A voice that enthralled music fans for more than five decades, legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam passed on September 25 at the MGM Healthcare hospital in Chennai after being admitted for testing COVID-19 positive on August 5. The 74-year-old acclaimed singer-actor, lovingly called by fans as SPB, was laid to rest with full state honors at his Thamaraipakkam farmhouse in the Tiruvallur district, with several notable personalities from South Indian cinema paying their tributes in person. Since SPB's passing, the music world has been left with a void, which the Andhra Pradesh government has now decided to fill, by renaming the Government School of Music & Dance in Nellore.

Andhra Pradesh Minister for Industries, Commerce, and Information Technology Mekapati Goutham Reddy announced on his Twitter page that the Government School of Music & Dance in Nellore will from hereon be called as Dr. S P Balasubramanyam Government School of Music & Dance in memory of the iconic singer. He tweeted, "Recognising the legendary singer #SPBalu, our Govt has decided to rename the Government School of Music & Dance in Nellore as "Dr. S P Balasubramanyam Government School of Music & Dance." This latest development has no doubt come as happy news for SPB fans around the world, with the six-time National Award-winning singer's son SPB Charan as well expressing his heartfelt gratitude on the social media page to the minister's statement.

Great full to the #APgov and @ysjagan garu for this honor. https://t.co/qUvHsOP4ZM

— S. P. Charan (@charanproducer) November 27, 2020

An icon of Indian music, SP Balasubrahmanyam has sung over 40,000 songs across 16 Indian languages during his lifetime and holds the Guinness World Record for recording the highest number of songs by a singer. His collaborations with MSV and 'Maestro' Ilaiyaraaja made him a legend, who partnered for all films under the composers throughout the 1980s. He subsequently went on to create an undisputed record in 1981 when he recorded 21 songs in a single day, which still continues to remain unbroken. Apart from singing, SP Balasubrahmanyam also carved a niche for himself as a talented actor having given notable performances in films such as Keladi Kanmani, Sigaram, Manathil Uruthi Vendum, Thiruda Thiruda, Kadhalan, Minsara Kanavu, Priyamaanavale, Moone Moonu Varthai to name a few. SP Balasubrahmanyam was also a recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 2011 and Padma Shri in 2001 from the Government of India. He is survived by his wife Savithri and two children - daughter Pallavi and son SPB Charan.