Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Who is Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan?

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a Pakistani vocalist widely regarded as one of the greatest qawwali singers of all time, celebrated for carrying Sufi devotional music to global audiences. Born in Faisalabad (then Lyallpur) in 1948 into a family with a centuries-old qawwali lineage, he was the son of the musicologist and qawwal Fateh Ali Khan. After his father's death he took charge of the family qawwali party in the early 1970s and quickly rose to national fame. Honored with the title Shahenshah-e-Qawwali (King of Kings of Qawwali), he was renowned for his extraordinary vocal range, improvisational power and stamina. From the late 1980s he collaborated with Western artists through Peter Gabriel's Real World Records, releasing acclaimed albums such as 'Mustt Mustt' (1990) and 'Night Song' (1996), and contributed to Hollywood film soundtracks including 'Dead Man Walking.' He recorded a vast catalogue of songs and received Pakistan's Pride of Performance award. He died in London in 1997.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan' (britannica.com) · Pierre-Alain Baud, 'Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: The Voice of Faith' (HarperCollins India, 2015)