Pushpa Narayan & D Govardan | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 26, 2020)

Chennai: Legendary playback singer S P Balasubrahmanyam, popularly known as Balu and SPB, who enthralled millions of people with his youthful voice, died at 1.04 pm on Friday while being treated for complications arising from Coronavirus at a Chennai hospital. He was 74. He had recovered from the viral infection.

“In a further setback this morning, despite maximum life support measures and the best efforts of the clinical team, his condition deteriorated further, and he suffered a cardio-respiratory arrest. With profound grief, we regret to inform that he passed away…” a release issued by hospital assistant director Anuradha Baskaran said.

SPB’s son, singer S P Charan, thanked everyone who prayed for his father. “I thank doctors and nurses who took care of him. He is everyone’s property. My dad will be alive until you are there,” he said.

SPB, who sang more than 40,000 songs in a career spanning nearly 55 years, had been undergoing treatment at MGM Healthcare since August 5 after being admitted with “mild” symptoms. The same day, the singer posted a video on his social media page, saying, “Last two to three days, I have been having a little discomfort. Discomfort means little chest congestion, which for a singer is nonsense… I am perfectly all right except the cold and fever… In two days, I will be discharged, and I will be home. Lot of people have been calling me. I couldn’t attend all the calls. I have come here… so there won’t be any disturbance to me, and to take medication. Don’t bother calling me. I am fine. I will be fine.” Those were the last words his fans heard from him.

Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam, who was born in a Telugu Brahmin family in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh on June 4, 1946, made his debut as a playback singer in 1966 with the Telugu film “Sri Sri Maryadha Ramanna.”

A versatile singer, languages were no barrier for him. He commanded a fan following across 16 languages, especially in all four southern languages besides Hindi, where he made a name for himself in the 1980s and 1990s — starting with the songs in “Ek Duje Ke Liye”, which also marked the start of his tryst with the National Award for playback singing.

His fans had given him the title of Paadum Nila (Singing Moon).
-------------------
BOMBAY TIMES (September 26, 2020)

Legendary singer S P Balasubrahmanyam, 74, who had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Chennai after testing positive for COVID-19 during the first week of August, passed away yesterday after a long battle with the Coronavirus. On August 5, SPB, as he was fondly called, announced through a video recording, which he posted on his Facebook page, that he had tested positive for COVID-19, and had gotten admitted in a hospital.

While his health had deteriorated during the second week in hospital, he was gradually making progress, with his son, S P Charan diligently updating on his health status. In fact, Charan’s last update, on September 22, said he was making steady progress even though he was on Ecmo/ventilator, and was eager to leave the hospital. Unfortunately, the acclaimed singer’s health deteriorated, and he passed away yesterday.

SPB, who made his singing debut in 1966 with the Telugu film Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna, was the most prolific singer the country has ever seen. The veteran was called Salman Khan’s voice in the 90s after he sang several popular tracks in the actor’s films such as Maine Pyar Kiya, Saajan, Pathar Ke Phool and Hum Aapke Hai Koun..!.

He was an admired character actor, who also played the lead in Tamil films like Keladi Kanmani and Sigaram. He is survived by his wife Savithri and two children — daughter Pallavi and son S P Charan.