A disciple of such eminent musicians as Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu and Dr. Sripada Pinakapani, Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana (b. 1927) had his initial training from his mother, Yegna Chinnamma. For over 30 years Chinna Satyanarayana has combined teaching with a very successful concert career, his last academic position being that of Principal of Government College of Music and Dance in Hyderabad. A composer as well, Chinna Satyanarayana has written kriti-s and tillana-s, and has produced several dance-dramas. He has several thoughtful articles on music, to his credit. His singing is distinguished by a serene traditional classicism. He is an asthana vidwan at Tirupati.Mahamahopadhyaya Dr. Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana was afamous Carnatic musician who also donned the roles of a musicologist, author and teacher.

Born in Anakapalli, to Yegnachayanamma and Annapurneswara Sarma, he showed a keen interest in music at a very young age. He began his initial lessons under the guidance of his mother and later learnt the violin under gurus Kambhampati Akkaji Rao and Mangalampally Pattabhiramayya at Vijayawada. He underwent advanced training under the violin virtuoso Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu and even accompanied him in many concerts. He honed his singing skills under the guidance of Dr. Sripada Pinakapani and cultivated a style for himself that was a summary of his varied learning.

A popular performer at the All India Radio, his radio lessons were looked forward to. A passionate teacher and administrator he held the post of Principal at many institutions like - Maharajah's Government College of Music and Dance in Vizianagaram ,Govt. Music College of Vijayawada, Telugu University of Hyderabad, Sri Venkateswara College of Tirupati.

He combined his sound knowledge of Carnatic music and understanding of Hindustani music and Western Classical Music, to present well rounded lecture demonstrations. His performances and workshops took him all over India, to America, Canada, UK, Singapore et al.

He was a board member of  -  the Expert committee of the Madras Music Academy and  the All India Radio, Audition Board.

A recipient of many honours  and titles, some of them are mentioned here as an example - Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2010 , Sangeeta Nataka Academy Award, Senior Fellowship of Department of Culture Govt. of India  Viswakala Parishat, a non-profit organization, was founded by him to encourage new talent.

He has also authored many books on music like - Sangeeta Sudha, Ragalakshana Sangraham, The Monograph Of Tyagaraja's Pancharatna Kritis, Deekshithar's Navagraha and Kamalamba Navaavarna Kritis, Sri Tyagaraja Saraswata Sarvaswam,  Sangeeta Saastra Sudhaarnava, Vaggeyakara Kriti Sagaram.