Bangla Music

Abbasuddin (folk) - Shaped Bangla music as one of the earliest Bengali singers, whose recordings are still available. Father of Ferdousi Rahman, and founder of his "Gharana" of music.

Anjan Datta - From West Bengal, India. Built on style started by Shuman Chatterjee. Rich voice. "Anti-institutional" lyrics. Few from Bangladesh come close in his class of music. Nochi keta of India has similar style.(Songs: 244-1139)

Azam Khan - Undisputed "Guru" of Bangla pop music. Guru even to other bands. Energetic, sometimes off-tune voice. Plenty of drums and electric guitar. Strong loyal following. By far the most popular pop-singer. Has both romantic songs and songs inspired by pessimism and futility. Depicts real-life rather than make-believe optimism. (Songs: Bangladesh)

Baby Nazneen - Rising star of Bangla music (pop and aadhunik). Ranks high in popularity if not in talent. Good rapport with audience in live performances. Second perhaps only to Runa Laila. Brought to Dhaka as child singer by late president Ziaur Rahman.

Bhupen Hazarika - Although non-Bengali, has contributed much to Bangla music over two decades. "Leftist" lyrics. Good stage performance, and highly respected.

Cryptic Fate - New band, has recorded English songs. Webpage now available.

Different Touch - Gained poplularity in mid-eighties. Most songs in their first album were good.

Dolly Shayontoni - "Aadhunik" singer - became popular within last few years. Sweet and natural voice. Easy lyrics and catchy music. First album was good. Second album could not do full justice to her voice. Download some hit songs of Dolly from here.

Fakir Alamgir, Feroz Shahi, Ferdous Wahid, Azam Khan are sometimes knownas the Four "khalifas" of pop music because of their pioneering contributions after independence.

Fakir Alamgir (pop) - Voice known more more for strength rather than being on tune. Lyrics brash and down to earth, and identifies well with the masses. Still actively tours U.S.

Farida Parveen - Unrivalled in Lalon Geet of folk music. Known for two decades.

Feedback (band) - Active for more than 20 years. Good musicians. Very professional and polished band.

Ferdous Wahid (pop and aadhunik)- Good voice. Toured U.S. recently - sang with recorded background music, as many singers do nowadays. Started as pop singer, but gravitated to aadhunik. Good voice. Has some classical training.

Feroz Shahi (pop music) - Accomplished singer with good voice. Well-suited to singing folk songs, which he is famous for. Country mourned loss when he passed away in 96, while singing "Ek miniter nai bhorosha.."

Hemanta Mukherjee (aadhunik and Rabindra sangeet)- Illustrious vocalist and music composer. Recorded numerous songs over many decades. Never had any classical training - all talent. Most respected singer of all time. Demise in 1992.

James (band music) - Vocalist and Guitarist of Feelings, a popular band. Became popular recently after several new releases. Energetic, excellent rock vocals. Pessimistic lyrics. Plenty of electric guitar and drums.

Jhinga Goshti - one of the earliest "bands" in Dhaka

Kishore Kumar (aadhunik) - From West Bengal, India. Untimely death in the80s came at the height of his career. Playback singer. One of few singers to "yodel." (Songs: Ai Je Nodi)

Lata Mangeshkar - Has sung many Bangla songs, although famous for having recorded the most number of songs (mainly Hindi) in the world. (Songs: Mor moina go)

Little River Band (LRB) Band by Ayub Bacchu of Souls. Excellent electric guitar, and strong and powerful voice. Performed in local hotels in Dhaka

Manna Dey (aadhunik) Bengali singer from West Bengal, India - still performs in the U.S. Very intricate voice. Has a very strong classical background. Strength is emotional articulation and feeling. Ranks close to or above Lata Mangeshkar in talent.

Miles (band) - One of the first Bangla bands, together with Souls, and later, Feedback. Initially became popular for replaying English songs.Popularity continued after the release of their own Bangla songs. Hamen and Shafen (the main musicians), are sons of Feroza Begum, the Nazrul geeti singer. Toured U.S. last in 1997

Prometheus - Another short-lived band from the early nineties.  

Renaissance (band music) - Rock band with Reggae style beat. Two members are MBA professors in Dhaka University.

Rizwana Chowdhury Bonna - Popular for more than a decade for "Rabindra Sangeet." Has toured U.S.

Rock Strata - Emerged in mid-eighties as one of the first hard-rock bands

Runa Laila (aadhunik) Unrivalled as most talented lady singer -an asset to the nation. Songs in numerous languages. Well-known beyond the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent. Sang in the Bombay industry for a while. Tours the U.S.(large audiences, tickets are not cheap)

Sabina Yasmin (aadhunik)- Popular for several decades for patriotic songs. Appears frequently on TV. Most popular playback singer for movies. Hails from "Yasmin" Family of music, which has given rise to Nilufer Yasmin among others. Sweet voice. Tours U.S. often.

Shagor Sen - From West Bengal. Deep voice suitable for the Rabindra Sangeet he is famous for.

Shumon Chatterjee - Same type of music as Anjan Datta and Nachi Keta. Excellent voice. Has toured U.S. recently.

Suvro dev (aadhunik and pop)- Good vocals. Nasal tinge. Romantic ballads. Popular with young female crowd. Playback singer for movies. Has toured U.S. in recent years. Download some hit songs of Suvro from here.

Souls - Emerged in late 70s in Chittagong. Gained popularity over more than a decade. Served to launch Ayub Bacchu and Tapan Chowdhuri

Tapan chouwdhuri - Went solo after beginning career in Souls.

War Phase - Emerged in mid-eighties as hard-rock band.

- Shahriar Khan