Bappi Lahiri was a legendary singer, composer and record producer who popularised the use of synthesised disco music in Indian cinema. He was born on 27 November 1952 in Kolkata, West Bengal, to a musical family. His parents, Aparesh Lahiri and Bansuri Lahiri, were both classical singers. He was also related to Kishore Kumar(maternal uncle). Bappi Lahiri started playing the tabla at the age of three and learned from renowned maestro Samta Prasad.
when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type area specimen book It has survived not only five centuries.but also the leap introduce electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged.
Willum Skeener
Bappi Lahiri came to Mumbai when he was 19 and got his first break in a Bengali film, Daadu (1974), where he composed music for Lata Mangeshkar. His first Hindi film was Nanha Shikari (1973) and his first Hindi song was Tu Hi Mera Chanda sung by Mukesh. He rose to fame with his music for Zakhmee (1975), where he also sang a duet with Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi. He composed music for over 600 films in Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada and other languages. He also sang some of his own compositions and collaborated with international artists like Boy George, Samantha Fox and Apache Indian.
Bappi Lahiri was known for his distinctive style of music that blended Indian melodies with western beats and instruments. He introduced the use of synthesizers, guitars, saxophones, bongos and drums in Indian film music. He created many hit songs that became anthems of the disco era, such as “I Am A Disco Dancer”, “Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja”, “Yaad Aa Raha Hai”, “Pyaar Ka Tohfa Tera” and many more. He also composed music for various genres such as romantic, ghazal, qawwali, devotional and patriotic. He received many awards and accolades for his contribution to Indian music, including a Guinness World Record for recording more than 180 songs in one year in 1986.
Bappi Lahiri passed away on 15 February 2022 at the age of 69 due to Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a sleeping disorder that causes breathing difficulties. He had also suffered from Covid-19 infection last year. He is survived by his wife Chitrani Lahiri and two children, Bappa Lahiri and Rema Lahiri, who are also singers and composers. He will be remembered as the Disco King of India who made millions of people dance to his tunes.
