Music lovers observed the 17th death anniversary of “Shahenshah-e-Qawwali”, meaning “The King of Kings of Qawwali,” Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on Saturday. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was born on October 13, 1948 in Faisalabad.
The legendary singer was not only popular in Pakistan but also in rest of the world. He sang predominantly in the Islamic devotional style known as Qawwali.
He passed away at the relatively young age of 48 in the year of 1997, having become one of the world’s most outstanding vocalists.
Nusrat Fateh’s songs are still alive among his fans as well as the younger lot, and have defined the art-form of Qawwali for the generations to come.
He had performed all over the world and had also collaborated on several songs with Western musicians.
Most of his songs including, “Allah Hoo Allah Hoo,” “Yeh Jo Halka Halka Suroor Hai,” and “Haq Ali,” (his first song) continue to be re-sung countless times over, though his own personal style has never been matched.
Nusrat Fateh Ali holds the Guinness world record for producing the largest recorded output by a Qawwali artist — a total of 125 albums as of 2001.
Though he hailed from the Sufi community, his music transcends all sectarian differences as well as national boundaries. His musical score was also present in the cult classic movie of the 90s ‘Natural Born Killers’
