Singers

In Memoriam: Suman Kalyanpur, an epitome of talent, grace and dignity

Thumbnail image for In Memoriam:  Suman Kalyanpur, an epitome of talent, grace and dignity June 18, 2026

Guest article by Dr Rajesh Deshpande as a tribute to one of the last of doyens of playback singing of the Golden Era (When Suman Kalyanpur passed away recently, I suddenly felt that with her one of the last links with the Golden Era of playback singing is gone. She was a tragic figure, the […]

Read the full article

Best songs 1956: Wrap Up 2

Thumbnail image for Best songs 1956: Wrap Up 2 May 27, 2026

The SOY Award for 1956 for the Best Solo of Lata Mangeshkar goes to? SOY regulars are aware of the reasons why I am doing year-wise reviews of the best songs of a Vintage Era year going backwards, and a Golden Era year going forwards simultaneously. Vintage Years backwards, because of the joy of discovering […]

Read the full article

Lata Mangeshkar’s best songs by RD Burman

Thumbnail image for Lata Mangeshkar’s best songs by RD Burman September 28, 2025

A tribute to Lata Mangeshkar on her 96th birth anniversary (b. 28 September 1929 – d. 6 February 2006)  with her best songs by RD Burman continuing the series of tributes to him Lata Mangeshkar’s singing-acting career started in 1942 with Marathi Nritya-Natak and Marathi films, under tragic circumstances, when RD Burman was still a […]

Read the full article

Best songs of Asha Bhosle by RD Burman

Thumbnail image for Best songs of Asha Bhosle by RD Burman September 8, 2025

Wishing Asha Bhosle a very Happy 92nd Birth Anniversary (b. 8 September 1933- ) with her best songs by RD Burman At the beginning of blogging, I remember, I made a comment, talking about the blog that, On this blog you would not find best songs of Asha Bhosle by RD Burman. Today I can […]

Read the full article

RD Burman’s best songs for Rafi

Thumbnail image for RD Burman’s best songs for Rafi July 31, 2025

Continuing the series of tributes to RD Burman with his best songs for Rafi on the latter’s 45th Remembrance Day RD Burman composed over 125 songs for Rafi. He was friends with Kishore Kumar, and their personal and musical temperaments matched. Plus, post-Aradhana (1969) an era changed, and Kishore Kumar’s vocals seemed to be transformed […]

Read the full article

Best songs of 1940: Wrap Up 1

Thumbnail image for Best songs of 1940: Wrap Up 1 July 8, 2025

And the Award for the Best Male Singer goes to? 1940 was a year of churning in the film world. It came at the transition of the first decade of spoken films, 1930s, and the beginning of the 1940s. It was a churning of musical styles when one kind of music making was coming to […]

Read the full article

OP Nayyar’s association with Mahendra Kapoor

Thumbnail image for OP Nayyar’s association with Mahendra Kapoor May 27, 2025

Guest article by Ravindra Kelkar in OP Nayyar centenary series (Ravindra Kelkar wrote a series of articles on OP Nayyar eight years ago. The grand centenary celebrations of Rafi on SOY inspired Mr Kelkar to mount a similar tribute to OP Nayyar whose centenary is on 16 January 2026. He also offered to write a […]

Read the full article

The evolution of Mohammad Rafi: PART ONE (1944-55)

Thumbnail image for The evolution of Mohammad Rafi: PART ONE (1944-55) February 25, 2025

Guest article by Hans Jakhar extending the centenary celebrations of Rafi (b. 24 Dec 1924 – d. 31 July 1980) (Hans Jakhar, an SOY regular, is an avid Rafi fan and a Master of Data. Therefore, when I decided to celebrate 2024 as Rafi’s centenary year, my thoughts first went to him whether he would […]

Read the full article

Some Less Heard Gems of Mohammad Rafi – The Sad Romantic Solos: 1940s through 50s

Thumbnail image for Some Less Heard Gems of Mohammad Rafi – The Sad Romantic Solos: 1940s through 50s February 14, 2025

Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav wishing everyone a very Happy Valentine Day with Rafi’s sad romantic solos, extending his centenary celebrations (Ashok M Vaishnav had sent this article for Rafi centenary celebrations in the calendar year 2024. But with series on Kalyanji-Anadnji and Usha Khanna added in, I could not squeeze this article in […]

Read the full article

Rafi’s duets with different music directors over the years

Thumbnail image for Rafi’s duets with different music directors over the years December 24, 2024

A tribute to Rafi with his duets concluding his centenary celebrations (24 December 1924 to 31 July 1980) and wishing Merry Christmas to all Rafi would have been a hundred years old today. His life was cut short at a young age of 56 years, but in this short span he gave joy to millions […]

Read the full article