Remembering SP Balasubrahmanyam through the MSV era, the Ilaiyaraaja era, and&nbsp;beyond

What a loss ! Om Shanti !!!

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Aman Basha

Oh God RIP

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gsriram72

RIP SPB. One of the finest voices in Indian Film Music History. Was a Master in portraying a wide range of emotions through his singing. Indian film music will miss him a lot 😦

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Heisenberg

People are always divided by many factors. Even as fan of art people always take sides such as Rajini fan or Kamal Fan, Ilaiyaraaja fan or ARR Fan. There aren’t many people who unites everybody. SPB was one of those very rarest of rare artist who has touched our lives across generations, made us love him unconditionally.

Unable to accept this reality that he is no more.

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edwardssammy

I really can’t believe that we will never get to hear his voice again. Such a great singer, who was also human (with unsingerly vices like smoking cigarettes, eating ice-cream) .

It’s like another mooring line to my childhood has been cut.

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Hate 2020

Fuck you 2020

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His voice was the soundtrack to my childhood and teen years.
His dulcet vocals was the reason I started listening to Tamil songs.
His versatility was why I stayed listening.
His on the spot improvs in live concerts mesmerized me
His flexibility and range that too from someone with no formal training in classical music still astound me.
A true legend. There was nobody like him before and there sure as hell will not be anyone after.

RIP Balu sir.

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2003: Placement season at an okayish B-School, not going as per plan and my mind is dreaming up the worst case scenario and I wander into a friend’s hostel room in a slightly confused/anxious state. He is playing a audio cassete of his favorite songs and the song that is blasting out “madai thirandhu thaavum nadhi alai naan” and it feels like an electric jolt to the soul. Suddenly, there is joy, there is a spring in my step and for the next 2 months, till i get a placement, i have listened to this song a million times. This is what SPB (and Ilayaraja) meant to me. Eternally greatful for many such memories.

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This is going to be so tough. I am going to go through what Kishore fans went through in the 80s. Even though SPB was at an age where news of his death wouldn’t be a shock, he was so active and still singing so well. He himself said last year or so in an interview that even he thought it was amazing he was still able to sing like this in his 70s and hadn’t expected it. To be parted from that gift for good is going to hurt as it is, that it happened because of the pandemic adds another dimension to it. RIP.

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ravenus1

His incredible vocal range aside, SPB was a master at being nakedly emotional in a song, and still carrying it off with aplomb. He used to not just sing, but vocally ‘act out’ the feeling of a song so to say. I had the privilege of attending one of his rare live gigs in Mumbai a few years back, and I’d say he sounded almost identical to how he did 20 years ago, which is a testament to how scrupulously he worked to maintain and hone the gift that nature had given him.

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AdhithyaKR

Seeing hundreds of video clips floating around with SPB imparting wisdom on life, lamenting the death of a loved one or singing a hopeful tune. It’s a strange feeling, that even in this heart-breaking time his voice is the one reaching out to console us… I really hoped he would pull through, as I’m sure a thousands of others prayed. RIP.

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abishekspeare

50 years difference between these two songs, the only difference in the voice is the language it sings in

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(Original) venkatesh

RIP sir

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Sri Prabhuram

Well, that sucks. I loved many of his songs with AR Rahman.

Kadhal Rojave (Roja)
Kangalal Enna Eeramo (Uzhavan)
Many of his songs in Duet
Hello Hello Premalekha (Gang Master)
Oruvan Oruvan (Muthu)
Theendai (En Swasa Kaatre)

Just to name a few…

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apala

SPB! 😢😢😢

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chvs Chaitanya

I am a telugu guy, when i started listening and grow my interest into music, DSP started his career, giving back to back hits, shankar mahadevan was at his peak, Harris jayaraj entered telugu industry with venkatesh’s GHARSHANA, AR rahman was already experimenting with different singers and was always my goto music director when i switch on my walkman….i never had any opportunity or made any effort to listen to Telugu songs from 80s…

It was when i started studying in coimbatore i discovered a whole new magical world of SPB-ILAYARAJA combo, my tamil friends and classmastes who were in their teens used to listen songs from 80s and they used to admire like how i used to admire latest telugu songs, i am not talking about the sincere music fans, but about normal people, i used to wonder at the love showed by my friends for the old tamil songs, and their love made me to listen to those songs, once i started listening to them i have found the answer. I feel ilayaraja’s music conquered time and passed decades to 2k kids also

Since then my go to channel before sleep was ISAI ARUVI which telecasts old tamils songs from 10 PM, my playlist during my treks in western ghats of tamil nadu and kerala is always filled with mohan’s hits. These 80s tamil songs made me notice the greatness of SPB, today when Puthiya thalamaurai tv annouced the death news of SPB, ‘Nilave vaa’ song was getting played in background(the humming he did at the starting of the song), hearing the news with that humming made me very emotional and its very hard to accept the fact that the owner of the voice is no more when i hear ‘Nilave vaa’ again

I am very happy that i found the magical world of tamil songs of IR-SPB combo, i feel they are the best medicine in the world. Whenever i goto any Hill station next time and get into a local jeep, i will be tired after travelling, my face dull and immersed in some random thoughts, the driver will play a Ilayaraja song sang by SPB from his old dvd player, the moment he plays the song, the moment i listen to the SPB voice, my face will glow and a gentle smile will appear on my face, but i guess my eyes will also get wet this time

POGUM PAATHAI DHOORAME, VAAZHUM KAALAM KONJAME, JEEVA SUGAM PERA RAAGA NADIYIL NEE NEEDAVAAA
INTHA THEGAM MARAINTHAALUM ISAI AAYI MALARVEN..KEELAYI POO MANAMEE

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Yajiv

For some reason this song was on my mind today.

RIP to a legend. Your music will live on for generations to come.

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Hari E

2020 – Why did you come? SPB – one word – Ninathale Innikum. I never felt devastated by a loss like this today. That I cannot see him anymore in his You Tube channel sharing his experience with actors/musicians he worked with, not in any shows supporting younger singers, or pulling legs on his contemporizes, speaking with so much clarity and purpose as if reading from a prompter. First time in my life, a death hit me like a rock. Om Shanthi Sir!

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Jayram

Though the man SPB has departed the world, he has left a wonderful legacy behind for us. His love for the musical form in whatever language and the raw emotional power he would give to his songs whether it was film, devotional, etc is everlasting. His collaborations with past to present music directors/singers/lyricists is enormous and he brought people together with his singing. He continued to be relevant until this day.

In a concert with ARR in 2000, he remarked that if someone was to ask him and other singers what their mother tongue was, it was music. With Raja, the music was heavenly.

I remember his acting in films like Keladi Kanmani, Kadhalan, Minsara Kanavu, Pavithra Bandham and in a Telugu serial called Srimathi which my maternal grandfather (RIP) used to fervently watch. His music direction in films like Padamati Sandhya Ragam is very noteworthy.

Thanks for everything you gave the world, SPB sir and may you entertain the Gods! You are a colossal talent who will never be surpassed!

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@#&%$ 2020!

SPB was a part of my growing up years. It hurts. The loss feels personal.

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That was a very satisfying read, BR. Love the songs you picked out, and the graph you traced through the various composers. SPB always reminded me of a giant teddy bear. It’s sad to think he died, and died this way. One wouldn’t wish such a lonely death on anyone.

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Ram

BR, That’s a fantastic tribute to the great man. I wish your article never ended and I could keep reading on . It could partly be due to the mindset I am in today. Suddenly I have this urge to listen to all my favourite SPB songs today. Unusual though obvious, it pains me to do that today. The loss feels so personal, like a life experience that will never return.

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Heisenberg

This is one of those songs were SPB was in verithanam mode. When I listen to this, we can visualize him singing and enjoying it.

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Oh God … what a madness 2020 is !!! A legend succumbing to Covid is a shame. If ever there is a mass mega super star for voice, SPB definitely got that name. He left too early.

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pardon my previous post, I meant *shame for society

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Rajan

Among all the terrible news in this wretched year this one hurts a little extra. Given his discography and the variety he is not doubt the greatest male playback singer this country has ever produced.

Best thing i liked about SPB’s tamil songs was the diction and the emotion he brought to the song. It is one thing to sing in shruti but to make the listener feel the emotion of the song is whole another level of talent. I remember two things Vairamuthu mentioned about SPB in the Super Singer program that comes to mind. MSV was very impressed with SPB’s singing the first time he met him but advised him to learn the langauge to take it to the next level and boy did he. Second thing Vairamuthu said was the once in a while the actor SPB would make an appearance in the singing and raise the quality of the song. Vairamuthu’s comment was respect to “Enna Satham intha neram” from Punnagai Mannan. The other song that’s special in this regard is “Nalam Vaazha” from Marupadiyum. The first stanza and that too the part from “nagangalai thaandi” is pure magic.

we could go for days talking about his special songs but i realize i am just rambling in a state of shock at the news.

I am in my early 40’s and SPB has left behind enough tracks that will last my lifetime. Rest In Peace.

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vsrini

SPB once said, on stage, that this was his most-requested song. I think the sentiment is fitting on this occasion. RIP Sir.

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Just when SPB almost stopped singing normal songs in Telugu. This song came as surprise. One of his finest renditions, a pure SPB world with an Ilayaraja’s tribute and setting in a village in 80s

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Ram

@Heisenberg: That’s a great pick. Another verithanam song that comes to my mind is this ‘Satham ilada thanimai’ song from Amarkalam.

Another pick from the same movie, sometimes I am a bit appalled why this particular song did turn out to be that much of a chartbuster.

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Wonderful write up. Some things I may disagree on but it would be churlish to harp on those. In the main, yes, his longevity was simply mindblowing (I started to type is and had to correct myself 😦 ). As Anu Warrier said, he was like a teddy bear, so warm and lovable. Will make it even more difficult to come to terms with his loss.

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“He’s preserved in the amber of technology”

A lovely line in a lovely tribute, B!

And so apt.

Because the man remained relevant and active up till his hospitalization, embraced social media with gusto and was such a charming, gregarious and eloquent interviewee (I’ll really miss his YouTube series where he shared wonderful anecdotes about his long career as the man could have gone for at least a couple of years reminiscing on a stellar career) there is a treasure trove of songs, concerts and interviews to dip into and take your time remembering this extraordinary Colossus of Playback Singing.

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Isai

Remembering SPB with some of my favourite lyrics which have become far more memorable due to his voice –

Romantic Song (Valaiyosai – Sathya):

ஒரு காதல் கடிதம் விழி போடும்
உன்னை காணும் சபலம் வர கூடும்

நீங்காத ரீங்காரம் நான் தானே நெஞ்சோடு நெஞ்சாக நின்றேனே

True to these words, I have been often humming his songs that have remained close to my heart.

