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K. J. Yesudas
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas
Born
10 January 1940 (age 78) Cochin, Kingdom of Cochin, British India
Residence
Trivandrum, India
Other names Dasettan
Alma mater
Swathi Thirunal College of Music, Thiruvananthapuram
Singer
Composer
Occupation
Years active 1961–present Spouse(s)
Prabha (m. 1970)
Children
Vinod Yesudas
Vijay Yesudas
Vishal Yesudas Pa Vibhushan (2017)
Awards
Pa Bhushan (2002) Pa Shri (1977) Musical career Genres
Indian classical music
Playback singing
Filmi
Website
drkjyesudas.com Signature
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas (born 10 January 1940) is an Indian musician and film playback singer. Yesudas sings Indian classical, devotional and cinematic songs. He has recorded more than 40,000 songs in a number of Indian languages, including Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu as well as Arabic, English, Latin, and Russian, during a career spanning more than five decades.[1][2] Yesudas has performed in most Indian languages except for Punjabi, Assamese, Konkani, and Kashmiri.[3][4] He has also composed a number of Malayalam film songs during the 1970s and 1980s. Yesudas won the National Award for the Best Male Playback Singer eight times, the Filmfare Awards five times, and the State Award for the Best Playback Singer forty-three times, including awards given by the state governments of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and West Bengal.[1] He was awarded the Pa Shri[5] in 1977, the Pa Bhushan in 2002, and the Pa Vibhushan (second-highest civilian award) in 2017 by the Government of India for his contributions towards the arts.[6] In 2011 Yesudas was honoured with the CNN-IBN outstanding achievement award having recorded over 50,000 songs in a five-decade career.[7] In 2006, he sang 16 film songs in four South Indian languages on the same day at AVM Studio, Chennai.[8] Contents [hide]
1Early life 2Career o 2.1Debut and early career: 1960s
o 2.2Bollywood: 1970s 3Personal life 4Music company 5Awards and honours 6iration 7Controversies 8Filmography o 8.1As Actor 9Discography 10See also 11References 12External links
Early life[edit] K. J. Yesudas was born in Fort Kochi, in the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin (now Kerala), in a Latin Catholic Christian family to late Augustine Joseph and late Elizabeth Joseph. His father, a wellknown Malayalam classical musician and stage actor, was his first guru (teacher). Yesudas was the eldest of five children, and was followed by three younger brothers and a younger sister. He started his academic music training at R.L.V. Music Academy, Thrippunithura. Later he studied at Swathi Thirunal College of Music, Thiruvananthapuram under the tutelage of the carnatic music maestro late Sh. K.R. Kumaraswamy Iyer and the late Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer but could not complete his studies due to financial constraints. For a brief period, he also studied music under Sri Vechur Harihara Subramania Iyer, after which he took advanced training from Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar. He completed the Ganabooshanam course at R.L.V. Music Academy, Thripunithura, Cochin and continued studies at Sree Swathithirunal Music Academy, Trivandrum under the tutelage of the carnatic music maestro late Sh. K.R.Kumaraswamy Iyer. In 2011 Yesudas completed his 50 years as a playback singer.
