nusrat fateh ali khan biography

Born Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

13 October 1948
Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Died 16 August 1997 (aged 48)

London, England, UK

Burial place Jhang Road Graveyard, Faisalabad, Punjab,Pakistan

Other names

Shahenshah-e-Qawwali

Occupation

Singer songwriter musician composer

Spouse(s) Naheed Nusrat (m. 1979; d. 2013)

Children 1 daughter

Parent(s)

Fateh Ali Khan

Musical career

Genres

Qawwali ghazal classical folk world

Instruments

Vocals harmonium tabla
Years active 1965–1997

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

 (Urdu/Punjabi: نصرت فتح علی خان‬‎; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997) was a Pakistani musician, primarily a singer of Qawwali, the devotional music of the Sufis.[1] Widely considered one of the greatest voices ever recorded,[2] he possessed an extraordinary range of vocal abilities and could perform at a high level of intensity for several hours.[3][4][5][6] Extending the 600-year old Qawwali tradition of his family, Khan is widely credited with introducing Qawwali music to international audiences.[7] He is popularly known as "Shahenshah-e-Qawwali", meaning "The Emperor of Qawwali".[8]

Born in Faisalabad, Khan had his first public performance at the age of 16, at his father's chelum. He became the head of the family qawwali party in 1971. He was signed by Oriental Star Agencies, Birmingham, England in the early 1980s. Khan went on to release movie scores and albums in Europe, India, Japan, Pakistan and the US. He engaged in collaborations and experiments with Western artists, becoming a well-known world music artist. He toured extensively, performing in over 40 countries

Biography

Early life and career

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was born in a Punjabi Muslim[10][11] family in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan, in 1948, shortly after the partition of India in 1947 during which his family had migrated to Pakistan from their native city of Jalandhar in Punjab, British India (now in Punjab, India). His family originates from Basti Sheikh in Jalandhar. His ancestors learned music and singing there and adopted it as a profession.[12] He was the fifth child and first son of Fateh Ali Khan, a musicologist, vocalist, instrumentalist, and qawwal. Khan's family, which included four older sisters and a younger brother, Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan, grew up in central Faisalabad. The tradition of qawwali in the family had passed down through successive generations for almost 600 years.[13] Initially, his father did not want Khan to follow the family's vocation. He had his heart set on Nusrat choosing a much more respectable career path and becoming a doctor or engineer because he felt Qawwali artists had low social status. However, Khan showed such an aptitude for and interest in Qawwali, that his father finally relented.[14] He began by learning the tabla before moving on to vocals.[citation needed] In 1964, Khan's father died, leaving his musical education under the supervision of his paternal uncles, Mubarak Ali Khan and Salamat Ali Khan.[citation needed] He is the uncle of singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Nusrat was known as Pervaiz, one day he went to Ghulam-Ghaus-Samdani. That day Ghulam Ghaus Samdani changed his name to Nusrat Fateh Ali. Ghulam Ghaus Samdani also told him that he would become a great singer.