Euphoric Song (Annatha aadurar – Aboorva Sagotharargal)
அண்ணாத்த ஆடுறார் ஒத்திக்கோ ஒத்திக்கோ
தென்னாட்டு வேங்கதான் ஒத்துக்கோ ஒத்துக்கோ

உள்ளம் இப்போதும் எப்போதும் கொண்டேனே பூவாக ஹோய்

Best lyrics to describe his talent and him as a person.

Sad Song (Unna Nenachen – Aboorva Sagotharargal)
ஆடும் வரைக்கும் ஆடி இருப்போம்
தங்கமே ஞான தங்கமே
ஆட்டம் முடிந்தால் ஓட்டம் எடுப்போம்
தங்கமே ஞான தங்கமே
நலம் புரிந்தாய் எனக்கு நன்றி உரைப்பேன் உனக்கு
நான் தான்

This is the song and lyrics that came to my mind when I thought about his death. Disappointed to see BR, of all people, missing this song in the write-up.

Not to end on a sad note, my favourite philosophical song of his (Oruvan Oruvan – Muthu):

வாழ்வின் அர்த்தம் புரிந்துவிடு
வாழ்க்கையை வாரிக் குடித்துவிடு

இளமை இனிமேல் போகாது
அட முதுமை எனக்கு வாராது

True to these words, he and his voice had remained youthful till his last public appearance…RIP

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Isai

“SPB always reminded me of a giant teddy bear.”

Disappointed to see some people making sexist, body shaming remarks about him even after his death.

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Varsha Ganesh

BR – Once again, thanks for acting as the archivist/historian for people like me who aren’t as familiar with older works. I listened to every single song you mentioned in the article, 70% of which were new to me. The joy of discovering songs like Nandha en nila, Kamban emandhaan, Rama Kanavemira for the first time is indescribable. I am a Rahman era child but thought I was very familiar with songs from the IR era. I hadn’t heard songs like Saami kitta solli vechu or Poguthey Poguthey before today and wonder how many such songs I would miss unless people like you point us to it. Your love for music and love for SPB made the article a joyous tribute to read. I`ll keep coming back to this article and to the comments section songs’ list for a long time to come.

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Aman Basha

@Isai: Disappointed to see someone misinterpret what was clearly meant as a sweet child like comment on a deceased legend’s exuberance and warmth, Teddy Bear is something warm and lovable, of course it’d be tone deaf if anyone starts going about its origins in animal cruelty in a thread meant to celebrate a great man.

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Cholan Raje

@Isai, I don’t know where the sexism comes in. Though the quote does allude to his fat, it’s not “shaming” him in any way. It’s more about the warmth of his voice and personality– though of course interpreting it that way isn’t gonna start a fight, is it? Pick a bone with someone else, this thread isn’t about you.

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Santa

Not a word on his accomplishments in Hindi cinema? Saagar, Ek Duje Ke Liye, not to mention the biggest blockbusters of their times (MPK and HAHK), Saajan, etc.

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Nma

ARR’s ‘thazhuvudu nazhuvudhu’ remains my guilty pleasure, where SPB matches a young(er) and raring-to-go Shreya Ghoshal in dexterity.

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Rocky

R Sriniwas , can you please translate this in English ? # Curious

“madai thirandhu thaavum nadhi alai naan”

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Voldemort

“Intha thegam maraindaalum isaiyaai malarven. Intha thegam maraindaalum isaiyaai malarven,
Kelaai poomaname!”

RIP Legend 😭❤

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Disappointed to see some people making sexist, body shaming remarks about him even after his death.

You will never give it a rest, will you, Isai? What the hell is bodyshaming about a teddy bear? To me, a teddy bear is both adorable and comforting. In case you still need an explanation – SPB, to me, was a very lovable, adorable man. And he was a giant among singers. Happy?

It was very evident from the context in which I wrote that sentence, exactly what I meant.

So for you to misinterpret that to make it both sexist and body shaming says a lot more about you than it does me.

You once said you would ignore me and my comments. I am still waiting for you to do that. Never mind. If I wait for you to keep your word to anything you have committed to do, I will probably wait till eternity. But as far as I am concerned, I’m done interacting.

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vandana lakshmi

BR, what a fantastic tribute to the great SPB. Growing up listening to his songs, i don’t remember a single day without humming or thinking of an SPB song. He has been BGM for our lives.

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Ravi K

For me SPB is the ultimate male playback singer. He had a rich, deep, masculine voice, and he could sing the boisterous, even rowdy kind of songs as well as the romantic and sad songs, all equally well. And he was acting behind the mic as much as the heroes were in front of the camera. Not just in terms of adapting to the heroes, but also in his general approach to the emotions of a song.

In his earliest songs he didn’t sound like the SPB we know. He wasn’t singing in that trademark deep register. What was the turning point? Is there a first song or group of songs we can point to where that changed? Was MSV the first composer to get him to sing in that register? What language did it happen in?

I highly recommend watching his “Simply SPB” YouTube series that he started during the COVID lockdown. It’s a shame that he didn’t get to do more, but he did a remarkable number of videos in the time he had. He was as compelling a speaker as he was a singer.

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@RaviK: BR can opine best on this because he actually lived through the 70s and would have seen the transition.

From what I know of the music of that period, it seemed to happen organically across languages around the mid 70s. I think as the acting itself moved to more natural and casual (Kamal) rather than theatrical and elevated (Sivaji), the singing too moved in consort.

This is a Kannada song from 1977 and has THE SPB voice most of us who were introduced to SPB through Raja would recognise.

Raja himself was doing Naan Pesavanthen around the same time.

And Vaa Nila Nila Nila of MSV:

All three from ’77. So was this a breakout year for SPB moving onto that voice? Maybe. Were there specific one-off songs before that which inspired all composers to exploit this facet of his voice? Possibly.

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Varsha Ganesh: Once again, thanks for acting as the archivist/historian for people like me who aren’t as familiar with older works.

Thanks, but even I am not “as familiar with older works” — in the sense that with MSV (both with Ramamurthy and as a standalone composer) and Raja and KV Mahadevan and G Ramanathan, there is just so much output that unless you make a disciplined effort to listen to some of it, so much will remain buried.

Here’s a spectacular Raja/SPB number, in case you haven’t heard it earlier (the recording is not great, but it’s better than watching the song with the video):

PS: I’m so glad you liked ‘Nandha nee en nila..’ It’s as pure a “singer’s song” as can be, and an astounding use of the raga. I thought a “Rahman era child” might dismiss it as “too slow” and “no beats” 😛

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Have we reached such levels of wokeness that a teddy-bear comparison is now an insult! Seriously…

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Aman Basha

@brangan sir: Oh, no, it’s not an insult, I thought so too till I read the word sexist. Clearly someone has an axe of grind and is conveniently using the cloak of wokeness to strike at this inappropriate place.

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@Rocky – its a famous 80s Tamil song, loosely translates to “I am a river blasting out of a dam”.

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@Rocky – this is the song.

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Ravi

A heartbreaking loss.

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“Think of ‘Nadhiyoram’ (Annai Or Aalayam) or the incredibly incredible ‘Vaa ponmayile’ (Poonthalir). SPB sounds as “free” as he did with MSV. But soon, Raja locks in on his style, and decides that his forte is in using the voice not as just a voice but as an “instrument” like the other instruments in the orchestra”\

The interesting thing here is even when Raja did more expansive/meandering/experimental songs, he either went with Yesudas (En Iniya Pon/Kanavil Midhakkum), himself (Metti Oli) or relatively less heralded/known singers like Soolamangalam Murali on Kadhalenum Kottai. The only SPB song I can think of that somewhat slots in this basket is Uravenum Puthiya Vaanil and even there, the melodic line is much more linear and straightforward.

I guess one reason Raja leaned on SPB for these more locked-in songs is the very thing you mentioned that set apart SPB. He trusted SPB to still infuse personality in these locked in songs and not be constrained by the arrangements. Take a song like Poongatru Un Per Solla and how SPB sang lines like Rajavin mutham kollum Rojapoo kannam. Maybe Raja didn’t think Yesudas with all his incredible technical accomplishments could have got to that expression and he needed it not only to make these songs hit but fit the personality of a superstar like Kamal.

And on a related note, SPB had a very strong sense of rhythm. And that isn’t just the metronomical ability to stay in beat in spite of lots of adhiga prasangithanam but a feel for the groove. Raja knew that SPB would lock in into that groove and bring it out in his singing. I have said before that Yesudas sounds uncle-ish in songs like Thendral Than. One thing there was his voice but the other was, the accents were not punch-y the way they were when SPB sang such songs.

I think the below is one of the greatest songs of the SPB-Raja combine and maybe the last great collaboration between them. Pity it hardly gets talked about because of this whole stereotype about 90s Raja:

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Enna koduka sir pera

Can’t believe he is gone..Feels like someone from my family is gone 😦

I heard his voice everywhere growing up in IR songs and some Rahman ones and it was such a distinct one that could emote through singing. So tuned to his voice I was that I had a huge shock when I discovered Shankarabaranam’s songs were sung not by Bala Muralikrishna, a person known for his resounding and Gambira voice, but by SPB. Going back further, it’s only today that I discovered that Aayiram nilave vaa and Iyarkai ennum were sung by SPB and not by PBS or TMS.

My mother said she, her sister and young girls at that time used to swoon over his silky voice and style of singing, which was very different from TMS or PBS or other singers of the time.

What a great loss! He sounded so fresh and young till the very end….

Can we ever see great super singers like him, with 40,000 songs under his name(!) anymore?

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vsrini

Here’s an underrated SPB-ARR era song. I recall watching a stage programme where various singers (Srinivas, Karthik, etc) attempted various stanzas of this. While they all did a good job, it paled in comparison to the original. SPB’s voice envelops you and embraces you…like a scoop of your favourite ice cream (as BR would say).

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Kaveri

I just saw a compilation video of spb’s hindi songs. They mostly seem to be sung for Salman. What made me laugh was that salman’s acting couldn’t even justify the expressiveness of spb’s singing. He was barely syncing his lips. Pity when good songs are wasted on such actors. But well.. i can always listen to the songs without the video.

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Anuja Chandramouli

Been listening to SPB songs since his passing… Words cannot do justice to the beauty of that voice or how it makes one feel 😢 Thanks for this wonderful tribute BR. Look forward to listening to his older tracks described by you as well as the recommendations from the comments section.

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Isai

Anu,
I hope you are asleep by now. I will offer 3 explanations for why I wrote what I wrote.

Explanation 1: I have an axe to grind against you. So, when I saw an opportunity to pull you down by deliberately misinterpreting your statement, I couldn’t resist. Now, I am shocked that people have not bought my misinterpretation and are actually supporting you. So, I have decided to play innocent by offering explanation 2.