Career[edit] Debut and early career: 1960s[edit]
Yesudas with poet and lyricist O. N. V. Kurup
Yesudas recorded his first popular song Jaathi Bhedam Matha Dwesham (music: M B Sreenivasan) on 14 November 1961. However, his first popular song was 'Attention Penne Attention', which he sang for a Malayalam film with Santha P. Nair, a veteran singer of that time. Thus began his career in playback singing which included the Malayalam movie Kaalpadukal (1962) and Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies thereafter.[2] He got the first major break with the hit Malayalam film named Bharya ( music by G. Devarajan and lyrics by Vayalar Ramavarma). In 1967, he sang hit songs in the composition of M.S.Baburaj for the
film Udhyogastha directed by P.Venu. He also sang in Tamil for Bommai first (music: S. Balachander), but the first released movie was Konjum Kumari (music: Veda). In 1965, he was invited by the Soviet Union government to perform at music concerts in various cities in the USSR and also sang a Russian song over Radio Kazakhstan.[9]The trio of Salil, Yesudas and Prem Nazir entered the Malayalam Cinema Industry of the 1970s. In 1970 he was nominated to head the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy and was the youngest person ever to occupy the post.[9]
Bollywood: 1970s[edit] After a decade of singing in South Indian movies, Yesudas got a break in Bollywood in the early 1970s. The first Hindi song he sang was for the movie Jai Jawan Jai Kissan (1971), but the first released movie was Chhoti Si Baat, which resulted in his becoming popular for singings songs like "Jaaneman Jaaneman". He has sung Hindi songs for many leading actors in Hindi cinema including Amitabh Bachchan, Amol Palekar and Jeetendra. He has sung many evergreen Hindi film songs for music directors including Ravindra Jain, Bappi Lahiri, Khayyam, Rajkamal and Salil Chowdhury. Yesudas' most popular Hindi songs are in the 1976 movie Chitchor, with music given by Ravindra Jain. On 14 November 1999, Yesudas was presented with an honorary award by UNESCO for "Outstanding Achievements in Music and Peace" at the "Music for Peace" event in Paris.a concert held to mark the dawn of the new millennium and whose attendees included artistes such as Lionel Richie, Ray Charles, Montserrat Caballé, and Zubin Mehta.[10] In 2001 he sang for album Ahimsa in Sanskrit, Latin and English and in a mix of styles including new-age and Carnatic.[11] In his music concerts in the Middle East he sings Arabic songs in the Carnatic style.[12] He frequently serves as a cultural ambassador for India through his performances abroad, promoting Indian music. In 2009 Yesudas began a cross-country musical campaign against terrorism in Thiruvananthapuram, with the motto 'Music For Peace'.[13] Kavita Karkare, wife of Hemant Karkare, handed over the torch to Yesudas to mark the launch of the 'Shanthi Sangeetha Yatra'.[14] Yesudas has performed for 36 times in the 36-year-old Soorya Music festival organised by Soorya Krishnamoorthy.[15]
Personal life[edit] Yesudas is married to Prabha at Santa Cruze Basillica Kochi. They have three sons, Vinod, Vijay and Vishal. Their second son Vijay Yesudas is a musician who won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 2007 and 2013.[16]
A statue of Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar sponsored by Yesudas at Chembai gramam (Kottayi village) in Palakkad; next to Bhagavatar's house.
Sree Narayana Guru’s great message, "One religion and One God for all humanity", influenced young Yesudas in his dealings with his fellow men. He had his own heroes among the musicians too. Mohammed Rafi, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar and Balamurali Krishna are the ones he ires the most.[17] Yesudas has been visiting Kollur Mookambika temple, Kollur, Karnataka on his birthday to sing keerthans of Saraswati devi, the Goddess of knowledge, music and the arts. The music festival started on his 60th birthday in 2000. The nine-day music festival begins every January at Kollur Mookambika Temple. On Sunday, 10 January 2010, he celebrated his 70th birthday (Sapthathi) at Kollur Sri Mookambika Temple with 'Sangeetharchana' (classical devotional songs), along with 70 singers before goddess Mookambika. The Sangeetharchana included "Pancharatna Gayana" of Thyagaraja's poems. He also took part in the Vidyarambha function. All India Radio broadcast the special Sangeetharchana all over Kerala. Yesudas also has many songs devoted to Lord Ayyappa including the hit song "Harivarasanam".[18][19][20][21] In 2002, during Marad massacare, he visited the place along with the veteran poet Sugathakumari, and conducted classes against violence. Harivarasanam, a devotional song musical version composed by G. Devarajan, recited before closing the temple at Sabarimala was sung by Yesudas. Though there have been many different renditions of this song by many different renowned singers, Sabarimala officially uses Yesudas' voice for Harivarasanam every day.[1]
Music company[edit] In 1980 Yesudas established the Tharangani Studio at Trivandrum. In 1992 the office and studio were moved to Chennai, Tamil Nadu and the company was incorporated in the US in 1998. Tharangni Studio and Tharangni Records became a recording center in Kerala which, for the first time, brought out audio cassettes of Malayalam film songs in stereo. The record company also had a voice mixing studio in Studio27, Chennai. The studio continues to produce and present events of Yesudas both for film and Indian classical music concerts throughout the world.[22]
Awards and honours[edit] Main article: List of titles, honours and major awards received by Yesudas Yesudas has recorded over 70,000 songs and has won scores of accolades including the coveted Pa Shri (1975),[23] Pa Bhushan (2002),[24] Pa Vibhushan (2017)[25] and eight National Awards for Best Playback Singer. He is the only singer who has been accorded the title Asthana Gayakan (official singer) of Kerala State.
