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Kishore Kumar

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Kishore Kumar, born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian playback singer, musician and actor. He was born in 1929 in Khandwa, in what is now Madhya Pradesh, into a Bengali family. His father was a lawyer. His older brother Ashok became an actor in Hindi film, and later his brother Anoop followed. Kishore studied at the Christian College in Indore and died in 1987.

Music and breakthrough

In Indian music he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential singers. He was known for his yodelling and for his ability to sing songs in different voices. He sang in many genres and not only in Hindi, but also in Bengali, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Malayalam, Odia and Urdu. Besides film music, he released albums that were not connected to films, mainly in Bengali. Some of these are regarded as classics. His work ran from Kishore Sings For Kishore (1957) and Jhumroo (1961) to Love in Bombay (1974) and Adhikar (1985).

Influence

He won eight Filmfare Awards for best male playback singer, from twenty-eight nominations, and nobody has won or been nominated more often in that category. His brother Ashok said that his voice hits the microphone right at its most sensitive point. In 2013 he was chosen as the most popular male playback singer. An unreleased song of his fetched 15.6 lakh rupees at an auction in New Delhi in 2012.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a film song by Kishore Kumar. Notice how he switches between soft singing, yodelling and funny little voices without losing the melody.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists