Asha Puthli is a singer-songwriter, producer, and actress born on February 4, 1945 and raised in Bombay, India. She has recorded solo albums for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

, and

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

. Her recordings cover blues, pop,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

, funk, disco, and

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

and have been produced by Del Newman and

Teo Macero Attilio Joseph "Teo" Macero (October 30, 1925 – February 19, 2008) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. He was a producer at Columbia Records for twenty years. Macero produced Miles Davis' '' Bitches Brew'', and ...

Early life

Puthli was born into a Hindu family. She is a niece of

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (3 April 1903 – 29 October 1988) was an Indian social reformer and freedom activist. She was most remembered for her contribution to the Indian independence movement; for being the driving force behind the renaissanc ...

. Her father was a businessman, and her mother was a homemaker. Like many upper middle class Hindu children at the time, she attended

English-speaking Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...

Catholic schools Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syst ...

. Puthli began training at an early age in Indian classical music and opera. She listened to jazz and pop music on the radio, which led to her interest in fusion. At thirteen she won a contest in which she sang "Malagueña". The victory encouraged her to begin improvising with a jazz band at local tea dances.

Ved Mehta Ved Parkash Mehta (21 March 19349 January 2021) was an Indian-born writer who lived and worked mainly in the United States. Blind from an early age, Mehta is best known for an autobiography published in instalments from 1972 to 2004. He wrote fo ...

described her singing in his book ''Portrait of India''. She went to a university in Mumbai.

Music career

After receiving her degree, Puthli worked as a

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...

flight attendant. For her training, she spent two months in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

where she later recalled she "would get to hear real jazz". While vacationing in America, she auditioned for a dance scholarship from Martha Graham, which she received. She resigned from British Airways and relocated to New York. John H. Hammond at Columbia had read Ved Mehta's portrait of her in ''Jazz in Bombay''. After hearing a rough demo, he signed her to

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

. She sang lead vocals on the Peter Ivers Blues Band's cover version of "Ain't That Peculiar" which was reviewed favorably in ''Cashbox'', ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', and '' Billboard''. The single released in 1971 entered the Billboard charts. But ''Take It Out On Me'', the band's album featuring Puthli, was finally released in 2009. Hammond sent her to audition for avant-garde jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman, who was looking for a singer for his album ''Science Fiction'' (1971). For the album, Puthli sang on two songs, "What Reason Could I Give" and "All My Life". For her work on ''Science Fiction'', she shared the ''Downbeat'' Critics' Poll award for Best Female Jazz Vocalist. Puthli's popularity grew not in the U.S. but in Europe where she signed a record deal with CBS. Her solo albums reflected her interest in pop, rock, soul, funk and disco. She gravitated toward the glam world of Elton John and T. Rex. Her self-titled debut was produced by Del Newman, and it included cover versions of songs by

JJ Cale John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and sound engineer. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Mark Knop ...

and

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including " Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), " Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (197 ...

. She hired Pierre LaRoche (makeup designer for

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and Freddie Mercury) and photographer

Mick Rock Michael David Rock (born Michael Edward Chester Smith; 21 November 1948 – 18 November 2021) was a British photographer. He photographed rock music acts such as Queen, David Bowie, Waylon Jennings, T. Rex, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop ...

to shoot the cover. The album included a disco version of "I Am a Song" by

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

Film and fashion

Her first film was short with Indian director

Mani Kaul Mani Kaul (25 December 1944 – 6 July 2011) was an Indian director of Hindi films and a reputed figure in Indian parallel cinema. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and ...

in 1968. During the 1970s, Puthli starred in lead roles in

Merchant Ivory A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

's '' Savages'' which was screened at the

1972 Cannes Film Festival The 25th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 4 to 19 May 1972. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian films ''The Working Class Goes to Heaven'' by Elio Petri and '' The Mattei Affair'' by Francesco Rosi. The festival opened with the French fi ...

and Bruno Corbucci's '' The Gang That Sold America'' (Italian title:''Squadra Antigangsters''). She also appeared in a

Louis Malle Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a filmmaker difficult to pin down," Malle's filmogr ...

cinema verite film as “Nadja” based on Andre Breton’s novel, and German documentary “Reden it’s mien Drouge “ for Norddeutscher Rundfunk NDR on her life. Her sense of fashion brought her visibility. A headliner at Studio 54, she was dressed by designers Michaele Vollbracht and

Manolo Blahnik Manuel "Manolo" Blahnik Rodríguez (; born 27 November 1942) is a Spanish fashion designer and founder of the eponymous high-end shoe brand. Biography Blahnik was born in Santa Cruz de la Palma, in the Canary Islands (Spain), to a Czech father ...

and photographed by

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

and appears in the center fold of Francesco Scavullo's book of photographs 1948-1964. In the twenty-first century, she sang on ''Asana Vol. 3'' by

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, ...

and ''Hey Diwani, Hey Diwani'' by Dum Dum Project. In 2005, she returned to the UK charts with "Looking Glass" from the album ''Fear of Magnetism'' by Stratus. Her song "Space Talk" from the 1970s, a popular tune with David Mancuso's ''The Loft'' crowd, has been sampled by

P.Diddy Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

Dilated Peoples Dilated Peoples is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. They have had little mainstream success in the US, with the exception of the song " This Way", a 2004 collaboration with Kanye West. Better known in the UK, they reached t ...

