[1]Singing legend Asha Bhonsle has joined the likes of the Beatles, Michael Jackson and Rolling Stones in a new list of top 20 music icons of the past 50 years by CNN.
“The brightest star in Bollywood, Asha Bhonsle is the queen of playback singing, having recorded over 10,000 songs for more than 800 movies. Initially typecast as a vamp, Bhonsle’s versatile range secured her rise to stardom and a career that has spanned six decades,” the news network said about the singer.
Asha, 76, who began her career in playback singing in the shadow of her elder sister Lata Mangeshkar, first gained popularity with Maang Ke Saath Tumhara in Dilip Kumar-Vaijayatimala starrer Naya Daur in 1957.
She has given some of the greatest hits with her music composer husband R.D. Burman, who was instrumental in directing some of her biggest hits like O Haseena and Piya Tu Aab to Aaja.
The list, compiled by CNN’s new arts and culture show “Icon” in conjunction with music magazine Songlines, also includes Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Bob Marley, Celia Cruz, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Madonna, Arabic superstar Khaled and sufi legend Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The website is also conducting an online poll to choose the top five from among the shortlisted 20.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/newsmjpg-498