Explanation 2: I find it difficult to get emotionally moved. I couldn’t even cry during my grandmother’s death. So, I had mocked my female cousin who cried when Sivaji Ganesan died, to avoid feeling guilty about myself. Even yesterday, I did feel a bit sad about SPB, but I easily moved on and had a perfect night’s sleep. So, when you wrote “It hurts. The loss feels personal.”, I felt sad and hence tried to distract you by making you mad at me. I found nothing wrong in your statement but I thought distracting you will help you move on and sleep better. I am also quite grateful to you for helping me lose my cynicism towards women and I deeply regret being rude to a very nice lady like you. Again, I think I was rude only to shift the blame to you and avoid feeling guilty myself, for our misunderstandings. So, while you are free to ignore me, I will continue to act as per what I believe is in your best interests. If you think I am bullshitting, you can consider explanation 3.

Explanation 3: I am uber woke. I have always believed that raising my voice and immediately offering emotional support for the oppressed, whether it is minorities, women or fat shamed people, is far more important than unbiasedly examining the issue and looking for a solution. I believe that chastising a person for making an insensitive remark is a fundamental duty of every woke like me. That’s why I wrote what I wrote.

I think I wrote due to explanation 2, but you can consider any of them or ignore all of them, as you please. I have always admired people like you, who are nice to all people, who are honest and straightforward in their opinions and who never try to drive a wedge between people. My BOSS, who I think is a gentler version of my dad, was like that and he is the nicest man I have ever met. You often remind me of him. So, irrespective of what explanation you consider or how you treat me, you will always be my favorite person in this blog. Take Care.

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Kaveri

In listening through the vatious spb-illaiyaraja songs, i ended up also listening to various illaiyaraja songs sung by Mano and Malaysia vasudevan. It made me realize how underrated these 2 are in comparison.

Mano especially has the similar ability to emote and bring the life and energy that spb does and also in some songs you could mistake Mano’s voice for sbp’s. Anyone else think so? Just me?

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Aman Basha

Though I’m simply not knowledgeable enough to comment on the singing brilliance of SPB or the content of your article, as a proud Telugite who would never fail to bring up the fact that he was one of us, these are some of my favorites of SPB’s:

(No prizes for guessing which was the hit Hindi song of Anand Milind’s that they ripped from here)

(Although the tamil version had Ilaiyaraja and Kamal singing, in Telugu, we had SPB doing the honours and boy, was he good. In fact, I’d rate this version the highest)

(For all the hype Ram Charan and Allu Arjun get for their dancing, the Megastar seems to have done it all before and better in this crazily fast paced dance song which I pray is not plagiarized. SPB is full on rockstar mode here)

(This one is full on melodrama, I can’t even define what genre of song it falls in, but SPB is just larger than life here)

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Karthik

This is such a lovely tribute, BR! I welled up at the mention of Angum Ingum. Your description, especially

Back then, it sounded like a white-bearded sage standing on one leg, on an anthill, and giving you a life lesson. You folded your hands and sighed at the truth of the words. SPB makes it feel like you’re sitting with a friend over a drink thinking about the heavy things

is so sharply insightful. Reading the tribute and everyone’s comments about SPB really felt like that drink with a friend today…

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TambiDude

Madan: One notable point of IR and SPB combo was that IR avoided making SPB sing in high pitch. This led to a theory that SPB himself did not prefer singing in high pitch, something TMS use to excel at. With the arrival of ARR, SPB did enter the high pitch world. the title song of Roja or “Anjali anjali ennuyirk kaadhali”.

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TambiDude

“(No prizes for guessing which was the hit Hindi song of Anand Milind’s that they ripped from here)”

Nadeem Shravan, not AM. Anyhow both were thieves.

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“This led to a theory that SPB himself did not prefer singing in high pitch, something TMS use to excel at.” – Yes, I have heard this theory from die hard MSV fans who refuse to acknowledge both SPB and Raja for this very reason. Because supposedly the high singing made TMS matchless. Yeah, well, that’s great but there was also – as BR said – so much melody in SPB’s singing and so much nuance. Looking back now, it’s unbelievable that he could capture all these micro-gestures while also recording quickly under time pressure.

I think what Raja was doing was somewhat like Richard Carpenter protecting his illustrious sister Karen’s voice. It’s not that SPB couldn’t sing high but beyond a certain pitch it could sound effeminate. Raja always made him sing in the range he was most comfortable in which would free him up to express himself and also allow him to render complicated and difficult passages like the ascent-descent of Sangeetha Megam. And Raja also emphasised the more boisterous and rustic side of SPB’s singing. Not that MSV never made him sing like that but it’s difficult to imagine SPB singing Ola Ola Kudusaiyile for any other composer.

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Jayram

A good friend of mine just uploaded this:

Enna Koduka Sir Pera: now that you remind me of Balamuralikrishna, a while back before BMK’s passing, I was listening to a devotional album on Hanuman released in the 80s where BMK and SPB duetted not once, not twice but thrice! At first I thought it was going to be a mismatch, but as I listened closely they complemented each other very well.

In the 3 duets, they sing in the mid-baritone/tenor range. BMK sings with full power especially during the higher notes which doesn’t sound like shrieking especially during the Sahana duet. Whereas SPB who is capable of doing it too instead decides to modulate his voice to make it softer and sweeter. When they combine, it is ecstasy.

As an aside, the album songs sound like they can be film songs that I wonder who could be the MD. To get BMK and SPB to sing together in their primes is a masterstroke.

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Isai: Most times, there’s moderation amongst the commenters when someone oversteps, but you are putting me in a strange place where you are not saying anything outright offensive but are putting out comments that are really problematic.

Now, if you had a blog and you had an Isai there, what would you do? Seriously! Tell me.

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vsrini

I’ll add one more song to this. This was his own composition. One which showcased his voice so beautifully.

RIP SPB Sir. There won’t ever be another you.

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Yajiv

@Isai:

At the risk of playing Lakshmy Ramakrishnan to your Vanitha Vijayakumar, I’m going to wade into this rather toxic discussion. Your reply to Anu reminds me of how I used to be, a few years ago, taking my own personal issues out on forums and other internet sites, picking fights with and sending caustic replies dripping with sarcasm to people I had never met before. I realised that such acts, while they provided me momentary pleasure (albeit sadistic), never gave me lasting happiness. I didn’t fall asleep peacefully once going “Man, I’m so glad I gave those randos on the internet a piece of my mind today”. Instead, the anger, rage & toxicity kept me up at night. I don’t think this is helping you. It certainly didn’t help me back then. This year has shown that there’s no telling when any of us might kick the bucket. Why not live a little better/happier till then?

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Isai

“Now, if you had a blog and you had an Isai there, what would you do? Seriously! Tell me.”

BR: Thanks for sharing your dilemma. This is the first and perhaps the only blog where I have commented in the last many years. I don’t know how exactly blogs are different from say a news portal. For example, if a news portal is publishing an article on someone, especially one that is critical of them, in the interest of fairness, it is expected that they reach out to the concerned person and publish their response too, along with the article. Now, I am actually happy that Rahini took the effort to write an entire post in response to my comments. It has inspired me to publish my own blog. But, I request you to consider this, in case it happens again with someone else.

To answer your question, I don’t know how I will respond if someone did it in my blog, but I think I know what I should do now. I won’t be posting any more comments in your blog. Some people had posted some comments addressed to me which I haven’t yet answered. I plan to publish some posts in my blog, on the issues raised by them alone and want to share the links here in that relevant thread, if it is okay with you.

I had some daddy issues and mommy issues and your Aditi interview and the interaction in that thread has given me closure and has actually been life changing for me. Thanks a lot for taking the additional effort to moderate this blog. I feel grateful to you and people with whom I had interacted here, especially in that thread. If anyone is ever interested in interacting with me, I can be reached through my blog or at emaleisai at gmail dot com.

I would like to sign off with my favourite Thirukkural:

நன்றி மறப்பது நன்றன்று நன்றல்லது
அன்றே மறப்பது நன்று.

Explanation :
It is not good to forget a benefit; it is good to forget an injury even in the very moment (in which it is inflicted)

Thanks!

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Intha deham marainthalum isaiyai malarven(even if this body goes away I shall blossom as music). Can’t add much to that really. Can we?

Depressing without a shred of doubt. But he was 74 and lived a full life. Made everyone happy. Made everyone pray for him. His voice live for a very long time in the hearts of people. Till as long as humans have ears and retain the ability to appreciate good music. Too bad this had to happen to one of the nicest guys out there. Om Shanti.

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Let me add an old B/W SPB-MSV song.

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lakshmi

One of my favourite SPB songs – Edarilo koyila

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Boo

“Back then, it sounded like a white-bearded sage standing on one leg, on an anthill, and giving you a life lesson. You folded your hands and sighed at the truth of the words. SPB makes it feel like you’re sitting with a friend over a drink, thinking the kind of heavy things one thinks about when having a drink with a friend.”

This. This. So much this. How do you write stuff I didn’t know I needed to read? It has taken me a day to process that SPB is not breathing somewhere. Its easy to pretend he’s alive and keep listening to his songs on loop which is what I am planning to do once I get over this collective grief we are all going through.

My ever favorite is Manasu Mayangum from Sippikul Muthu. The way he softly repeats the first few lines after Janaki in the beginning of the song and at the end, he says the same lines again first and Janaki repeats the lines. Oh my God! Is his voice the most sinful in this song? Yes. Have I Imagined a slight smirk in his voice at the end which is missing in the beginning? May be. Do I feel that I slightly cheated on my husband every time I hear this song? Most definitely! I need to be buried with this song! (And a hand fan among other things!)

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SPB was also a music director, one of his notable telugu movies was “Padamati Sandhyaragam” a film entirely shot in St Louis in 1987 with an American actor, Vijayshanti and Shivamani in lead roles).

And in Hindi, he was vastly remembered for being a part of Salman Khan’s rise to stardom with chartbusters from Saajan, Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Apke Hai Kaun.

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Tambi_dude “One notable point of IR and SPB combo was that IR avoided making SPB sing in high pitch. This led to a theory that SPB himself did not prefer singing in high pitch”.

Not sure if this theory had any merit. Sankara song in Shankarabharanam, Raga deepam, Sangeetha jaathi mullai, Mandram vantha thendralukku, Ilakkanam Marudho, etc. There were many more.

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Voldemort

When I was very young, I heard oruvan oruvan muthalaali, and boy, was I mindblown. The magnificent roar at the beginning of the song is glorious. As I grew up, I realised that a Rajini introduction song HAD to be sung by SPB, cause who else could do it better! Be it Vandenda paalkaran, En Peru padayappa, devuda devuda, Enge pogutho vaanam, Arunachalam , Baleilaka, Autokaran, until Darbar.

