Indian playback singer Asha Bhosle, whose astonishing versatility and longevity made her one of the most recorded voices in the history of popular music – an estimated 12,000 songs – has died. She was 92.

Predominantly working in Indian cinema, her career spanned over eight decades. She recorded songs for films and albums in multiple languages and was awarded many accolades in her career, including two Grammy nominations. The Guinness Book of World Records acknowledged her in 2011 as the most recorded artist in music history.

Asha Bhosle (1933-2026)

Born in 1933 in Sangli, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, Bhosle was the daughter of a classical vocalist and began singing at an early age following her father’s death. Alongside her elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar, she moved into the burgeoning world of Hindi cinema, later ‘Bollywood’, and became a playback singer – recording songs that actors later lip-synced on set.

While Mangeshkar became associated with purity and lyrical grace, Bhosle carved out a more eclectic, adventurous path, recording thousands of songs in multiple Indian languages as well as English. Effortlessly traversing genres from classical and ghazal to cabaret, pop and disco,...