Mohammed Rafi was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and range of voice; his songs varied from fast peppy numbers to patriotic songs, sad numbers to highly romantic songs, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans to classical songs. He was known for his ability to mould his voice to the persona and style of the actor lip-syncing the song on screen in the movie. He received six Filmfare Awards and one National Film Award.

Early life and career:

• Rafi was born on December 24, 1924, in Kotla Sultan Singh, a village near Amritsar, Punjab, British India.
• He began his musical training at a young age and learned to play the harmonium and tabla.
• In 1941, he moved to Lahore to pursue a career in music.
• He made his playback singing debut in 1944 with the film "Gaon Ki Gori".
• Rafi's career took off in the 1950s, when he sang for some of the biggest films of the decade, such as "Baiju Bawra" (1952), "Shree 420" (1955), and "Pyasa" (1957).

Legacy:

• Rafi is considered to be one of the greatest playback singers of all time.
• He has sung over 25,000 songs in over 10 languages.
• His songs have been featured in some of the most iconic films of Indian cinema.
• Rafi was awarded the Padma Shri in 1967 and the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 1977.
• He died on July 31, 1980, at the age of 55.