I had the fortune to hear him sing En Kadhale live. Ah! What a gooseflesh inducing Duet between his voice and the sax. When he cries in “Killuvadhai killivittu, en thalli nindru paarkirai”, the eyes well up every time. During the performance, and in the short breaks, he went around to all the background singers, made them feel so comfortable, cracking jokes and all.

“Mayakkam enna – kadhal vaazhga” – What a song (Kadhalin deepam ondru) and what a lovely rendition of that line.

Some underrated gems of his IMO

1) Athinthom (Chandramukhi)
2) Enno ratrulastayi gani (The telugu version of Maasi masam alana ponnu). This song is SPB at highest of highs.
3) Unai paartha pinbu naan
4) Sri Ranga Ranganathanin paadam (Mahanadhi)
5) Akkam pakkam paar (Kadhalum kadandu pogum) That magnificent laugh at the end is one for ages.
6) Hayyayo nenju alayuthadi (Adukalam)
7) Malare mounama
8) Mun Paniya
9) Enge pogutho vanam, methuvagathan
10) Konji Konji alaigal oda

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Oru naal unnodu oru naal is first Ilayaraja and SPB coming together. This was Raja’s second movie I think.

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ah correction needed. paalooti valarthakili was second movie beating uravadum nenjam by couple of months. So, oru naal unnodu is is the 3rd song of IR-SPB.

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ThouShaltNot

A good man who refused to take his celebrity status seriously, a peerless singer who modulated his voice to suit many, and a long-standing virtual companion (his film-song voice from radio days to youtube days) is no more. Unlike many celebrities whose talents start creaking with age, SPB’s magical voice remained mostly intact and had some more years left to redeem when he departed.

It’s hard to pinpoint when his singing started changing (also depends on how one views change), but the air of insouciance (the SPB trademark now) was there even with MSV. With Raja, there was context within movies for full-blown imperiousness to creep in and take hold. Love the softness in his hit song “Pottu vaiththa mugamO, katti vaiththa kuzhalO” for Sivaji (and similar), but it contrasts with the songs sampled below and the many which came later.

Here is an inkling of the “SPB touch” from a MSV song (“marandhae pOchchu, romba naal aachchu” wasn’t part of the theatrical release) that many of his fans have come to love (Brimming with mischief, Vaali’s lines bolster the singing). And L R Eswari’s singing is quite a treat too.

“Sorgam Madhuvilae” is a cult classic of SPB for Raja from “Sattam en Kayil” (although attempted before, Bacchanalian revelry got an aura of coolness). The unreserved gusto with which SPB sings this one made it quite the rage.

Also check out “Romba naalaaga enakkoru aasai, manam thaalaamal thudithidum Osai” for Shankar Ganesh. This style became a mainstay of many of his songs.

About this gentle giant, there is much to like, but I’ll list a couple. In his songs (not all), his lapse into a teasing laugh in the middle of a line is something to savor. Outside of singing, his good-natured raillery of the young and the old who accompany him on stage is also something to cherish. RIP, SPB !

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lakshmi: What a beautiful song, thank you.

Rajan-Nagendra are a pair whose songs I keep meaning to explore, but I know I will never get around to it, given the backlog in the Tamil/Hindi 😦

I love this Rajan-Nagendra / SPB-SJ duet from HOMBISILLU

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thoravazhakkan: Yeah, there are many high-pitched SPB/Raja-MSV songs, too, which cross at least the upper “sa” in an octave.

Boo: Glad this post made you de-lurk 🙂

kaizokukeshav: SPB did a terrific job with the songs of THUDIKKUM KARANGAL, too — which had much more variety and vigour than the ones he composed for SIGARAM, starting from the very fun ‘Vaalibam vaadatha’ to the more classical-sounding ‘Sandhanam poosa’…

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Macaulay Perapulla

I’ve been feeling a strange knot inside, not knowing how to grieve the death of SPB.

Who can forget the thunderous galloping voice in Muthu, “He..a He..He..”, the most energetic introduction song for Rajini that could make the horse run for cover?

Every stage of my life was punctuated by a favourite SPB song that I sang.

In my 10s, when I discovered the joy of singing pathos, it was “unnai ninachen”

In my 15s, when I was a blissfully ignorant teenager peaking on hormones, it was “Thangame Thamizhukku Illai”. Who can forget how his voice soared high in the sky with Kadri Gopalnath’s saxophone?

In my 20s, it was “Pehla Pehla Pyaar Hain”, when I wooed a girl in my college. Heck! When I didn’t know enough to roll my tongue well with Hindi, his tamilish hindi reassured me.

How am I going to forget the SPB who sits inside my larynx, that feverish excitement of teenagehood that pulsated my nerves, whenever someone said that I sing like SPB, even though I knew that the bottom of my heart that I am one among the million mimic artists of the legend?

Few years back, when I met SPB at a wedding, I had no words. Feelings are too personal, even for the man.

SPB is a feeling that will stay in my larynx until I die. Thank you BR for moisting me up!

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ThouShaltNot Thanks for that Maranthe Pochu song. Kind of unusual song for him. And Romba Naalaga song of Shankar Ganesh too.

My other favorites of that time were

Gowri Manohariyai Kanden based on Gowri Manohari Raga from Mazhalai Pattalam. Duet with VJ. Song. Amazing song

Engenge Sellum. OMG what a song by SPB-SJ-IR combination.

Poo pole punnagaiyil he sounds like TMS

Germanyin from Ullasa Paravaigal
His voice sounds so nice

I am sure everyone knows Ragangal Pathinaru.

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From Anbe Sangeetha.

Noor-aandugal nee vazhgave! That hurts.

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pcsumi

BR: I love Jeeve Veene too. I would like to hear from Kannada participants here and others who are familiar with Rajan-Nagendra’s work as to which are some other great SPB songs sung for them. I posted Akasa Deepavu Neenu which is also beautiful. They seem to have been an important link in the transition from the high octane and dramatic music of the 60s to softer sensibilities. And I swear if you listen to some of the early Raja work like En Kanmani or even Jotiyali, it evokes Rajan-Nagendra. Not the orchestration or the harmony, obviously, but something about the tune construction.

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Here’s SPB being joyously SPB-ish, in one of the most sustained stretches of “acting” he’s done in the Raja-verse:

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That comment attributed to pcsumi is mine. Sorry, used the desktop without realizing my mother’s ID was logged in.

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Voldemort

Thoravazhakkan – Thanks for the great recommendations.

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https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/why-spb-special-everyone-radio-smartphone-generation-133954

This was one of the better articles about SPB, especially compared to the usual blindspotted articles coming from ‘pan India’ broadsheets like Indian Express or India Today that only speak to a North Indian perspective even when discussing SPB (or Sridevi likewise).

He mentions Payanangal Mudivathalai as one of the best showcases of SPB the singer. What do ye all think? Let’s nominate a few more such choices. He mentioned Shankarabaranam too. But in the IR-SPB territory, would add Mouna Raagam, Udhaya Geetham and Idhaya Kovil. No coincidence that these are all Mike Mohan films. Aboorva Sagotharargal is, as ever, the dark horse, covering comedy, kuttu/rural (Annatha Aduran), romance of both a childlike dreamy fashion AND a steamy, adult version and pathos all in one package.

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Satya

SPB debuted in Telugu as a playback singer when my professor was, say, 4 years old. 50 years later, I attend my professor’s final rites at a church and make my way home, listening to SPB’s then new release. Now, I meet my professor’s kids and reach home to learn this sickening news. Life is very strange. But that isn’t the point now.

50 years and more, SPB was being celebrated. He still is and will be. How many artists would be this lucky? I dont think we can have such a re-assuring and energetic voice anytime soon. Yes there are many great singers, no offense. But SPB is way too ‘unique’ to replace.

Thank you for the songs Balu sir. They aid me in many ways I cannot put here in words. But, beyond all, thank you for this one:

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Another exquisite SPB-P Sushila duet from the 70s (composer V Kumar; how beautifully the second stanza takes off in a different melodic route from the first, especially the extended last line by SPB):

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You may not have noticed from my activity on the blog but by a coincidence I had not been keeping well last couple of days. It made it all the more difficult to come to terms with his loss.

I finally got down to pen a little tribute to SPB. No analysis this time, just memories, just living the times I ‘spent’ with him because that’s how his singing made me feel. As Bosskey put it, he was everyone’s chitappa, the lovable and kind uncle with a big smile.

Tribute to SPB: A banyan tree falls

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TambiDude

This thread has brought memories of my time in Chennai in 70s where radio ruled, both at home and all tea kadais. So there was a world before IR too 🙂

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TambiDude

Satya: Prema was known for this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_L1rhEdLes

Also Ontari Vadani had that typical IR template for gult songs. I am not trying to start a war of words, but IMO IR had a distinct gult style

Sample, apart from ontari vadani

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Doba

Thank you for the lovely tributes. The video one made me tear up. I wish the written one was longer and there was no word limit just this once. Greedily I wanted it to never end. SPB meant so much to us. It feels like losing someone in our family. I think I have listened to him almost every day for the last few decades. I am no music aficionado but I am feeling a terrible sense of homesickness (or is it nostalgia?) that has not happened for so many years.

Every comment on this page has made me feel a little better. Your words, where you say we should be grateful for the riches he shared with us are buoying me up. But some people, you believe, will be immortal and I am struggling to come to terms with this.

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Tambidude: I agree. It was a ‘louder’ and more ‘filmi’ style. A subtle difference, but it’s there nevertheless. I think his Kannada and Malayalam work was his most austere, Tamil in the middle with a balance of glamour/style and elegance and Telugu leaning more towards glamour.

With that said, the last soundtrack of his that really sounded like the IR of old was for the Telugu film Abbhayitho Ammayi. There, he composed somewhat the way he used to in Tamil and for which there had ceased to be a market.

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Satya

I am not trying to start a war of words, but IMO IR had a distinct gult style

Maybe. I never noticed, so thanks for this one. I think IR was more thinking of the local sensibilities when working for a regional film unlike ARR who had a more, say, ‘standard’ tune that fits all at once. Not saying that’s wrong, but IMO that’s how they approach it.

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Acchani. Thalattu SPB-PS.

V Kumar’s song. Idhukku poi alattikalama.

SPB-Jikki duet. Naan unnai nenachchen

Manathil enna ninaivugalo: Pooonthalir 1979

There were other bigger hits like Kanmaniye Kaadhal enbathu(aarulirunthu arbadhu varai), junior( from avargal), kadavul amaithu vaitha.

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Did this little rendition of only one charanam and pallavi of Poguthey.

Didn’t feel like doing a full song with backing track. Might take a week(s) before I feel up to it. Was difficult to make it through just this. Hopefully not as difficult to make it through listening to it!