, Governor featuring 50 Cent, and Redman; and her cover of George Harrison's " I Dig Love" was sampled in 2005 for the chart-topping track "Reload It" by UK Mobo award winner

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

. She has co-writer credits with Jay-Z,

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos ...

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

SWV SWV (Sisters with Voices) is an American R&B vocal trio from New York City whose members are Cheryl (Coko) Gamble, Tamara (Taj) Johnson, and Leanne (Lelee) Lyons. Formed in 1988 as a gospel group, SWV became one of the most successful R&B g ...

, and

on the track "The World is Filled" from the multi-platinum album, ''

Life After Death The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

''. In August 2006, she headlined Central Park Summerstage in New York City on an eclectic bill with

DJ Spooky Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntabli ...

Talvin Singh Talvin Singh OBE (born 1970) is an English musician, producer, and composer. A tabla player, he is known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music and drum and bass. Singh is generally considered involved with an electronica s ...

, Outernational, and

Prefuse 73 Guillermo Scott Herren is an American producer who has been based in Atlanta, Barcelona and New York City. Herren releases music under the aliases Prefuse 73, Delarosa & Asora, Ahmad Szabo, and Piano Overlord, and is also part of the groups S ...

, and special guests

Dewey Redman Walter Dewey Redman (May 17, 1931 – September 2, 2006) was an American saxophonist who performed free jazz as a bandleader and with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett. Redman mainly played tenor saxophone, though he occasionally also played al ...

and Dres (rapper) of the hip-hop group Black Sheep.

Praise by critics

Music critic

Ann Powers Ann K. Powers (born February 4, 1964) is an American writer and pop music critic. She is a music critic for NPR and a contributor at the ''Los Angeles Times'', where she was previously chief pop critic. She has also served as pop critic at ''The ...

in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' called Puthli a "fusion pioneer". Music critic Robert Palmer called her singing "extraordinary". Her third solo album, ''The Devil is Loose'', was called an instant classic by ''The New York Times''. Thom Jurek of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

called it " a masterpiece of snakey, spaced-out soul and pre-mainstream disco."

Discography

* ''Asha Puthli'' (CBS, 1973) * ''She Loves to Hear the Music'' (CBS, 1975) * ''The Devil Is Loose'' (CBS, 1976) * ''L'Indiana'' (CBS, 1978) * ''1001 Nights of Love'' (Autobahn/Philips 1979) * ''I'm Gonna Kill It Tonight'' (Autobahn 1980) * ''Only the Headaches Remain'' (Woorell 1982) *''Hari Om'' (Sony 1990) * ''Lost'' (Kyrone 2009 ) * ‘’Je crois c’est ca l’amour’’ (MKMM 2021)

As guest

* ''

Science Fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

'', Ornette Coleman (Columbia, 1971) * ''Mirror'',

Charlie Mariano Carmine Ugo Mariano (November 12, 1923 – June 16, 2009) was an American jazz saxophonist who focused on the alto and soprano saxophone. He occasionally performed and recorded on flute and nadaswaram as well. Biography Mariano was born in ...

(Atlantic, 1972) * ''Squadra Antigangsters'' (

Cinevox Cinevox is an Italian record label specializing in the release of motion picture soundtrack albums. Founded in 1966 in music, 1966, the label has released more than 200 titles, including numerous works by Ennio Morricone, Pino Donaggio, and variou ...

, 1979) * '' Easily Slip Into Another World'',

Henry Threadgill Henry Threadgill (born February 15, 1944) is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in jazz but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He h ...

(Novus, 1989) * ''Export Quality'', Dum Dum Project (Times Square/Groovy, 2001) * ''Mpath - Wanderer'', Gardner Cole (Triloka, 2003) * ''Accerezzami'',

Fausto Papetti Fausto Papetti (Viggiù, 28 January 1923 – San Remo, 15 June 1999) was an Italian alto saxophone player. A jazz musician by formation, Papetti became widely known for producing instrumental covers of some of the most famous pop and jazz songs. ...

(2003) * ''Asana Vol 3: Peaceful Heart'',

(Meta, 2003) * ''Fear of Magnetism'', Stratus (Klein, 2005) * ''Asana OHM Shanti'',

(Meta, 2006) * ''Asha's Kiss'', Raveena ( Asha's Awakening, 2022)

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puthli, Asha American actresses of Indian descent American actresses American electronic musicians American musicians of Indian descent American women musicians of Indian descent American women singer-songwriters American jazz singers American singer-songwriters Indian emigrants to the United States Living people Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni 1945 births American women in electronic music Singers from Mumbai Women musicians from Maharashtra American Hindus 21st-century American women