Born on February 8, 1941 in Sriganganagar (Rajasthan) to a government employee, he had four sisters and two brothers. He was raised as a Sikh by religion. His birth name was Jagmohan but his Sikh father rechristened him Jagjit following the advice of his guru.
With hits like Hontho Se Chhoo Lo Tum, Tum Ko Dekha and Meri Zindagi Kisi Aur Ki Mere Naam Ka Koi Aur Hai, among others, Jagjit Singh made a mark during the ‘70s when the ghazal domain was ruled by names like Mehdi Hasan, Noor Jehan and Begum Akhtar.
The singer was credited with bringing the ghazal to the middle-class, making it more accessible to the masses. He cut more than 40 private albums and sang for innumerable Bollywood films, influencing an entire generation of music lovers. His songs from movies like Arth and Saath Saath are evergreen favourites.
Long before there was Adele rolling in the deep, setting fire to the rain, and fixing your broken heart, we had Jagjit Singh saheb being the perfect companion over a jaam or two, healing our wounds, giving voice to shattered souls.
Here are 15 classics by Jagjit Singh that need to be on every Hindi music lover's playlist.
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And while you are at it, you HAVE TO listen to him perform Laara Lappa. One of my absolute