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ThouShaltNot

Another SPB’s hit for V.Kumar from “Ival oru Seethai”

Here is a SPB hit for Vijayabhaskar from “Soundaryame Varuga Varuga” (the movie was a dud, all the songs were a hit).

And another SPB hit for VB from “Aadu Puli Aattam” (stellar !)

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His another unique ability is Mimicking the artist… no other singer can do this (only Mano to an extent). Listening to him, it always felt the voice of actual actor was coming out. I wonder what will Kamal Hassan do, SPB has been the dubbing artist for all Kamal’s Telugu versions. Imagine dubbing to the most versatile actor, how versatile one should be.

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ThouShaltNot

Kannada films is a treasure trove for SPB lovers. Here are a couple of his early songs:

“Aaseya bhaava Olavina Jeeva” from “Mangalya Bhaagya” (I think it was “Uravu Solla Oruvan” in Tamizh)

Another SPB special from Devara Gudi

SPB and his music make the term cornucopia sound feeble by comparison. Apologize for the spamming (will have to spam to eternity to cover all his delectable delights). And now, back to the daily rut cave.

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SPB’s famous MGR songs were

Paadum pothu naan thendral kaatru (MGR and habit of getting away with his attire and color combinations. Some trendsetter)

Naalai Namathe duet with TMS. Used to love this song as a kid.

Vetri meethu vetri vanthu

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Anu

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10158262386121777&id=646831776

Dear BR, I am a long time reader on your blog and knowing your love for music I was waiting for this tribute! As expected you mostly write about your experiences and favourites from SPB’s Tamil hits.

I eagerly read the comments for some reference to SPB’s amazing body of work from the Kannada films, sadly there were very few!

I wrote a small tribute recalling some of the favourites which came to mind immediately, but this post by a friend paints a truer picture of what SPB meant to us, Kannadigas

I am pasting a link to his FB post here, I hope it works and he won’t mind.

As I only listen to his songs from the past 2 days, I have realized not surprisingly that he has sung some of the best songs for all the heyday Kannada heroes from the 80s and 90s – from the Nag brothers to Srinath to Vishnuvardhan to Ramesh and so many many more. While the Kannada scene was dominated by PBS and Dr.Raj earlier, SPB came, saw and conquered in style.

I’ll attempt to list some personal favourites here –
Maamaravello kogile ello from Devaragudi for Vishnuvardhan

Belli modave elli Oduve – from Vasantha Lakshmi for Vishnuvardhan

Jeeva veene and neera bittu nelada mele – from Hombisilu – Vishnuvardhan again

aakashadinda dharegilida rambhe – from Chandanada Gombe for Anant Nag

Elliruve – from Bayalu daari for Anant Nag

Hosa baalige nee jotheyaade – from Naa ninna bidalare – for Anant Nag

Snehada kadalalli – from Shubhamangala for Srinath

Besuge and Yaava hoovu – from Besuge for Srinath

All the songs from Geetha for Shankar Nag – special favourite is Santoshakke – you just wanna get up and dance with him!!

Among more recent ones from 90s:
Neenu Neene – he has sung for both Ravichandran and Nagesh in this song!

Manase and Ee sundara belandingala – from Amruthavarshini

Garane garagarane – from Aaptharakshaka

There are so many many more favourites that it’s impossible to list them all! As I was telling a friend each of us have our own playlists of personal SPB favourites! I’d like to end my loong comment by mentioning just 2 more

the most recent number for Puneet in Maya Bazaar 2016 – just imagine him at this age, singing like this in 2020!! Unbelievable!

And of course the eternal, everybody’s favourite depicting simple, classic love – Naguva Nayana from Pallavi Anupallavi

We are all just blessed to have been born in times when SPB was around and singing!! He will continue to remain forever in our memories!🙏 For all the love he received, he liked to call himself as Karnataka’s adopted son and wanted to be reborn here, I hope that comes true!

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Talk about Telugu songs.

I recently discovered there is a Tamil version of this song. Ha!

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Arjun

Great article, BR. I’ll admit. This is a real gut punch in what has already been a depressing year. It feels like a personal loss, like the death of a favorite, affable uncle. (A small quibble- you forgot to mention Deva for whom SPB has sung many memorable songs.)

The man’s voice and music have been a part of life for me. Almost no day passes without listening to his songs or humming a tune, either deliberately, incidentally or subconsciously. Musicians can become a part of your psyche and enter your subconscious in a way, say an actor or sportsman can’t. You don’t see a Kamal movie or watch Sachin bat everyday. But you certainly can and do listen to certain musicians and composers many times a day

I am reminded of those idyllic days in the early noughties when I would hop on to my bike and head off to catch one of SPB’s live shows in Chennai organized by Lakshman shruthi or Mouna ragam murali. The man had a magnificent stage presence. He was what one might call a mrddubhashi. He made sure to praise each musician and credit every composer, from Raja to Deva. He could keep the audience hooked with his narration of a events and the intricacies of a particular composition for hours on end.

There is no point making a list of top 10 or top 100 SPB songs, but I’ll just drop this one song I discovered recently. A rare amritavarshini by Raja

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Arjun

“Do I feel that I slightly cheated on my husband every time I hear this song? Most definitely! I need to be buried with this song!”

Haha. great comment. Manasu mayangum..he sounds so seductive in that song. Another song in a similar vein is then poove poove vaa.

The way he sings the first charanam – ‘Naanum kamban thaan konjum podhu…” makes me swoon. If I were a woman in the 80s, I would have been madly in love.

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Arjun

Madan: From your blog – “All of a sudden, the musical banyan tree that had remained virtually unchanged and ageless all these years, a comforting shelter for any weather, had fallen.”

Very well expressed. There is an emptiness, a void. Just like what Raja says. I was hoping I’ll have a chance to catch another of his live performances and that magical baritone of which it can truly be said ‘age does not wither its beauty’. Alas,it was not to be 😦

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If i may, BR – a highly personal tribute to SPB.
https://anuradhawarrier.blogspot.com/2020/09/remembering-gentle-giant.html
(if I’ve overstepped, please feel free to not publish this comment. )

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Ponenbatho poovenbatho from Annapparavai.

This super hit song for T Rajendar in his first movie. Lyrics by TR made everyone sit up and take notice. I guess the lyrics perfectly fit this year. SPB’s singing breathed life into it.

KV Mahadevan in late 70s had ENi Padigal

Friend of mine rightly points out that the temple is Pazhaya Seevaram temple near Kanchipuram/Chengalpattu. Also seen in a song from Vattathukul Sathuram.

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Thanks for the tributes and playlists, especially Anu’s Kannada series!

thoravazhakkan: SPB and MGR was a combination that NEVER clicked for me (though the songs themselves are lovely). Yesudas was a much better fit, when you match image and song.

I am not able to explain this. I first thought this was because we are so used to heavy voices for MGR (even PBS sounded so off in ‘Paal vannam’) — but then Sivaji used a lot of heavy voices, too, and somehow SPB really fits him (at least to an extent).

The gorgeous ‘Pottu vaitha mugamo’ is an example (even with the ‘young SPB voice)!

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Anu Warrier: Unlike the Rafi/Kishore fights on the internet today, our discussions usually ended with everyone agreeing that both men were superlative singers, and preferences being expressed for one or the other song that either of the men had sung that the other may not have done as well.

I laughed at this, but also was saddened a bit at how the Internet has reduced everything to a “who is better” competition.

I shudder to think what furies this SPB/KJY duet (the ‘Kaatu kuyilu of its day) might have provoked had it been released today 🙂

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Anu: Thanks for the compilation of Kannada songs sung by SPB. Have always wanted to dig deeper into his Kannada work. Sad that it could only be after his death. 😦

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lakshmi

SPB and MGR was a combination that NEVER clicked

Sorry for the digression, but that reminded me of this song TMS sang for Kamal 🙂

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Behind the scenes of the last film song SPB and IR worked on.

The old friends were back together, just like old times. But the times weren’t meant to last long this time….

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Anantha Padmanaban R

http://ananthbangalore.blogspot.com/2020/09/was-spb-real.html

It is a personal loss. Adding my small tribute zooming in on Tamil and Kannada.

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“MGR and habit of getting away with his attire and color combinations. Some trendsetter)”

Yes who else but MGR could get away with such eyeball scorching color combos and who else but MGR could essay a double role and get away with “blackfacing” one of them?

But much respect for the man for giving SPB his break. Especially after SP himself confirmed that MGR refused to replace him in spite of the former having fallen ill before the recording of “Ayiram Nilave Vaa” and waited till he recovered.

Hear WHY MGR refused to replace him from 7:15-13.00 in the clip below

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Anu: Elliruve was where I had to pause listening as there are so many songs to catch up with. Elliruve again shows links to the nascent Raja sound (Indha Minminikku from Sigappu Rojakkal has some similarities). Not strong resemblances but if you had to pick one source from Indian film music that sort of anticipated the Raja tone, it seems to be Rajan-Nagendra, not MSV or Salil.

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chvs Chaitanya

SPB is a workaholic, 40k plus (around 2 songs per day), 50 films as an actor, so many films as a dubbing artist, music concerts and also many tv shows as judge….it is unbeleivable that a single person did all these things in a span of 55 years.

But i feel this workaholic nature of SPB is one of the reasons for the 55 days struggle he has gone through. I feel he should not have attended the SAMAJAVARAGAMANA show in hyderabad on July 28, after participating in the show he got corona. The organizers of the show are also equally responsible for the loss, they should not have let SPB join the show when corona is at its peak in India, half of the singers who participated in the show were tested positive in august first week.

I wish he never attended the show

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vivek

About his Kannada work, SPB composed, acted, and sang in a film called Muddina Maava. It has perhaps the catchiest Deepavali song there is. The really quirky part about this song is that he sang for Shashi Kumar, the hero, whilst Rajkumar sang for him. SPB mentions this in one of his recent video blogs.

And since there’s finally some interest in Rajan-Nagendra, if you’d indulge me, a couple of their collaborations with SPB follow:

My favourite, from Avala Hejje:

From Parasangada Gendethimma, a film that had only 3 songs, all written by Doddarange Gowda. For a long time I’d thought this was sung by someone else:

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BR, thanks – yes, it’s funny and sad. That we should constrain their rich talent that we’re so blessed to enjoy within the petty limits of our own biases…

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Rocky

BR: If possible, can you Please delete the earlier comment and post this one under- Rocky, thanks !!

Srinivas R: Thank you for the translation.
Just as this song affected you in a positive way, I was trying to think the songs that affected /helped me cope with life over the years and the following came to mind ( I may expand on the list later- late 90s onwards )
1. Ruk Jaana Nahin tu kaheen haar key
2,Hai Preet Jahan kee reet sada
3.Zindagi Key safar mein Guzar jaatey hain
4.Sach Merey Yaar Hai , bas yahee pyar hai ( apnee toh haar hai )
5.Aur nahee bas aur naheen, gham key pyaley aur naheen

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“SPB and MGR was a combination that NEVER clicked for me (though the songs themselves are lovely). Yesudas was a much better fit, when you match image and song.”

