Awards and titles[edit]
Khan is widely considered to be the most important qawwal in history.[23][24] In 1987, he received the President of Pakistan's Award for Pride of Performance for his contribution to Pakistani music.[14][25] In 1995, he received the UNESCO Music Prize.[26][27] In 1996 he was awarded Grand Prix des Amériques at Montreal World Film Festival for exceptional contribution to the art of cinema.[28] In the same year, Khan received the Arts and Culture Prize of the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes.[29] In Japan, he was also remembered as the Budai or "Singing Buddha".[30] In 2005, Khan received the "Legends" award at the UK Asian Music Awards.[31] Time magazine's issue of 6 November 2006, "60 Years of Asian Heroes", lists him as one of the top 12 artists and thinkers in the last 60 years.[32] He also appeared on NPR's 50 great voices list in 2010.[33] In August 2010 he was included in CNN's list of the twenty most iconic musicians from the past fifty years.[34] In 2008, Khan was listed in 14th position in UGO's list of the best singers of all time.[35]
Many honorary titles were bestowed upon Khan during his 25-year music career. He was given the title of [[Ustad] (the master)] after performing classical music at a function in Lahore on his father's death anniversary.[36]
