Artist Bio: Mohammad Rafi

Nickname: Pheeko
Date of Birth: December 24, 1924
Date of Death: July 31, 1980
Place of Birth: Amritsar, Punjab, India
Father’s Name: Hajji Ali Mohammad
Spouse: Bashira Rafi
Instruments: Vocalist
Profession: Singer

Mohammad Rafi was born in a small village of Amritsar and was the youngest among his six brothers. He used to sing the chants of fakir when he was young. His brother-in-law discovered the hidden spark and great potential of a successful singer in him and encouraged him to take music classes. He took lessons of Hindustani classical music from Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali. At the age of 13, Mohammad Rafi made his first public performance and sung at a concert dedicated to K. L. Sehgal. Mohammad Rafi made his debut as a playback singer in the Punjabi movie ‘Gul Baloch’ which made his way cleared towards the Bollywood Music Industry. He came to Bombay and was introduced to some of the leading directors and producers there. Mohammad Rafi recorded his first Hindi song for the movie ‘Gaon ki Gori’. From then onwards he made a record of several hits in the movie ‘Laila Majnu’. Mohammad Rafi recorded numerous hits and became the first choice of directors and composers in 1940’s. In the year 1945, he got married to his cousin Bachira. After partition Rafi decided to stay back in India but his family was in Lahore. Rafi was honored many times for his memorable contribution to this industry. One of those was a silver medal given by the Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru when he was invited by him to sing at his residence. Mohammad Rafi stepped on the ladder of fame and each step he took was not only remarkable but also a record setter. He was competing with himself to upgrade his singing ability. The list of the memorable songs he sung is quite long but to name some, was his work in ‘Baiju Banwara’, ‘Tere Ghar Ke Samne’, ‘Aradhana’, ‘Kagaz Ke Phool’, ‘Abhimaan’ and ‘Guide’. He was honored by Padma Shri in the year 1965 by the Indian Government. Mohammad Rafi did a superb job for the music world till he died from a severe heart attack. The Bandra Suburb Chowk has been named after him as ‘Padma Shri Mohammed Rafi Chowk’ to pay a tribute to this legendary singer.