He innovated the art through emphasis on laya control and reducing the gamakas which eventually made Carnatic music appeal to the lay and the learned alike.

He was born in Gudalur, a small vallage in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu (then called the Madras Presidency), which is close to Mayavaram.

He acted in films, including Bama Vijayam (1934), Sathi Anusuya (1937), Sakuntalai (1940), Udayanan Vasavadatta (1947) (with Vasundhara Devi, mother of Vijayanthimala) and Rukmangadhan (1947).

GNB was known for brigha-laden and brisk music, and emerged as one of the most prominent Carnatic musicians of the era, drawing hundreds of people to each concert.

He was famous for his renderings of "Vathapi Ganapathim" by Mutthuswamy Dikshitar and "Vinayaka Ninnu vina" by E. V. Ramakrishna Bhagavathar, both in the ragam Hamsadhwani.

After singing either a long main piece or a Ragam Tanam Pallavi, famous ones being "Unadarishanam Kidai Kimo" in Kalyani and "Tilai Eesanai Ka" in Kambhoji, he would finish the concert with his popular bhajans and thukuddas, most notably "Dikku Teriyadha Kaatil" by Subramanya Bharati, "Radha Mukha Kamala" in the ragam Hindustani Kapi by Sri Papanasam Sivan, and "Radha Sametha Krishna" in the raga Misra Yaman.

Sri GNB also released many records over his career, most notably the krithi "Vasudevayani" in the ragam Kalyani by Saint Tyagaraja, which reportedly earned him Rs 10,000, or around ₹818,153.88 in the present day.