Janaki started out at 19, singing for the Tamil film Vidhiyin Vilayattu back in 1957, and she never really slowed down after that. She went on to record more than 48,000 songs across roughly 20 languages, including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi, and people didn't just call her a singer,they called her the Nightingale of South India.She picked up four National Film Awards and 33 state honors along the way.Didn't take much convincing for composers either, everyone from Bappi Lahiri to A R Rahman wanted her voice on their records.She retired in 2017 after a farewell concert in Mysuru,though she came back briefly in 2018 to sing one more song for the Tamil film Pannaadi.
This wasn't an easy year for her family either.Her son, Murali Krishna, died back in January, just months before her own passing.Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar posted a tribute calling her voice golden and said the world of music had gone quiet with her loss. He also remembered her as a mentor who trained and encouraged younger singers throughout her career.
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