Mohammed Rafi

For the Kerala football player, see Mohammed Rafi (footballer). For the Indian cricketer, see Mohammad Rafi (cricketer). For the television actor, see Rafi DQ.

Mohammed Rafi
Born(1924-12-24)24 December 1924
Kotla Sultan Singh, Punjab, British India
(present-day Punjab, India)
Died31 July 1980(1980-07-31) (aged 55)
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
OccupationPlayback singer
Years active1944–1980
Spouses
Bashira Bibi
​
(m. 1938⁠–⁠1942)​
Biliquis Bano
​
(m. 1945)​
Children7
Awards
HonoursPadma Shri (1967)
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Signature

Mohammed Rafi (Punjabi: [mʊɦəˈməd̪ ɾəˈfi]; 24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent.[5][6] Rafi was notable for his versatility and range of voice; his songs varied from fast peppy numbers to patriotic songs, sad numbers to highly romantic songs, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans to classical songs.[7] He was known for his ability to mould his voice to the persona and style of the actor lip-syncing the song on screen in the movie.[8] He received six Filmfare Awards and one National Film Award. In 1967, he was honored with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India. In 2001, Rafi was honoured with the "Best Singer of the Millennium" title by Hero Honda and Stardust magazine. In 2013, Rafi was voted for the Greatest Voice in Hindi Cinema in the CNN-IBN's poll.[9]

He recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and in many Indian languages as well as some foreign languages, though primarily in Urdu and his native Punjabi, over which he had a strong command. He recorded as many as 7,000 songs throughout his career, spanning several languages and dialects such as Konkani, Assamese, Bhojpuri, Odia, Bengali, Marathi, Sindhi, Kannada, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Magahi, Maithili, etc. Apart from Indian languages, he also sang in some foreign languages, including English, Persian, Arabic, Sinhala, Mauritian Creole, and Dutch.[10]

  1. ^ "Mohd. Rafi - Shabad Kirtan Songs, Mohd. Rafi - Shabad Kirtan Movie Songs MP3 Download | Saregama.com" https://www.saregama.com/album/mohd-rafi-shabad-kirtan_107964 Archived 11 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Waqyat Hamd Aur Naat Mohd Rafi Songs Download: Waqyat Hamd Aur Naat Mohd Rafi MP3 Urdu Songs Online Free on Gaana.com" https://gaana.com/album/amp/waqyat-hamd-aur-naat-mohd-rafi.html Archived 11 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Mohammad Rafi and the songs based on Classical Raagas". 10 June 2012. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  4. ^ "MD RAFI NAZRUL GEET Music Playlist: Best MD RAFI NAZRUL GEET MP3 Songs on Gaana.com" https://gaana.com/playlist/amp/rajatkumar-maiti-md-rafi-nazrul-geet.html Archived 11 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ To, As Told; To, As Told (25 July 2010). "Remembering Rafi". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 12 September 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Mohd Rafi: The Rough Guide to Bollywood Legends: Mohd Rafi". PopMatters. 20 January 2005. Archived from the original on 2 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Forgetting the phenomenal talent of Rafi". 20 July 2018. Archived from the original on 12 September 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  8. ^ Students' Britannica India, Volumes 1–5. Encyclopædia Britannica (India). 2000. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-85229-760-5. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  9. ^ "Rafi wins Greatest Voice of Hindi Cinema poll". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  10. ^ IANS (23 December 2016). "36 years after death, two landmarks for Rafi". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.