Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Punjabi: نصرت فتح علی خان Shahmukhī, ਨੁਸਰਤ ਫਤਿਹ ਅਲੀ ਖਾਨ) (13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997), a world-renowned Pakistani musician, was primarily a singer of Qawwali, the devotional music of the Sufis. Considered one of the greatest singers ever recorded, he possessed extraordinary 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 Kings of Qawwali".
Born in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), Pakistan, Khan had his first public performance at 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 U.S.A. He engaged in collaborations and experiments with Western artists, becoming a well-known world music artist. He toured extensively, performing in over 40 countries.
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