MUSICIAN

Ilaiyaraaja

1943 - Today

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Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. Regarded as one of the most prolific composers, in a career spanning over forty-nine years, he has composed over 8,600 songs, provided film scores for about 1,523 feature films in nine languages, and performed in over 20,000 concerts. He is nicknamed "Isaignani" (the musical sage) and is often referred to as "Maestro", the title conferred to him by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London. Ilaiyaraaja was one of the first Indian film composers to use Western classical music harmonies and string arrangements in Indian film music, and is the first Indian, as well as Asian to compose, record, and perform live a full Western classical symphony. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Ilaiyaraaja is the 762nd most popular musician (up from 1,077th in 2019), the 392nd most popular biography from India (up from 501st in 2019) and the 8th most popular Indian Musician.

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Among MUSICIANS

Among musicians, Ilaiyaraaja ranks 762 out of 3,175. Before him are Danko Jones, Link Wray, Deadmau5, Kenny Clarke, Adrien-François Servais, and Klaus Tennstedt. After him are Peter Machajdík, The Edge, Vasco Rossi, Todd Rundgren, Sly Stone, and Milt Jackson.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1943, Ilaiyaraaja ranks 255. Before him are Newt Gingrich, Wilson da Silva Piazza, Osamu Dezaki, Maurice Bishop, Takaji Mori, and Mie Hama. After him are Jef Raskin, Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, Sly Stone, Robbie Robertson, Herman Van Springel, and Scott Walker.

Others Born in 1943

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In India

Among people born in India, Ilaiyaraaja ranks 392 out of 1,861. Before him are Rash Behari Bose (1886), Salim Ali (1896), Ramdhari Singh Dinkar (1908), Mahbub ul Haq (1934), Rishi Kapoor (1952), and Jayant Narlikar (1938). After him are T. H. White (1906), Subramania Bharati (1882), Abdul-Qādir Bedil (1642), K. Kamaraj (1903), Nasir-ud-Daulah (1794), and Jaimini (-390).

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Among MUSICIANS In India

Among musicians born in India, Ilaiyaraaja ranks 8. Before him are Ram Narayan (1927), A. R. Rahman (1966), Pete Best (1941), Ravi Shankar (1920), Cliff Richard (1940), and Tansen (1493). After him are Naushad (1919), Bismillah Khan (1916), Christian Zacharias (1950), Barry Hay (1948), M. M. Keeravani (1961), and K. S. Chithra (1963).

Indian born Musicians

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