National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer a record 8 times by the Government of India Kerala State Film Award for Best Singer a record 25 times for the best playback singer by the Government of Kerala Tamil Nadu State Film Awards 5 times for the best playback singer by the Government of Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh State Film Awards 4 times for the best playback singer by the Government of Andhra Pradesh Anandalok Best Male Playback Award 1 time for the best playback singer by the Government of West Bengal J. C. Daniel Award from Government of Kerala Sangeetha Kalasikhamani, 2002 by The Indian Fine arts Society, Chennai
Swaralaya Yesudas award is a prestigious award for music artists in recognition of their outstanding performance. The award is instituted tly by Swaralaya, an organisation that promotes music and Kairali Channel, based in Trivandrum, Kerala. Awards have been given annually since 2000. Yesudas presents the awards at a Gandharva Sandhya every January.[26][27][28]
iration[edit] In his acceptance speech of winning the Swaralaya Kairali Yesudas Award (2006), AR Rahman said "I'm greatly honoured by Swaralaya's gesture, and getting this award from my most favourite singer Mr Yesudas. He is one of my most favourite voices' ever in the world." Ravindra Jain, in an interview wherein the blind music director confessed that if ever he happened to regain vision, the first person he would like to see would be Yesudas. Bappi Lahiri said in an interview with Filmfare in 2012: 'Yesudas’ voice is touched by God. After Kishoreda, he was another singer who brought out the best in me. He is a yogi, a mystic who lives for music. He takes your tunes to another level. And his note is perfect, you can rely on him to deliver it right the first time. Working with him made me touch base with my melodious side. He is vastly under-utilised in Hindi films. I wish Hindi film composers of today realise his genius and offer him assignments."[29]
Controversies[edit] On 2 October 2014, Yesudas sparked a row while speaking at a public function on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi, where he stated that "Women should not wear jeans and trouble others. You should dress modestly and do not behave like men". This resulted in a number of protests from Women's Rights and Political organizations, who asked him to withdraw the comment.[30] He again hit the news headline by making another controversial statement in 2017 on ‘Selfies’ he said “boys and girls rubbing shoulders to take selfies’ is not culturally right!”. His statement faced huge backlash on social media .[1]
Filmography[edit] As Actor[edit] Year
Film
Stars
Director
Role
Language
1965
Kavyamela
Prem Nazir
M. Krishnan Nair as himself Malayalam
1966
Kayamkulam Kochunni
Sathyan
P. Bhaskaran
1966
Anarkali[31]
Prem Nazir, Sathyan Kunchacko
as Tansen
Malayalam
1973
Achaani
Prem Nazir
as singer
Malayalam
P. Bhaskaran
as Khader Malayalam
1977
Nirakudam
Kamalhassan
A. Bhimsingh
as singer
Malayalam
1977
Harshabashpam
M. G. Soman
P. Gopikumar
as singer
Malayalam
1980
Saranam Ayyappa
Jayabharathi
as singer
Tamil
1981
Pathira Sooryan
Prem Nazir
P K Pillai
as saint
Malayalam
2002
Nandanam
Prithviraj
Ranjith
as himself Malayalam
2005
Boyy Friend
Manikuttan
Vinayan
as himself Malayalam
2012
Theruvu Nakshatrangal Tini Tom
Jose Maveily
as himself Malayalam
Discography[edit] Main article: K. J. Yesudas discography Main article: K. J. Yesudas Tamil Discography
See also[edit]
Swaralaya Yesudas Award List of Carnatic singers Harivarasanam
References[edit] 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6.
