Gurdas Maan was born in the village of Giddarbaha, District of Faridkot. He was formally educated in Malout. After completing his education his parents moved him to Patiala for further studies. The city fascinated him especially because it was to the National Institute of Sports, as Gurdas is a keen sports enthusiast. He Joined the N.I.S and gained a Masters Degree in Physical Education.

He took part in youth festivals organised by various universities and won numerous awards for his singing and acting. He competed in many athletic events and won medals including a bronze at the National Championship, he is also a black belt in Judo. After completing his Masters Degree, he started working and also kept on writing and doing stage shows.

In one of his stage play he sang a song which he wrote himself and called " DIL DA MAMALA HAI ". The play was seen play a producer of a Jullander TV station, who than approached him for a TV recording of his song, which Gurdas reluctantly agreed to. When the song was aired on the 31st December 1980 it stormed the nation and Gurdas Maan became a household name. The overwhelming success of the song grabbed the attention of HMV who wanted to record the song and from this came his first album in 1982.

He has produced over 27 albums and has written over 200 songs. He also wrote and directed TV programmes like POP Time for Delhi Doordarshan. When Gurdas Maan started his career, as a performer there was no market for solo singers, as the market was dominated by the duets. He declined many offers to perform as a duet as he was confident of becoming successful as a solo artist. Even today when organisers arrange for a group of artists to perform, he always perform solo. He has toured the globe and charmed audiences with his versatile performances.

Credit goes to Gurdas Maan for raising Panjabi music from a mere regional level to an international level by giving it a fresh look. The ever-popular "APNA PANJAB" track which has superseeded all other songs by Gurdas Maan, this track has received awards for The Best Song , Album & Best International Artist of the Asain Pop and Media Awards held in Birmingham in 1998.

He is a pioneer in many ways and keeps trying to better things by doing something different, be-it using different kind of music or giving new dimension to an old folk song. As a singer Gurdas Maan has worked with music directors like Laxmikant Pyarelal, Bappi Lahiri, Anu Malik, Nadeem Sharvan, Amar Haidipur, Charanjeet Ahuja, Jaswant Bhanyra to mention but a few.