Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Biography

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a Pakistani musician and singer, counted amongst the greatest voices ever recorded. He was primarily a singer of qawwali, the devotional music of the Sufis. As a singer he was blessed with an extraordinary voice and could perform at a high level of intensity for several hours. Born into a family of accomplished singers and musicians, he developed an early interest in the art form. However, his father wanted him to become a doctor or engineer as he felt that practitioners of qawwali had low social status. But fate had other plans and Nusrat too went on to become a musician cum singer. He gave his first public performance at the age of 16 and soon became the head of the family qawwali party. Within a few years he established himself throughout Pakistan as one of the greatest qawwals of his generation. As he matured as a performer he developed his own unique style of qawwali, experimenting with the tempo and voice ranges. It did not take long for his fame to spread worldwide and he became a much recognized and respected figure in countries across the world including India, Japan, and the U.S. Credited with introducing qawwali music to international audiences, he is popularly referred to as "Shahenshah-e-Qawwali", meaning "The King of Kings of Qawwali”.