Singers

Mohammad Rafi’s Non-film Hindi Geets and Ghazals

Rafi December 24, 2021

A tribute to Mohammad Rafi on his 97th Birth Anniversary (b. December 24, 1924 – d. July 31, 1980) by guest author Ashok M Vaishnav and wishing Merry Christmas to all (Ashok M Vaishnav is a solid Rafi fan, without wearing it as a medallion, and without picking up a sword to slay anyone at […]

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Mukesh’s Non-film Hindi Geets and Ghazals

Mukesh August 27, 2021

A tribute to Mukesh on his 45th Remembrance Day (b. July 22, 1923 – d. August 27, 1976) by guest author Ashok M Vaishnav (Mukesh is among the mainstream playback singers who sang some truly outstanding non-film songs (NFS). Therefore, for any lover of Mukesh, a post on his famous geets and gazals would be […]

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Best Songs of 1944: Wrap Up 1

KL Saigal-Surendra July 6, 2021

And the award for the Best Male Solo goes to? In my Overview Post of the best songs of 1944, I had mentioned that in the total songs in the years in which the singers’ names were known, male solos to female solos to duets followed a ratio of 1: 3.69: 1.69. Thus, the male […]

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Dattaram Part 2: Breaking out of the Banyan Tree with ‘Other’ Singers

Dattaram May 29, 2021

Second and final part of tribute to Dattaram (1929 – 8 June 2007) We saw in Dattaram Part 1 dealing with his songs for Mukesh and Manna Dey, how his association with the Big Banyan tree, Shankar-Jaikishan, made it difficult to get out of the comfort zone of SJ. The readers Mahesh and Hans Jakhar […]

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Dattaram Part 1: Under the shadow of big banyan tree with songs of Mukesh and Manna Dey

Dattaram May 20, 2021

A big banyan tree gives shelter and protects you from elements. But this may become a trap because one may be deterred from venturing out on one’s own for the risks involved. But a human being also has an urge to venture out and stand on his own. That involves a vertical progression from earning […]

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N Datta-Rafi: When they meet it is GOLD

N Datta-Rafi December 13, 2020

Guest article by Hans Jakhar as a tribute to N Datta (12 December 1927 – 30 December 1987) on his 93rd birth anniversary with his songs for Rafi (You can’t get a more passionate fan of Asha Bhosle than Hans Jakhar, and she was the principle female playback singer for Ravi. Therefore, he was the […]

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Hemant Kumar’s Non-film Songs

Hemant Kumar December 4, 2020

Concluding the series of centenary tributes to Hemant Kumar (16 June 1920-26 September 1989) with his non-film songs My introduction to the last post by Ashok M Vaishnav on Hemant Kumar’s solo songs under the baton of other music directors conveyed that that rounded off his centenary celebrations. But it rankled me that his centenary […]

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Hemant Kumar’s solo songs under ‘other’ batons

Hemant Kumar with Kishore Kumar November 25, 2020

Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav in the series of Centenary Celebrations of Hemant Kumar (16 June 1920-26 September 1989) (SOY has launched a befitting Centenary Celebration of the much loved music and film personality Hemant Kumar, starting with N Venkataraman’s foundational article Hemantayan Part 1 on his Birth Centenary, 16 June 2020, which covered […]

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Hemantayan – Part 2

Hemant Kumar September 26, 2020

A tribute to Hemant Kumar on his 31st Remembrance Day (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989) in his Birth Centenary year by guest author N Venkataraman (N Venkataraman launched the Centenary Celebration of Hemant Kumar with his superb article Hemantayan Part 1 on his Birth Centenary, 16 June 2020. This gave a comprehensive overview […]

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N Datta: The Third Musketeer for Asha Bhosle

N Datta-Asha Bhosle September 8, 2020

Guest article by Hans Jakhar wishing Asha Bhosle (b. 8 September 1933) a very happy 87th birth anniversary and also greeting the unlucky genius N Datta (By now we all know that Asha Bhosle is the most recorded singer, and has sung far more songs than her elder sister Lata Mangeshkar. Yet Lata Mangeshkar came […]

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