Ahmed Rushdi

For the Egyptian general and politician, see Ahmed Rushdi (politician).

Ahmed Rushdi
Background information
Birth nameSyed Ahmed Rushdi
Also known as
  • Magician Of Voice [1](Urdu: آواز کا جادوگر)
  • Master Of Stage (Urdu: اسٹیج کا استاد)
  • Rushdi Sahab (Urdu: رُشدی صاحب)
Born(1934-04-24)24 April 1934
Hyderabad Deccan, British India
OriginPakistan Pakistani
Died11 April 1983(1983-04-11) (aged 48)
Karachi, Pakistan
Genres
Occupation(s)Urdu and regional playback singer
InstrumentVocalist
Years active1951–1983

Ahmed Rushdi SI PP (Urdu: احمد رشدی; 24 April 1934 – 11 April 1983) was a versatile[2] Pakistani playback singer and was "an important contributor to the golden age of Pakistani film music."[3] Regarded as one of the greatest singers in South Asia[4][5] who could sing high tenor notes with ease,[6] he is best known for his versatility[7] and distinctive voice, with complex and dark emotional expressions.[8][9] Considered the first pop singer of South Asia, he sang South Asia's first pop song, "Ko Ko Korina", in the 1966 film Armaan.[10]

Born in Hyderabad Deccan, he migrated to Pakistan following partition. In 1954, he recorded the official National anthem, of Pakistan with several other singers.[11] Rushdi has recorded the highest number of film songs in the history of Pakistani cinema in Urdu, English, Punjabi, Bengali, Sindhi, and Gujarati and found unprecedented success as a playback artist from the mid-1950s to early 1980s.[12] He was also known for his stage performance.[13] He suffered from poor health during the latter part of his life and died of a heart attack at the age of 48, after recording approximately five thousand film songs for 583 released films. Besides popular music, Rushdi also helped popularize the ghazals of Naseer Turabi.[14] He was awarded five Nigar Awards, the "Best Singer Of The Millennium" title, "Life Time Achievement Award", "Legend Award" and Lux Style Award.[15]

In 2003, 20 years after his death, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf awarded him the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the "star of excellence", for distinguished merit in the field of arts.[16] According to the 2016 survey of Asian Woman Magazine, Rushdi is declared as a darling singer of all time.[17] In 2022, his song Ko Ko Korina featured in the opening scene of American series Ms. Marvel (miniseries) and won top ratings.[18]

  1. ^ "Rushdi remembered as magician of voice". The Nation. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Rushdi the magician of voice". The Nation. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Death Anniversary of Ahmed Rushdi". Duniya News. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Ahmed Rushdi remembered as a magician". The Nation. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  5. ^ Salman Siddique (19 August 2010). "History Of Pop Music". Pakium. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
  6. ^ "Pakistan 360 degrees". Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  7. ^ "Playback singer Ahmed Rushdi remembered on his death anniversary". The News. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Remembering a legend". Dawn News. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Never to be forgotten voice". Dunya News. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Socio-political History of Modern Pop Music in Pakistan". Chowk.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  11. ^ "Remembering Ahmed Rushdi 33 years on". Dunya News. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Remembering the voice of 'Ko Ko Korina'". 11 April 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  13. ^ "Golden Voice Of Ahmed Rushdi". 11 April 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  14. ^ Ahmad, Naseer (27 March 2008). "Multinationals should help promote literature: Naseer Turabi". DAWN. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference galaxylollywood was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Faisal, Shama (24 March 2004). "Musharraf Pledges to Carry on Fight against Terrorism". Pakistan Times. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  17. ^ "Top 10 Pakistani Male Singers – Best Pakistani Singers". Asian Women Magazine. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  18. ^ Siddiqui, Zuha (14 July 2022). "From 'Jalebi Baby' to 'Ko Ko Korina': 'Ms Marvel' desi moments win top ratings". NPR. Retrieved 14 July 2022.