Jagjit Singh Age, Wiki and Bio

Jagjit Singh

Quick Info

ProfessionComposer, Ghazal Singer, Music Director
NationalityIndian
Date of Birth8/02/1941
Age70 years (died on 30, Sep, 2011)
BirthplaceSri Ganganagar, Bikaner State, Rajputana Agency, India
Date of Death30/09/2011

Physical Stats & More

Height178 cm
Weight75 kg
Eye ColorDark Brown
Hair ColorSalt & Pepper

Educational Qualification(s)

DegreeA Degree in Arts from DAV College, Jalandhar
Post Graduate DegreeA Post Graduate Degree in History from Kurukshetra University (not completed)

Personal Life

HometownSri Ganganagar, Rajasthan
SchoolKhalsa High School, Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan
College
  • Government College, Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan
  • DAV College, Jalandhar
  • Kurukshetra University, Haryana

Relationships & More

Marital StatusMarried
Wife/SpouseChitra Singh
Marriage DateDecember 1969
Children
SonVivek (died in 1990)
DaughterMonica (step-daughter; committed suicide)

Family

FatherSardar Amar Singh Dhiman
MotherSardarni Bachchan Kaur
Siblings
Brothers2
Sisters4

Career

Debut
Professional SingingIn 1961 at All India Radio's (AIR) Jalandhar station
Playback SingingFilm- Arth (1982)
Awards/Honours
  • Honoured with the 'Lata Mangeshkar Samman' in 1998 by Madhya Pradesh government
  • Awarded with Sahitya Kala Academy Award by the Rajasthan Government in 1998
  • Awarded with Sahitya Academy Award by the Government of India in 1998
  • Honoured with 'Padma Bhushan' by the Government of India in 2003
  • Posthumously awarded with 'Rajasthan Ratna' (Rajasthan's highest civilian award) in 2012

Favourites

Favorite Singers
  • Lata Mangeshkar
  • Talat Mehmood
  • Abdul Karim Khan
  • Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
  • Amir Khan
  • Mohd. Rafi
Favorite Poets
  • Sahir Ludhianvi
  • Mirza Ghalib
  • Shiv Kumar Batalvi

Some Lesser Known Facts

Jagjit Singh was a smoker.
Jagjit Singh consumed alcohol.
He was born into a Punjabi Sikh family in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan.
His initial music training was under Pandit Chhaganlal Sharma and later Ustad Jamal Khan of the 'Senia Gharana'.
During his early career, Jagjit Singh experienced financial difficulties and once traveled without a ticket on a train from Bombay to Jalandhar.
He met his wife, Chitra, at a jingle recording session, and their marriage was simple and economical.
Jagjit Singh pioneered the practice of giving lyricists a percentage of an album's profits.
In the early 1960s, he tried his hand at playback singing in Bombay but faced financial hurdles.
Jagjit Singh and his wife faced a major personal tragedy when their son, Vivek, died in a car accident in 1990.