Veteran playback singer G. Anand succumbed to COVID-19 on Thursday evening. Infected with the virus a few days ago, his oxygen saturation fell to 55 and a timely ventilator could not be provided, which lead to his death.
Also read: The rise of G Anand
He debuted with Amerika Ammayi in 1976 with the song Oka venuvu vinipinchenu anuraaga geethika , a G.K. Venkatesh’ composition, that went on to become a huge hit. His later songs like Dikkulu choodaku ramayya.. , Vittala vittala .. too were well received.
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Born in Srikakulam district of AP, 67-year-old Anand started his career in Chennai and made a name in the Telugu film industry after the death of Ghantasala. Anand had sung and released several devotional albums thus expanding his repertoire.
He started a musical group called ‘Swara Madhuri’ and toured all over the world and performed at nearly 600 shows. Swara Madhuri also served as a platform for many aspiring singers.