^ Jump up to:a b c "Music legend Yesudas turns 70". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2011. ^ Jump up to:a b "'I don't sing trendy music'". Rediff. Retrieved 2009-0906. Jump up^ "Those magical moments..." Chennai, India: The Hindu. 3 September 2002. Retrieved 2009-08-19. Jump up^ "Life devoted to music". The Hindu. 1 February 2001. Retrieved 2009-08-19. Jump up^ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/pavibhushan-is-another-stepping-stone-for-k-jyesudas/articleshow/56789500.cms Jump up^ "Pa Bhushan Awardees – Pa Awards – My India, My Pride". India.gov.in. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
7. 8. 9.
10. 11. 12.
13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.
19.
20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31.
Jump up^ "Yesudas receives CNN-IBN 'Indian of the Year' award". 17 December 2011. Retrieved 2016-09-01. Jump up^ "One for the records". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 1 December 2006. Retrieved 2010-05-01. ^ Jump up to:a b "CDR K J YESUDAS THE INDIAN PLAYBACK SINGING LEGEND'S RAGS TO RICHES". stateofkerala.in. Archived from the original on 5 December 2011. Jump up^ "KJ Yesudas completes 50 glorious years as singer". Asianet india. Archived from the original on 24 January 2012. Jump up^ "Ahimsa Album". Hinduonnet.com. 19 February 2001. Retrieved 2011-09-09. Jump up^ Vineet Pillai (15 November 2003). "Exclusive – Interview with Yesudas on 15th November 2003". Indien-netzwerk.de. Archived from the original on 31 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-01. Jump up^ "Yesudas' Musical Campaign for peace". oneindia.com. 13 January 2009. Jump up^ "Tributes paid to Hemant Karkare". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 12 January 2009. Retrieved 2010-05-01. Jump up^ "Gaanagandharvan graces the Soorya festival for the 36th time". thiraseela.com. Jump up^ Ajay Gosh. "Dr. KJ Yesudas: Singer With A Golden Voice". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Jump up^ "'I do not sing trendy music': Yesudas". Rediff.com. 7 May 2001. Retrieved 2010-05-01. Jump up^ "Gandharva of songs : K.J Yesudas celebrates 70th birthday". Non Resident Kerala Associations. Retrieved 2010-0501.[dead link] Jump up^ "Yesudas celebrated Birthday at Kollur". Oneindia Entertainment. 19 January 2009. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 2010-05-01. Jump up^ PTI (10 January 2012). "Music legend Yesudas turns 72". Chennai, India: The Hindu. Retrieved 2010-05-01. Jump up^ "Yesudas celebrates 70th birthday in Kollur". The New Indian Express. 11 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-01. Jump up^ "Dr. K. J. Yesudas". keralatourism.org. Retrieved 18 March 2010. Jump up^ "Pa Shri Awardees". Ministry of Home Affairs. Retrieved 2014-11-27. Jump up^ "Pa Bhushan Awardees". Ministry of Home Affairs. Retrieved 2014-11-27. Jump up^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017. Jump up^ "Swaralaya awards presented". The Hindu. 20 January 2003. Retrieved 18 March 2010. Jump up^ "Swaralaya award for Shankar Mahadevan". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 16 December 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2010. Jump up^ "Tributes paid to Hemant Karkare". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 12 January 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2010. Jump up^ "King of Ooh la la land". Retrieved 2016-09-01. Jump up^ "KJ Yesudas: India singer criticised for 'sexist' jeans remark". BBC News. 2014-10-03. Retrieved 2017-01-26. Jump up^ B. Vijayakumar (31 May 2010). "Anarkali (1966)". The Hindu. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
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