2023

The Sculptors of Film Songs (10): Van Shipley

Van Shipley December 21, 2023

Guest article by Piyush M Pandya (Gujarati original) and Ashok M Vaishnav (English translation) (Van Shipley earned acclaim for his proficiency in violin and guitar, and he brought out many independent albums of tunes of film songs on these instruments. As such, he was among the well known arrangers and musicians. Yet there is no […]

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Best songs of 1942: Wrap UP 4

Gyan Dutt-Anil Biswas-Kamal Dasgupta-Ghulam Haider December 10, 2023

And the SOY Award for the Best Music Director of 1942 goes to? After the Overview Post, Wrap Up 1 of the best male solos, Wrap Up 2 of the best female solos and Wrap Up 3 of the best duets, it is time for the final Wrap Up 4 to discuss the best music […]

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The Sculptors of Film Songs (9): Dattaram

Dattaram November 30, 2023

Guest authors Piyush M Pandya (Gujarati) and Ashok M Vaishnav (English translation) (The most prominent identity of Dattaram is as long-time assistant of Shankar-Jaikishan. He later started giving music independently, but he continued his association with S-J. Thus in public mind when one thought of Dattaram, one thought of Shankar-Jaikishan, even though Dattaram had composed […]

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Best songs of 1942: Wrap Up 3

Bhakt Surdas-Basant-Bharat Milap-Station Master November 20, 2023

And the award for the best duet of 1942 goes to? 1935 to 1946 have been years of KL Saigal dominance of the film music. Yet, there is something about duets that even in these years duets leave a lasting imprint. These include some duets in which KL Saigal is the male singer, but the […]

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Book Review: “Reflections & Stray Thoughts”

Reflections November 10, 2023

Reflections & Stray Thoughts By HQ Chowdhury Publisher: Blue Pencil, New Delhi ISBN: 978-81-952978-3-2 Price (Amazon): ₹314 (Paperback); 0 (Free Kindle) The SOY regulars know HQ Chowdhury as the author of “Incomparable SD Burman”, which is regarded as the definitive biography of Burman Dada. That book establishes Chowdhury as a great fan of SD Burman, […]

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The Sculptors of Film Songs (8): Ramlal

Ramlal October 30, 2023

Guest article by Piyush M Pandya (Gujarati original) and Ashok M Vaishnav (English translation) (We all know Ramlal as the music director of V Shantaram’s films ‘Sehra’ and ‘Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne’. We also generally know that he was an ace shehnai player having been associated with Ustad Bismillah Khan. But we hardly know that […]

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SN Tripathi Part 5 (post-50s): His best songs by other female playback singers

SN Tripathi with Geeta Dutt and Shamshad begum October 19, 2023

Concluding the series on SN Tripathi with his best songs for ‘other’ female playback singers It is time to conclude the series on SN Tripathi after a comprehensive coverage of his multi-faceted talent in the Vintage Era (1949 and earlier) in Part 1 as a singer, actor, music director and dialogue and story writer; Part […]

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Best songs of 1942: Wrap Up 2

Thumbnail image for Best songs of 1942: Wrap Up 2 October 8, 2023

And the SOY ward for the Best Female Singer goes to? In my overview post of the best songs of 1942, I had mentioned that the ratio between male solos and female solos in the songs in which singers were credited was 1:2.55 in the year as a whole. I had included 84 songs in […]

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SN Tripathi Part 4 (post 50s): His best songs for Lata Mangeshkar

SN Tripathi-Lata Mangeshkar September 28, 2023

Continuing the series on SN Tripathi with a tribute to Lata Mangeshkar on her 94th birth anniversary (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) It is matter of satisfaction that after a reader noted the omission of SN Tripathi, I have been able to cover him in some detail, though late. I have already posted […]

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The Sculptors of Film Songs (7): V Balsara

V Balsara September 17, 2023

Guest article by Piyush M Pandya (Gujarati original) & Ashok M Vaishnav (English translation) (V Balsara was an extremely talented musician encompassing proficiency in all the links in the vertical chain of producing music – instrumentalist to arranger to music director. He was a master of many instruments. He was also a rare exception for […]

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