BENGALURU: Noted sugama sangeetha singer Shivamogga Subbanna passed away on Thursday night. He was 83. He was on his way to a private hospital for treatment, when he suffered a massive heart attack. He is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son. Subbanna has received several awards including National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 1978 for the song ‘Kaadu Kudure Odi Banditta’ in the film ‘Kaadu Kudure’.
Hailing from a family of musicians and scholars, G Subramanya, popularly known as Shivamogga Subbanna, also served as an advocate. In his initial days of singing, people often confused him with singer S P Balasubramanyam, as their names sounded familiar. It was due to this reason that poet Lakshminarayana Bhat gave him the name Shivamogga Subbanna.
Subbanna sang many songs penned by Shishunala Shariff, including ‘Kodagana Koli Nungitta’, ‘Alabeda Tangi Alabeda’ and ‘Biddiyabbe Muduki’ and made them popular. He was also an ‘A’ grade artist at Akashvani.Subbanna performed in several countries including US and Singapore. In 2008, he received an Honarary Doctorate from Kuvempu University in Shivamogga.