K. Raghavan was born in Tellicherry near Kannur in the erstwhile Madras Presidency (present-day Kerala) on 2 December 1913, to folk singer M. Krishnan and Narayani.

He began his professional career as a tambura player in All India Radio, Madras and in 1950, he was transferred to Calicut, where he became involved with film artists.

[4] During his career spanning over four decades, he scored music for more than sixty Malayalam films, and many of his compositions remain classics.

[5] Raghavan brought folk elements into Malayalam film music, and his melodies replaced the imitation of popular Hindi tunes that prevailed at the time.

Most of his songs were written by P. Bhaskaran, and he introduced many new voices to Malayalam film music, including K. J. Yesudas, P. Jayachandran, P.Susheela, Mehboob, K. P. Brahmanandan, M. Balamuralikrishna, M. L. Vasanthakumari, A. P. Komala, Gayathri Srikrishnan, Santha P. Nair, A. M. Rajah, K. P. Udayabhanu, M.G.