Legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam leaves a legacy of soulful music

It seems 2020 is going too hard! We have already witnessed the deaths of legendary actor Rishi Kapoor, versatile actor Irrfan Khan and the suicide of young actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Now, another legendary and notable singer SP Balasubrahmanyam reached the heavenly abode after suffering from respiratory and cardiac arrest. He breathed his last on September 25 at 1:04 PM at MGM Healthcare hospital, Chennai. Even as the clinical team made the best efforts, he couldn't survive and with profound grief SPB's son Charan and MGM Healthcare assistant director Dr Anuradha Baskaran released a press statement about this ace singer's demise.

This legendary singer's sudden demise sent shock waves in the entire Indian film industry and made all and sundry to go teary-eyed. SPB was not only a singer, he entertained the audience as an ace actor, he was a dubbing artist and also bankrolled a few movies. SPB enthralled millions of music lovers with his youthful voice and sung more than 40,000 songs in almost 16 languages.

SP Balasubrahmanyam joined MGM Healthcare after getting tested positive for Covid-19 on August 5. He was fine but was suffering from mild cold and cough but to avoid risk and keeping his family member's safety in mind, he joined the hospital. Everything was fine for a couple of days. But on August 13 his health started getting deteriorated. He was diagnosed with Covid-19 pneumonia and thus he was shifted to ICU. But then again his health started getting better in the first week of September after testing negative for Covid-19. Even his son SP Charan also took to his social media account and doled out that, his dad is getting better and eagerly waiting to get back to home. But Ecmo/ventilator support was continuing.

But all of a sudden, his health condition turned extremely critical on September 24 evening. He was attended by an expert team of doctors. MGM hospital also released a health bulletin stating that, SPB's health is critical. And after suffering from cardiac and respiratory arrest, he breathed his last on September 25.

From Illayaraja to Asha Bhosle and Salman Khan to Chiranjeevi, most of the noted celebrities mourned for the loss of this legendary singer and paid their tributes through social media. SPB's last rights were held at his farmhouse in Chennai amidst a few close family members and Government officials. Devi Sri Prasad, Mano, Bharati Raja and a few close film industry celebrities were also present during his last rites.

Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam was born in a Telugu Brahmin family on June 4, 1946. He made his debut as a playback singer in 1966 with the Telugu film 'Sri Sri Maryadha Ramanna'. His journey continued for decades together and made him bag many prestigious awards. SPB also bagged the 'Guinness World Record' for recording the highest number of songs by a singer with over 40,000 songs.

SPB also received Padma Shri (2001) and Padma Bhushan (2011) from Government of India. Coming to his dubbing career, he lent his voice to ace film stars like Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Vishnuvardhan, Salman Khan, K. Bhagyaraj, Mohan, Anil Kapoor, Girish Karnad, Gemini Ganesan, Arjun Sarja, Nagesh, Karthik and Raghuvaran.

Hope his soul rests in peace! SPB lives in every heart and will always be remembered through his amazing croonings.