I try not to associate too much between actor and singer, even though I brought this topic of MGR songs. I brought it up as a note during obituary given the relationship between MGR and SPB. But overall, I am agnostic to the on screen idol, most of whom are possibly terrible singers(meaning you have bring in bad singers to match the voices of actors, IMO!). Jokes aside, I agree that, Yesudas did get better songs of MGR(in general in 1970s overall).

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SPB’s farewell speech. Or it seemed so.
https://twitter.com/thoravazhakkan/status/1310628245189128197

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Ravi K

This is a song I cannot imagine anyone else singing. Even in 2004 his voice had this much power!

SPB sang the Tamil version of “Kya Kare” in the Tamil dub of “Rangeela.” Hindi to Tamil dubs often sound strange to me, but SPB’s wonderful performance makes this a fascinating alternate version of the song.

As much as I have heard of SPB in Tamil and Telugu, I am still discovering songs in those languages, and I haven’t even skimmed the surface of his Kannada output. I will be hearing “new” SPB songs for a long time. Madan, thanks for introducing me to “Aakasha Deepavu Neevu.” I have listened to it several times now. I must dive into more Rajan-Nagendra songs.

I particularly love this IR-SPB song, which sounds inspired by “Mere Sapnon Ki Rani” from “Aradhana,” with that opening that evokes a train, SPB’s opening “eyyyy heyyy heyyy,” and the snatches of accordion throughout.

SPB sang a song for Rajini’s upcoming “Annathe” (composed by D. Imman). Will be great to hear his voice in a theater once more, assuming it is safe to go to theaters when it releases.

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“Belli modave elli Oduve” is the Kannada equivalent for Tamil song “Anbu Megame Ingu Odivaa”
Such a beautiful song by Vijaybhaskar. Thanks for posting it.

Saptaswaram Punnagaiyl Kanden SPB-VJ-MSV

Samudra rajakumari song. SPB-VJ MSV

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Saptaswaram Punnagaiyl is V Kumar. Don’t know why I typed MSV.

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Tambi Dude

“I am agnostic to the on screen idol, most of whom are possibly terrible singers(meaning you have bring in bad singers to match the voices of actors, IMO!). ”

This is the same argument ARR used when he first started. think all those minmini, shaukeel ahmed, suresh peters type of singers he unleashed on us. To quote him “why do we settle only for perfect singers even for imperfect characters of the movie”.

Now deal with it. LOL

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A thread of V Kumar and SPB songs … from twitter.

A small thread on SPB songs under the baton of music director V Kumar.

— K Balakumar (@kbalakumar) September 29, 2020

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Tambi Dude

On a diff note, any reason why so many tamil movies of 1970s were in black and white. In Hindi I think the last big star B/W was 1970 movie Khamoshi (Rajesh Khanna , Waheeda Rahman with some outstanding music by Hemant Kumar ). I am aware of few art movies of Basu Bhattacharya made in B/W. In tamil even big star movies like Nizhal Nijamagiradhu (1978) was in b/w.

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Tambidude: “This is the same argument ARR used when he first started. think all those minmini, shaukeel ahmed, suresh peters type of singers he unleashed on us. To quote him “why do we settle only for perfect singers even for imperfect characters of the movie”.

I am fine with all these singers if they can sing well. Many times the songs are unwatchable. I like to deal with the voice and music and be done. Even here when I post a video from youtube, I try to see if there are any of those without the real video. Else I have to check if the video is acceptable.

Shahgul Hameed died young BTW.

Kalyana kovilin deiveega kalasam.

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Hari Easwaran

@madan – Madili En Kadhali and Kadhal Ovviyam would be another landmark album of SPB in 80s. What I could recall – Anandha Vikatan review of Udaya geetham , they called it as Bala Geetham.

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“To quote him “why do we settle only for perfect singers even for imperfect characters of the movie”.” – Tbf, this was the pretext often used to justify Raja vocals for Murali or Ramarajan (though ‘perfect’ singers like Yesudas or SPB sang for both actors too). I don’t even think it’s that much of a difference (and there’s Malaysia while we’re on that subject). Rahman used Shahul Hameed, Suresh Peters, Udit, Mano and SPB ALL on the same actor Prabhu Deva in the same film, lol. Oh, and Jayachandran and Unnikrishnan too. What a variety! The issue was more that the Hameed/Peters-sung songs did so well under Rahman’s baton that the demand for them went up like anything (and led to later composers prioritizing those songs over writing good melody). We were still getting really good classical-oriented numbers every once in a while from Rahman right up to Mudhalvan/Rhythm/Thenali. Even Kandukondein Kandukondein. It seemed like he lost interest a little in Tamil after early noughties or that he was consciously transitioning out of a sound where the Tamil/Carnatic melody used to be a distinct part of it. But that’s a whole other discussion. The point being Oru Raga Harris was the big problem. I don’t think THAT was envisaged as where the trendline from Raja to Rahman to onwards would lead to, but that’s how it ended up.

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Hari Easwaran

@Brangan – Some of other lovely VKumar, SPB combos.

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Hari Easwaran

@Tambi Dude – 70s Tamil movie industry economics dictated the prevalence of BW movies with new small producers ( patronized by Jaishankar, Muthu Raman, KR Vijaya etc.) mainly supporting the industry. Only MGR and Sivaji movies could afford color movies. Even not all of Sivaji movies were in color. Also in 70s AVM and other big producers from 60’s were all dormant or went out of business.

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lakshmi

September 30, 2020

Srinivas R: Thank you for sharing the V Kumar-SPB songs thread.

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Rocky

September 30, 2020

Thanks to Srinivas R who wrote that a random song had a huge effect on his outlook towards life.
I am listing some songs (in no particular order) which affected me, encouraged me, and helped me cope with life:

1.Zindagi Key Safar mein Guzar Jaatey Hain ( Aap ki Kasam)

Ruk Jaan Naheen, tu kaheen haar key (Imtihan)

3.Sach mere Yaar hai , bas yahee pyar hai (Saagar)

4.Naa Umr kee seema ho, naa janam ka ho bandhan (Prem Geet)

Bharat ka rehney wala hoon, Bharat kee baat sunata hoon (Poorab aur Paschim)

6.Main Na bhooloonga (sad version) (RKAM)

7.Aur nahee bas aur nahee, gham key pyaley aur naheen (RKAM)

8.Gila Maut sey nahee hai- humen Zindagai ney maara (Alag Alag)

Jeeye toh Jeeye Kaisey Bin Aapkey (Kumar Sanu version) (Saajan)
Barso Purana, yeh Yarana ek pal mein kyon toota (Hera Pheri)
Yeh Dil, deewana, deewana hai yeh dill (Pardes)
Ai Dil hai Mushkil…

13.Yeh Jo Des Hai tera, Swades hai tera (Swades)

14.Chitthi aayee hai, watan sey Chitthi aayee hai ( Naam)

Kuch kar Guzarney ko khoon chala , khoon chala (RDB)

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https://solvanam.com/2020/09/27/%e0%ae%85%e0%ae%9e%e0%af%8d%e0%ae%9a%e0%ae%b2%e0%ae%bf-%e0%ae%a8%e0%ae%b2%e0%ae%ae%e0%af%8d-%e0%ae%b5%e0%ae%be%e0%ae%b4-%e0%ae%8e%e0%ae%a8%e0%af%8d%e0%ae%a8%e0%ae%be%e0%ae%b3%e0%af%81%e0%ae%ae/

October 1, 2020

SPB recalls the day MSV was angry with him for showing up late to recording studio.

One thing is somewhere the detail seems to be off. I am sure overall the story is true. Manmadha Leelai came in early 1976. Ilayaraja made his debut in mid 1976. SPB’s song for Ilayaraja came in his second movie which was after Annakkili. Unless Raja recorded songs for the August release movie in January(chances of which is remote given that he was struggling at that point).

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Subhadra

October 3, 2020

Wonderful write up as usual, treat for the ears are our Spb’s songs and feast for our minds are your words. Thank you!

Was listening to Aalappol Velappol song today, has all the signatures of his singing – that giggle, that emotion, that kurumbu, the sweetness of both the lead singers voice and Raja’s stamps all over. How does this unassuming song sound very pleasant to the ears even today.

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Arjun

October 3, 2020

Rare, .Telugu song from Aalapana. Learnt about it from this write up by Violin Vicky and the other linked one.

http://raagadevan.blogspot.com/2009/10/yfdhenuka.html

Probably unreleased. Absolutely Mesmerizing,

“ஆலாபனா என்ற தெலுங்கு படத்தில் மிகக் கடினமான ‘மதன லதிகா ஹரே’என்ற பாடலை முதல் டேக்கிலேயே எஸ்பிபி பாடி முடித்ததும் இளையராஜா அவரை மிகவும் பாராட்டினார் என்று சொல்லப்படுவதுண்டு. (இந்தப் பாடல் பற்றி நான் இங்கே விரிவாக எழுதியிருக்கிறேன் – Raaja Paarvai – A Perspective on Raaja: y=f(dhenuka) ). “

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thoravazhakkan

October 5, 2020

Kind of forgotten song.

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Tambi Dude

October 5, 2020

@thoravazhakkan: Madan and I were talking about this few weeks ago. For all his phenomenal work, IR was terrible in sound engineering. It was his weakest link. Songs of this movie (1983) sounds much better than other movies of that era. Reason is simple. For some reason this was recorded in Mumbai in RDBurman’s studio. Same for Sadma and years later Dalapathy which were all recorded in Mumbai.

RDBurman’s sound engineering in 1970s comfortably beats IR’s sound of even 80s. The crispness of the sound was sadly lacking in IRs sound. No wonder ARR wiped him out in a year.

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Anand Raghavan

October 6, 2020

Bold yet subtle, Deep yet so light
Songs infused with sweetness that melted into the ears.
Smiles sprinkled at will, husky , spunky, youthful and romantic
A voice that mesmerized and was a part of daily life of crores of people…
The man is gone yet the voice remains forever.. #SPB

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October 6, 2020

Tambi Dude: I was going to write this the other day but forgot.

I don’t think even if IR had Mumbai studio quality audio for more of his recordings, it would have helped him against Rahman. As such, audio quality was already a lot better in his early 90s albums compared to the 80s.

What Rahman was doing was recording authentic instrumental sounds on a console and then sampling that sound into his keyboard. After which, he would simply play that sound on the keyboard. That is why he got a great sound.

