Happy Birthday Usha Uthup: From an untrained singer to Queen of Pop; an awe-inspiring journey

Queen of pop Usha Uthup turns 73 today. The multi-faceted singer has given umpteen hits to the music industry. The talented singer usually stays away from the glaring eyes of the paparazzi and is rarely spotted in the city as spends most of her time in Kolkata.

She is not just known for her unique voice, but the queen of pop is also known for her sartorial choices. Her go-to look is a rich silk saree, a lot of gold jewellery, and gajra in her hair that's something rare that we find today.

We are sure you want to know more about the legendary music artist. Read on to know some interesting facts about Usha Uthup.

She was rejected for her voice.

Usha Uthup was born into a Tamil Iyer family on 7th November 1947 in Mumbai. Her father's name was Vaidyanath Someshwar Sami. She did her schooling from St. Agnes High School.

During her school days, she was thrown out of her music class because she didn't fit in with a voice like hers. But her music teacher recognised, she had some music in her and would give her clappers or triangles to play.

She is not a trained singer.

Usha Uthup is not a trained singer in music. However, she grew up in an environment where she got to explore different types of music. Her parents used to listen to a wide range of music, right from Hindustani to Carnatic to Western Classical Music. This helped her develop a deep understanding of music.

Her first stage performance was at the age of 9

She gave her first stage performance at the tender age of 9 years. Usha Uthup started her music career in Chennai in 1969, singing in a small nightclub called Nine Gems in the basement of the erstwhile Safire Theatre Complex on Mount Road wearing a saree and leg callipers. Her performance was so well received that the owner of the nightclub asked her to stay on for a week. After her first-night club gig, she began singing in Calcutta at night clubs such as "Trincas".

Personal life

She met her future husband, Johnny Uthup in Trancas. She got married to him, and they have a son Sunny and a daughter Anjali. The family now stays in Kolkata, West Bengal.

Her sister introduced her to radio announcer Aamin Sayani, and the latter gave her a chance to sing in one of the radio singing shows of that time.

Her illustrious Bollywood career

After Trincas,  she sang at the Oberoi hotels. By happenstance, a film crew belonging to Navketan unit and Dev Anand visited the nightclub, and they offered her a chance to sing movie playback. As a result, she started her Bollywood career with Ivory-Merchant's Bombay Talkies (1970) in which she sang an English number under Shanker-Jaikishan and then Hare Rama Hare Krishna. She sang the English verse of Dum Maro Dum along for Hare Rama Hare Krishna. Uthup first tasted success with her song One Two Cha Cha Cha in the Dharmendra and Zeenat Amaan starrer film Shalimar. After that she sang many hit songs for various music directors she worked with, Her association with music directors R.D. Burman and Bappi Lahiri deserve a special mention.

She started her career in television with Doordarshan's Bharat Ki Shaan-Shining Star Season 2.

When she forayed into acting

In the year 2006, Usha Uthup made her Bollywood debut with a Malayalam movie Pothan Vava. She then made a cameo appearance in the film Bombay To Goa. Do you know, she was also a part of 7 Khoon Maaf? The same movie for which she won the Filmfare Award for the song Darling in the year 2012.

She has sung songs in multiple languages.

Usha Uthup is not only known for singing Hindi and Bangla songs. She has sung in many other Indian languages including Sindhi, Khasi, Gujarati, Marathi, Konkani, and Oriya among others. The veteran singer has also given her voice to Spanish, French, Zulu, German, Russian and Ukrainian songs.

Let's take a look at some of her grooviest songs that will surely make you hit the dance floor!

Usha Uthup has sung the title song of Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai.

Darling: 7 Khoon Maaf live performance 

Skyfall (English)

Dum Maaro Dum live performance.

 Wishing the 'Queen Of Pop Usha Uthup a very Happy Birthday!