 Rao was born in the village of Sivaramapuram, near Salur in Vizianagaram district (formerly Srikakulam district), Andhra Pradesh, India.His father, Sanyasi Raju, was a famous mridangam player at concerts performed by Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu and also a lyricist.Rao was married to Rajeswari Devi; the couple had five sons and four daughters.