(R) Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan seen in this picture. - Photo by WhiteStar

ISLAMABAD: Music-lovers including traditional Qawwali lovers observed the death anniversary of legendary singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan here on Tuesday.

“The King of Qawwali”, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was born on October 13, 1948 in Faisalabad.

The legendary singer was not only popular in Pakistan but also in rest of the world. He sang predominantly in the Islamic devotional style known as Qawwali.

He passed away at the age of 48, having become one of the world's most outstanding vocalists.

Nusrat Fateh's songs are still alive among his fans and also youngsters, and have defined the art-form of Qawwali for the generations to come.

Most of his fans belong to Pakistan and India, where he sung many songs for movies and music albums.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Nusrat Fateh Ali holds the world record for the largest recorded output by a Qawwali artist - a total of 125 albums as of 2001.

With his stunning voice, Khan's first public performance was as the leader of a Qawwali party, at a studio recording broadcast as part of an annual music festival organized by Radio Pakistan, known as Jashn-e-Baharan.

His first major hit was the song Haq Ali Ali while he also did joint ventures with well-known International Singers.

Fans of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan term his singing as soulful, soothing, and transcendent.

Paying rich tributes to Khan' singing, fans on various pages and social networking sites praised him, saying “Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was the greatest singer of the millennium.”

“His style, his voice, music everything was unique. It is always difficult to sing his songs in his style, even the professional singers are not able to come close to his style while singing his songs.”

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