Mohammed Rafi didn’t just sing songs in Indian vernacular languages like Marathi, Punjabi, Urdu, Magahi, Odia, Assamese and many more but also foreign languages like Farsi, Dutch, Arabic, are a few of many known languages. Hailing from a small town Kotla Sultan Singh (present-day Majitha), he began singing by imitating the fakirs on the streets. At the age of 13, he had his first public performance. He learned classical music from Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan and two others. He has also sung many hit qawwalis.
The man is said to have been gifted with the voice of gods and has made a great contribution to the industry. Mohammed Rafi had his voice lent to many Bollywood icons from Amitabh Bachchan to Dev Anand. He also has sung duets with megastar singers like Lata Mangeshkar and has worked with music directors like Laxmikant Pyarelal and RD Burman.
Mohammed Rafi had a nickname Pheeko and was one of the most acclaimed singers. He has given hundreds of hitting mellifluous tracks like Yeh Duniya Yeh Mehfil, Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko, O Haseena, Aaj Mausam Bada Beimaan and many more. Over the career of three decades in music, he had to his cap feathers of music from Classical to Patriotic to Qawwali to Ghazals and Bhajans and Party songs. His first song was for a Punjabi film Gul, Soniye Nee Heeriye Nee.
Mohammed Rafi was a mesmerizing personality and ruled the industry for years. During the 1970s, when Kishore Kumar made his debut Rafi for a little while lost his charms to the industry but again made a comeback with full swing and his songs we will cherish forever. A gem like him is very rare to find.