Not so much because of the studio. His studio was so small that SPB too wondered how he would manage with such a studio and was then stunned by the result. When you are playing most of the stuff on a single instrument – keyboard – you can then make as many different tracks as you like and combine them. When you use a million instruments, have to mic up all of them and then compress the totality of that sound into max 8 track recording, the result is not going to be amazing no matter what. Even on NEPV, the recording sound is a little dense. Which is not a bad thing, that is how it is supposed to sound. But you will never get that uncluttered, totally separated effect of Rahman recordings because Rahman, at least in the early days, wasn’t even using an orchestra. It’s stunning to think how he was able to get an even better sound on the Thiruda Thiruda songs than Dhalapathi without actually using an orchestra.

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Tambi Dude

October 6, 2020

Madan: I am not suggesting that RDBurman’s sound was comparable to ARR. It was better than IR’s sound. Even Bappi Lahiri produced better sound than IR in 1980s.

ARR took it to the international level, obviously with the help of technology. Today almost all composers are of the same level. SEL, Amit Trivedi, Harris Jeyaraj, Jibran.

Notable exception is YSR.

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thoravazhakkan

Don’ wish to enter into a debate on topics related to composers in a SPB thread. Seriously, where does RDB even fit in this thread. For starters I consider RDB to be less than decent composer.

Another amazing song of 90s. SPB-IR-Vaali

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thoravazhakkan: RD Burman is only one of the greatest, most thrilling innovators of Indian film music — but I have neither the time nor the energy now to discuss this, so I’ll just leave this out here 🙂

But that said — Madan and Tambi Dude — I don’t think recording quality has much to do with the popularity of a song. I’m not talking about music enthusiasts, of course. I am just talking about the lay listener.

IMO, all that matters to the lay listener is (1) Is the sound clean and are the voices/words heard? (2) Is it a hum-able tune? (3) Is the overall song (with the instrumental passages, etc.) “pleasant” or “soothing” or “fun” or “uplifting” or “moving” or whatever.

Frankly, I don’t 90 % of people care about the arrangements etc. (Okay, make that 80 %.) But yes, I do agree that we have lost a great deal of Raja’s orchestral genius due to his sound engineers. In the sense that his multi-layered, multi-instrumental passages in the preludes/interludes deserved Rahman/Harris-level engineers.

So I disagree with this statement:

The crispness of the sound was sadly lacking in IRs sound. No wonder ARR wiped him out in a year.

Rahman nudged aside Raja for the same reason that Raja nudged aside MSV and for the same reason MSV (and MSV-TKR) nudged aside Sudarsanam/G Ramanathan, etc.

Anyone who offers something “new” after a decade or so of a particular type of song/sound has the potential to become the new No.1.

During Raja’s peak (the eighties), none of his co-composers — T Rajendar, Gangai Amaran, Chandrabose, Sankar-Ganesh (even though they started before Raja, they continued giving hits) — truly broke away from the existing paradigm.

I’m not denying that Rahman’s sound added a lot to his music. But I would part ways with the theory that it was solely the engineering that helped him break away. I am not the greatest fan of ‘Chinna chinna aasai’, but it’s one hell of a catchy song and it spoke in a brand new way to a brand new generation.

That’s what it boils down to, whether a song “speaks” to the public at large — for whatever reason. The sound engineering etc. is all gravy.

All IMO, of course.

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BR: I didn’t say Rahman came to replace Raja because of sound engineering. I said even had Raja employed a better studio, he wouldn’t have been able to match Rahman’s sound. What Rahman was doing in the early 90s was very cutting edge. I don’t think people realize that sampling was new even in the West as that time and Rahman as an adolescent had brought it to India. No wonder it was earth shattering. But of course, it wasn’t the only thing that made Rahman so popular and maybe not even THE thing. I don’t think my North Indian classmates singing Chaiyya Chaiiya even knew it was a Rahman song or cared, but it was a super duper hit among many others.

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thoravazhakkan

“RD Burman is only one of the greatest, most thrilling innovators of Indian film music — but I have neither the time nor the energy now to discuss this, so I’ll just leave this out here”

Didn’t think it was appropriate to discuss relative worth of MDs in this thread meant to mourn and celebrate SPB. At the same time didn’t want this to be window for a hit and run exercise. Hence my trashing RDB as a response.

I mean come on, Raja has not been wiped out any more than Rahman has been wiped out by YSR or Anirudh or whomsoever. Raja has had 300+ movies in the last 20 years, 2/3 national awards during the period. In a world that counts as getting wiped out, then my comment on RDB if anything is mild with zero national awards. RDB wasn’t even the leader in Binaca Geetmala most of his so called best years. Far from that in fact. Check the wiki link. I am not even getting into the level of RDB’s plagiarism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaca_Geetmala

Paradigm has changed last 20 years. You don’t have all hit songs in a movie anymore. Catchy, peppy and gaana type songs have gained lot of popularity.

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thoravazhakkan: Your Binaca geetmala argument is dubious. I am going to assume you don’t live in Mumbai or up North. I am a Mumbaiite and my father lived in Dhanbad, Jharkhand during the 60s and the 70s. Let me assure you that songs like O Mere Dil Ke Chain or Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai not being the no. 1 Binaca song of the year says more about the integrity or lack of it of Binaca than R D Burman himself. Kati Patang, Yaadon Ki Baarat, Hare Krishna Hare Ram, Caravan, Jawani Deewani, Mere Jeevan Saathi, Amar Prem, Aap Ki Kasam, Sholay and Hum Kisise Kam Nahin are some of the all time biggest hit soundtracks in Hindi, period.

Now you are going to go, “Oh, nee RD camp adhunala abdi sollra”. Nope! I am more of a 60s Bollywood aficionado. Though I do like RDB, I like MM, Naushad, S D Burman more, maybe even Shankar Jaikishan. Oh, and my favourite composer overall is Raja, comfortably.

If the argument is about musical chops, I would readily agree RD is no match for a phenomenon like Ilayaraja. But in terms of pop culture, RD was to pan India what Raja was to two, at best three, South markets.

And sure Raja has had commercial success every now and then with his soundtracks, most recently with Psycho, but we can all agree the days of the seemingly never ending isai mazhai are long gone. To deny that is to downgrade the quality and prolificity of Raja in his heydays. Yes, he is not diminished as a composer and it is the market that is unable to find suitable assignments for him but that happens to almost anyone operating in popular music. Whether in Tamil, Hindi or abroad in rock/pop. It is what it is.

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Tambi Dude

“Rahman nudged aside Raja for the same reason that Raja nudged aside MSV ”

It took Raja four years to nudge past MSV. Raja started in 1976 and it wasn’t until 1980 he dethroned MSV in the sense that top movie makers signed up and not MSV. It took ARR a year to wipe out IR. By 1995 IR was reduced to composing for Vanaja Girija type of movies. I remember by Diwali 1994 he became irrelevant and forgotten in Chennai. Such was the ARR wave. He sounded so drastically different than IR that peeps just got hooked to his music and dumped IR in a jiffy. MSV from 1976-80 was still a force. IR was also not sounding drastically different than MSV in that period. By 1980 he gained enough confidence to unleash radically different sounding songs as in Nenjathai Killathe, Ullasa Paravaigal and finally MSV became irrelevant.

thoravazhakkan: I was talking about IR’s sound because coincidentally you brought the same song/film in discussion what Madan and I were discussing in

Raja the riffmaster

To accept that IR was bad in sound engineering is not trashing. You can say sound engineering does not matter to you which is perfectly fine. I am not here to debate with anyone about the importance of sound engineering. To each his own.

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Tambi Dude

“But that said — Madan and Tambi Dude — I don’t think recording quality has much to do with the popularity of a song. I’m not talking about music enthusiasts, of course. I am just talking about the lay listener.”

Yes of course. Did I indicate something else?

For me IR’s mediocre sound becomes evident when one listens to songs of Ninaivellam Nithya in Bose headphones.

The worst sound: Oh Vasantha Raja from Neengal Kettavai. Did he record it in Marina Beach?

Even Andhi Mazhai from Raja Paarvai, whose second interlude has so much of layers, was marred by abysmal recording.

Songs of Arjun (Dhadkan Pal Pal) or Saagar (Jaane do na) still sound very good in Bose headphones. They were recorded around the same time.

A buddy of mine in NJ claims “IR was utterly careless”.

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H. Prasanna

@BR, you’re right, differences in quality of sound hardly matter to most of us. Some years back, I used to work at an automotive factory 20 kms outside Chennai doing inventory management. The shift started at 8 am and ended at 3 pm, and we had to take a share auto to the bus stop, from where we took an intercity/private bus into the city. With traffic, the journey was about an hour to an hour and a half. Inventory management involved a considerable physical work. (For those who don’t know, the summers in Chennai are humid, sultry, and last 8-10 months of a year, making the trips tedious for all involved.) I worked there almost a year and a half.

Most of the drivers/conductors/passengers of share autos/intercity bus/private bus preferred Ilayaraaja songs. Each had a unique preference, a playlist particular to a period of IR’s music, singer, hero, theme, or even geography (village/city themed songs). During my evening trips, I listened to IR songs over the coarse noise of the vehicle, traffic, and sometimes Anirudh or other music college-bunking kids blasted in their Korean smartphones. During my quieter, more pleasant morning trips, I listened to IR with only the repetitive noise of the vehicle, which dissolved in the background as another instrument.

Blaring over old loudspeakers in festivals, on handheld radios in suburban electric trains, and music players in the rural/suburban buses, decades-old Ilayaraaja music will ride unrivalled with these people perhaps for years to come.

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Tambi Dude

Prasanna: Orchestra did not matter to any tamil film music fan before IR. MSV and others before IR survived purely on melody. Shall we ignore IR’s biggest strength: His orchestra.

This applies to all. Every composer has a weak point. I would say ARR’s not so stellar melody record is the reason I get bored with most of his songs.

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thoravazhakkan

Madan: “Your Binaca geetmala argument is dubious. I am going to assume you don’t live in Mumbai or up North. I am a Mumbaiite and my father lived in Dhanbad, Jharkhand during the 60s and the 70s.”

In other words you didn’t live in Mumbai or north either when RDB was supposedly at his peak. Binaca Geetmala was the premier program from Radio Ceylon. You need to check the popularity of radio Ceylon back then. In metros you had vividhbharti to compete with it. But, Radio Ceylon held its own even in major cities pretty well in the 1970s.

“Kati Patang, Yaadon Ki Baarat, Hare Krishna Hare Ram, Caravan, Jawani Deewani, Mere Jeevan Saathi, Amar Prem, Aap Ki Kasam, Sholay and Hum Kisise Kam Nahin are some of the all time biggest hit soundtracks in Hindi, period.”

This may be true in the post Internet era in retrospect. Record sales during that time was a different story altogether. Hiring RDB as music director was considered surest route to ensure a flop movie by late 70s.

