Mohammed Rafi

Mohammed Rafi (, , December 24, 1924 – July 31, 1980) was an Indian playback singer who primarily sang in Hindi for the Bollywood industry. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent, having influenced several singers across South Asia. 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. In a career of over 40 years, Rafi sang more than 26,000 songs in the national languages of India and sometimes in other languages.

Career
In 1944, Rafi moved to Mumbai. Rafi appeared in two movies. In 1945, he appeared on the screen for the song "Tera Jalwa Jis Ne Dekha" in the film Laila Majnu. He sang a number of songs as part of the chorus, including with K. L. Saigal from the movie Shahjahan (1946). Rafi sang in Mehboob Khan's Anmol Ghadi (1946). He had a duet with Noor Jehan in the 1947 film Jugnu, "Yahan Badla Wafa Ka". After partition, Rafi decided to stay in India.

In 1949, Rafi was given solo songs by music directors such as Naushad, Shyam Sunder, and Husnalal Bhagatram.

In his early career, Rafi associated with many contemporary music directors, most notably Naushad Ali. In the late 1950s and 1960s, he worked with other composers of the era such as O. P. Nayyar, Shankar Jaikishan, S.D. Burman and Roshan. Throughout the 1970s he also with leading composers, such as R.D Burman, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Kalyanji Anandji, Madan Mohan, Usha Khanna, Sonik Omi and Rajesh Roshan.

Death
On Thursday, July 31, 1980, Rafi died at 10:50 p.m., following a massive heart attack. He had  four sons (Saeed Rafi, Khalid Rafi, Hamid Rafi, Shahid Rafi), three daughters (Parveen, Nasreen, Yasmin) and 18 grandchildren.

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Category:Indian singers
Category:1921 births
Category:Filmfare Awards winners