About Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Shahenshah-e-Qawwali | NFAK Biography | Birthday Special

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997), was a Pakistani musician, primarily a singer of Qawwali, the devotional music of the Sufis. He possessed an extraordinary range of vocal abilities and could perform at a high level of intensity for several hours. Extending the 600-year old Qawwali tradition of his family, Khan is widely credited with introducing Qawwali music to international audiences. He is popularly known as “Shahenshah-e-Qawwali“, meaning “The King of Qawwali“.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was born on 13 October 1948 in Hazara, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. His Punjabi Muslim family had migrated to Pakistan from their native city of Jalandhar in East Punjab, British India, after the partition of India in 1947.

His ancestors learnt music and singing there and adopted it as a profession. His father did not want Khan to follow the family’s vocation. He had his heart set on Nusrat choosing a much more respectable career path and becoming a doctor or engineer, because he felt Qawwali artists had low social status. However, Khan showed such an aptitude for and interest in Qawwali, that his father finally relented. He began by learning the tabla before moving on to vocals. In 1964, Khan’s father died, leaving his musical education under the supervision of his paternal uncles, Mubarak Ali Khan and Salamat Ali Khan. He is the uncle of singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

Khan had his first public performance at the age of 16, at his father’s chelum. He became the head of the family qawwali party in 1971. He was signed by Oriental Star Agencies, Birmingham, England, in the early 1980s. Khan went on to release movie scores and albums in Europe, India, Japan, Pakistan and the US. He engaged in collaborations and experiments with Western artists, becoming a well-known world music artist. He toured extensively, performing in over 40 countries.

Khan’s first public performance as the leader of the Qawwali party was at a studio recording broadcast as part of an annual music festival organised by Radio Pakistan, known as Jashn-e-Baharan. Khan sang mainly in Urdu and Punjabi and occasionally in Persian, Braj Bhasha and Hindi. His first major hit in Pakistan was the song Haq Ali Ali, which was performed in a traditional style and with traditional instrumentation. The song featured restrained use of Khan’s sargam improvisations.

Personal Life

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan married his first cousin, Naheed, the daughter of his uncle, Salamat Ali Khan in 1979. They had one daughter, Nida.

He fell ill with kidney and liver failure in 1997 while in London. He suffered a fatal heart attack and died on 16 August 1997. He was 48 years old. Khan’s musical legacy is now carried forward by his nephew, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

About Life

Name : Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Also Known As : Shahenshah-e-Qawwali
Famous As : Qawwal and Ghazal Singer
Nationality : Pakistani
Birth Date : 13 October 1948
Died At Age :  48
Sun Sign : Libra
Born In : Faisalabad
Father : Fateh Ali Khan
Siblings : Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan
Spouse/Partner : Naheed Nusrat
Children : Nida
Religion : Islam
Died On : 16 August 1997
Place of Death : London

Awards & Achievements

• Khan is widely considered to be the most important qawwal in history.
• Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan received the President of Pakistan’s Award for Pride of Performance for his contribution to Pakistani music in 1987.
• He was honored with the UNESCO Music Prize in 1995 and the Grand Prix des Ameriques at Montreal World Film Festival the next year.
• In August 2010 he was included in CNN’s list of the twenty most iconic musicians from the past fifty years.