Anyway, the point is from 1970 to 1980 when RDB was supposedly at his peak, he had one song rated at #1 in Binaca Geetmala, 2 songs at #2 and 2 songs at #3. People like Lakshmi Pyare, Kalyanji Anandji had more to show right in that period. Outside the period, it was ha ha ha as RDB was not even there. I will leave out 1960s and 1980s as RDB wasn’t even a force

Tambi dude: “To accept that IR was bad in sound engineering is not trashing. ”

That’s not how you said it. You actually said IR got wiped out. OTOH, he has done pretty well. His bad times he had more than 300 movies. He may not be #1 post 1994 or so. But, generally in top 3 for close to 40 years which is huge for Tamil Film music. In comparison, RDB was never really #1, not even in plagiarism ridden Hindi(RDB himself was a pioneer plagiarist BTW).

If you want to talk about somebody really getting wiped out etc, try RDB post 1982. RDB at his best days was not even fit to tie Raja’s boot laces.

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thoravazhakkan

as an addendum: I don’t get involved in relative worth of MDs. It is a useless debate at any rate. But, if people want to disregard facts and parade their opinions as final word of wisdom, then yeah, facts shall be paraded in response. As Rajini says in Baasha “Unmaiya sonnen” 🙂

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http://indpaedia.com/ind/index.php/Binaca_Geet_Mala_1972:_greatest_hits

“In other words you didn’t live in Mumbai either when RDB was supposedly at his peak” – But my fahter was. Unless you don’t know where Dhanbad was. And living in Mumbai, I have met many, many people from that generation, not all of them RD Burman fans but nobody who ever used Binaca of all things to deny that RD dominated that decade. By the way, ‘supposedly’ at his peak? ROFL, what?

“post internet” – Er, no, there was no internet where we lived in suburban Mumbai pre-97 or so and those songs used to come on TV. My classmates in fourth/fifth standard knew Mere Samne Wali Khidki Mein. Don’t try to use ‘stats’ to negate reality, especially if you don’t fully understand the stats. Which I will proceed to demonstrate.

Here’s 1972:

Yes, Dum Maro Dum at no.1. But look further down the list too, saar. You know, if a song is Billboard #2,3,4,5 anything up to top 20 for the year, that’s still a big, big hit. To assume that a song that is not no.1 is not a hit is foolish. So with that in mind, take a look at the rest of the top 10. Chingari at no.5, Duniya Mein at no. 7, Yeh Kya Hua at no. 8. Keep going down and you have Kanchi Re Kanchi Re at no. 14, Rampur ka vaasi at no. 15, Sun Champa from Apna Desh at no. 17 and Dekha Na Haaye Re at no. 19. From the top 20, RD alone has 8 songs. And you say he didn’t dominate, really?

Likewise 1973, 7 songs in the top 20:

http://indpaedia.com/ind/index.php/Binaca_Geet_Mala_1973:_greatest_hits#Binaca_Geetmala.E2.80.99s_37_top_songs_of_1973

6 in 1974:

http://indpaedia.com/ind/index.php/Binaca_Geet_Mala_1974:_greatest_hits

Stands to reason that when a composer has several hit soundtracks in a year, all of those songs cannot be no. 1 FOR THE YEAR. The songs listed in the Binaca Top 10 for the year would have been no.1 or so for n number of weeks, they simply measure which songs were no.1 for maximum weeks. But as TambiDude said in another thread, when it came to the no.1 slot, Binaca cited ‘shrotaon ki pasand’ and nominated a song rather than strictly follow their objective formula. Hence why I said Binaca no.1 is not all that you make it out to be.

Anyhow, no, however that you may fervently wish that were the case, tales of RD’s domination of the 70s Hindi film music market are not merely apocryphal. It really happened.

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“But generally in top 3 for close to 40 years” – Nope, for long spells in the noughties, he was not even top 3. There was a spell from 2007 to 2009 or so when he had very few films to begin with, with none becoming ‘hits’. He wasn’t working on those sort of films most times. If you want to argue that is not getting wiped out, then RD had a hit soundtrack all the way in 1985 (Sagar) and kept delivering popular soundtracks right till his death (Izaazat, Parinda, 1942).

I don’t understand the point of this d___-measuring contest. RD and IR weren’t even working in the same market, weren’t contemporaries. IR looked up to RD as a senior and legend and RD deeply admired what IR was doing and was vocal about it. Appiram ungallukellam yen ya ivlov urutharthu RD-a praise panna? It’s not a competition. Most of us don’t want to listen to just one composer’s music, sorry about that.

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thoravazhakkan

Madan: “But generally in top 3 for close to 40 years” – Nope, for long spells in the noughties, he was not even top 3. There was a spell from 2007 to 2009 or so when he had very few films to begin with, with none becoming ‘hits’.

That still is 30 years after his debut you are picking. I used the word “generally” to make the point that he also had down times during those 40 years. But, he was up there for best part of his career of 40 years. I mean if not Tamil, he had Malayalam industry to show. For instance latter half of 1990s he had movies like Kalapani, Guru, Manjeeradhwani in Malayalam and Nammoora Mandara Hoove in Kannada etc. Some definition of getting wiped out you guys have, which I am certainly questioning.

“If you want to argue that is not getting wiped out, then RD had a hit soundtrack all the way in 1985 (Sagar) and kept delivering popular soundtracks right till his death (Izaazat, Parinda, 1942).”

Post 1982 itself producers were blaming him for failure of their movies. Fair or unfair can be debated. But, he did have very long spell of failures for something like 10 years.

“Appiram ungallukellam yen ya ivlov urutharthu RD-a praise panna”

I really don’t have a problem anyone enjoying what they like to listen. If anything I have never participated in any Raja-Rahman fights. I really don’t have a problem if you enjoy RDB or Rahman or Raja, MSV or whomsoever.

As long as we apply reasonable definition of getting wiped out I have no issues. Losing #1 spot but movie and music being successful is not my definition of getting wiped out. Cassette/CD sales is a popularity contest anyway. My idea of getting wiped out is when producers start to run away, something that never really happened to Raja(despite his less than likable demeanor, IMO). On the contrary most of the trash movies and 3rd rate actors did well because of him.

I will leave this at that.

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thoravazhakkan

it is ok if you don’t publish my message. Was just ticked off with “got wipe out” remark, particularly in a SPB demise thread. No see a need need to indulge in more stupidities. Sorry about this.

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thoravazhakkan: Not at all. All this is bound to happen when talking about movies, music, books, etc.

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“That is still 3 years…” – No, that was one example and I said he wasn’t even very active in the period. On the contrary, I said for most of the noughties, he wasn’t in the top 3. I don’t even know how anyone actively believes that. He has had only a few majorly successful albums – Virumaandi, Pithamagan, MX somewhat and NEPV. Oru Naal Oru Kanavu was again a lukewarm success but Athu Oru Kana Kaalam/Manasellam definitely not. Again, I am talking SUCCESS, not which albums had GOOD songs. Nobody talks about an album like Konji Pesalam. So that means not a success, period.

As for producers running away, you are aware of how much grief the producer of NEPV gave Gautham Menon for choosing Raja, right? I would definitely consider it unjustified on his part but if you want to talk about producers avoiding Raja, it has happened, undeniably. He is ok for more artsy projects with maverick directors like Mysskin. Nobody wants him for A-list mass films. That market has been gone for a long, long time. Pretty much ended when Vijay’s collaborations with Malayalam directors like Faazil or Siddique came to an end.

And you can’t pivot to Malayalam as per your convenience. If you want to, then I offer RDB’s Pantera which actually charted in the US right in the middle of his late 80s slump in Hindi. Raja was dominating in Tamil up to mid 90s where the decline was precipitous.

“Post 1982 itself producers were blaming him for the loss” – And if you want to move from your earlier ‘facts’ based approach to hearsay, then I will gladly take the first hand testimony of people who lived in the 70s, thank you very much. The facts are that albums like Sanam Teri Kasam, Rocky, Satte Pe Satta or Sagar were hits. This is not even worth denying but your choice.

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Aman Basha

@Madan: Actually, the producers blaming RDB is true, I think it happened after 1984 or 85, where although his albums were hits, some of the films would flop. Of course, the three big debuts of the 80s, Love Story, Betaab and Rocky were huge hits and had RDB’s music but a lot of films flopped, producers looked at him as bad luck and he stopped getting offers. In fact, Ghai surreptitiously replaced him with LP in some movie. LP and KA were definitely the more successful composers in terms of hit films, but then their films were not very highly dependent on music as some of RDB’s films with Rajesh Khanna were.

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Aman Basha: OK but bad luck thing is different. It says nothing about which SONGS, which SOUNDTRACKS are hits. As you say RD had hits running up to 1984-85 consistently. After that, his own hit rate also suffered and the films he worked on got worse and worse. Even Raja has given hit soundtracks for films that flopped (e.g. Paatu Padava, Vetri Vizha, Kalaignan) so that cannot be the yardstick.

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thoravazhakkan: Boy, did you get a bug up your ass about 2 words! Ok, I’ll grant that “wiped out” was probably too extreme a term to describe the de-throning of Raja as the No 1 composer in Tamil by Rahman in the 90s, and I even respect your opinion of RDB as not being a composer of note although I vehemently disagree with it, but where I’ll have to call you out is in your assertion that RDB wasn’t even that popular to start with and his fame is owing to some sort of post-internet retrospection. This is laughable, considering over here in Malaysia, around the 80s, there was just ONE radio channel dedicated to Indian music, and maybe ONE hour dedicated to Hindi music and there was a period (early 80s) when RDB songs pretty much dominated that hour. And those songs were played ON REQUEST with the Kati Patang, Yaadon Ki Baarat, Hare Krishna Hare Rama, Caravan, Amar Prem, Sholay, Hum Kisise Kam Nahin, Shaan, Khel Khel Mein soundtracks being all the rage. So, if RDB was such a rage in my tiny little country, I find it hard to believe he was an also-ran in India in the same period.

Then you go on to manufacture some Raja Vs RDB argument saying the latter not fit to tie the bootlaces of the former, a comment I’d consider bone-headed even in a Raja Vs Rahman debate and they’re actually contemporaries! As Madan pointed out, Raja and RDB composed for different markets, different languages and even the period of overlap was small as Raja went on to dominate the Tamil Film scene for more than a decade after RDB’s popularity waned in Hindi. Unless you’re positing some alternate reality scenario where Raja conquered the Hindi Film Music scene and displaced RDB from his perch.

And finally this: RDB a pioneer plagiarist.

Dude, you seriously wanna go down this rabbit hole?

EVERY FREAKING composer has resorted to some form of plagiary if you’re gonna expand that term to not just encompass wholesale lifting of tunes but also taking the basic melody and reworking it. Ample YouTube videos and articles that have researched this in more detail and even Karthik’s Milliblog has some nice articles on this without me having to enumerate examples.

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