Yesteryear singer Ramakrishna passes away

Hyderabad, July 16: Yesteryear singer Ramakrishna passed away in the wee hours today. Ramakrishna was suffering from cancer for the past few years and breathed his last in his residence at Venkatagiri in Jubilee Hills here. He was born to Vissamraju Rangasai and Ratnam on August 20, 1947 at Vizianagaram. Noted singer Susheela was his maternal aunt. He learnt classical music under the tutelage of Nedunuri Krishna Murthy. He sang songs for actors NTR, ANR, Shobhan Babu, Krishnam Raju and others. He carved a niche for himself in singing devotional songs. He sang songs for Mahakavi Khestraiah, Danaveershurakarna, Srimadvirat Potuluri Veerbrahmendraswamy Charitra, Sri Shiridi Saibaba Mahatyam, Tata Manavadu, Balipeetham, Gunavantudu, Andala Ramudu, Bhakta Tukaram, Bhakta Kannappa, Sarada, Alluru Sitarama Raju, Karunamayudu and many other movies. He ventured into movie world by drawing inspiration from noted singer Ghantsala Venkateswara Rao and sang more than 5,000 songs in 200 movies. The devotional music albums sung by him were a big hit. His son Sai Kiran made debut in Telugu film industry with Nuvve Kavali movie. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao expressed his shock over the death of the ace singer and rendered his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members.