Ahmed Rushdi

Ahmed Rushdi (Urdu: احمد رشدی; 24 April 1934 – 11 April 1983) was a versatile Pakistani playback singer and "an important contributor to the golden age of Pakistani film music". Known as the Magician of voice, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest singers in South Asia who could sing high tenor notes with ease. He is best known for his versatility and distinctive voice, with complex and dark emotional expressions. His ability to modulate his voice to match the specific screen persona and style of an actor was a hallmark of his career. Rushdi could sing romantic ballads, pop, ghazal, disco, rock and roll, classical, qawwali-style, patriotic and comedic numbers with equal skill. Considered the first pop singer of South Asia, he sang South Asia's first pop song, "Ko Ko Korina", in the 1966 film Armaan. Born in Hyderabad Deccan, he migrated to Pakistan following partition. In 1954, he recorded the official National Anthem of Pakistan with several other singers. Rushdi has recorded the highest number of film songs in the history of Pakistani cinema in Urdu, English, Punjabi, Bengali, Sindhi, and Gujarati and found unprecedented success as a playback artist from the mid-1950s to the early 1980s. He was also known for his stage performances. He suffered from poor health during the latter part of his life and died of a heart attack at the relatively young age of 48, after recording approximately 5,000 film songs for 583 released films. Besides popular music, Rushdi also helped popularize the ghazals of Naseer Turabi. He was awarded five Nigar Awards, the "Best Singer of the Millennium" title, "Life Time Achievement Award", "Legend Award" and Lux Style Award. In 2003, 20 years after his death, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf awarded him the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, the "star of excellence", for distinguished merit in the field of arts. In a 2016 survey by Asian Woman magazine, Rushdi was declared a darling singer of all time. In 2022, his song "Ko Ko Korina" featured in the opening scene of the American television miniseries Ms. Marvel and won top ratings.