among the best singers of all time in 2008.
He also appeared on National Public Radio’s 50 great voices list in 2010. He also listed among CNN’s list of the twenty most iconic musicians from the past 50 years in the year 2010.
Death
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan took his last breath on 16 August 1997. He lost his life due to sudden cardiac arrest at Cromwell Hospital in London. As per reports, doctors in London stated that one of the main reasons behind his death was that Pakistani’s doctor used infected dialysis for his treatment. His remains were buried in Kabootran Wala Qabristan in Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Facts and Information
In the year 1984, he got the title of Ustad during his performance at the Anjuman-e-Mausiqaran along with Mian Shaukat Hussain who was also a known tabla player of that time. He was also credited as one of the progenitors of World Music.
He has a huge fan following all over the world, in Japan, he is remembered as Singing Buddha, in the year 2015 Google celebrated his birthday with a Google Doodle, in the year 2000, the American composer Paul Williams included him in his book titled The 20th Century’s Greatest Hits, and in the year 2004 Brook Martinez formed a 13-member band in his remembrance in the New York City.
He is an inspiration for many legendary singers in the industry and his music is copied different times by different composers and even remix his songs and qawwali in movies.
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