Commemorative Thread for Music and Musicians - Page 24

Mahendra Kapoor was truly a singer under-utilized by the composers of his time. His his vocal reach matched that of Chanchal, the only two singers, IMO, in Bollywood who could sing songs at a very high pitch without losing it.

Here is a song from 1970 Gopi, composed by Kalyanji-Anandji, written by Rajinder Krishan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh9uC4eFPOc

Staying with Mahendra Kapoor topic,

In hawaon mein In Fizaon mein from B R Chopra's Gumrah

Composer : Ravi

Writer : Sahir Ludianwi

Singer : Asha Bhosle, Mahendra Kapoor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTarCHlHhyA

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

More Qamar Jalalabadi because I simply have to post these songs.

Such beautiful, beautiful songs and the way they are rendered. Uff! No words! QJ's lyrics shine.

Rafi & Lata have sung so many wonderful songs together & it's impossible to pick, but when I think of compiling a top duets list, this song always makes it!

Sun mere sajna re

Film: Aansoo (1953)

Music: Husnlal Bhagatram

Singers: Rafi & Lata

Similarly, these two songs. It would be impossible to make a top anything Lata list but I think these two songs would feature in mine.

Sajan ki galiyan chhod chale

Film: Bazar (1949)

Music: Shyam Sunder

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar

What a beautiful, beautiful composition and so exquisitely rendered by Lata

Jab raat nahi kat ti

Film: Changez Khan (1957)

Music: Hansraj Behl

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar

Just listen to the incredible pitch Lata goes to in the antara! Soul shattering!

The first stanza echoes the sentiments expressed in another popular song - Chingari koi bhadke

Jo aag lagi dil mein,

ashqon ne bujhaai hai,

ashqon ne jo bhadkaai aag

woh kaise bujhegi

I had never come across the last song, TFS. It reminds me of the song Hum Aapki Aankon Mein Is Dil Ko Bass De Toh from Pyaasa.

It is amusing, isn't it we never mark a song as a particular writers song. I mean many of us pride ourselves in recognizing which song might be composed by which composer but we have no idea about the hallmarks of the writing of any lyricist, maybe, except Gulzar, many of you can recognize songs written by Gulzar.

Qamar Jalabadi wrote quite a few hit songs but I had no idea he wrote these songs.

Aaiye Meherbaan from Howrah Bridge

Composer : O.P.Nayyar

Writer : Qamar Jalalabadi

Singer : Asha Bhosle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gex-0maI56E

Yesudas and S P Balsubramanyam have a very similar voice, silky soft, sans the slight tremor that Talat had.

Khushiyan Hi Khushiyan ho Daman Mein Jiske from 1977 dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaye. Composed and Written by Ravindra Jain, sung By Yesudas, Banashri Sengupta, Hemlata

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2R3mhwDXhk

Originally posted by: Nishnesh

Film Saranga

Music Sardar malik

Lyrics: Bharat Vyas

Singer ' Mukesh version

Film Saranga

Music Sardar malik

Lyrics: Bharat vyas

Singer mukesh

Mera ghar mere bacche: film

Singer : Mukesh / Suman kalyanpur

Lyrics : Hasrat jaipuri

Music :Sardar Malik

Hui Humse Ye Nadani from 1954 ChorBazaar, Writer : Shakil Badayuni, singer Lata

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVey8Jx_EiA

Originally posted by: Nishnesh

Jan 14th Kaifi Azmi's 100th Birth Anniversary, Azmi one of Finest Lyricist of indian cinema also Father of Talented Actress Shabana Azmi.

Interview by shabana Azmi

Some notables films for which he wrote lyrics include Kohra (1964), Anupama (1966), Uski Kahani (1966), Saat Hindustani (1969), Shola Aur Shabnam, Parwana (1971), Bawarchi (1972), and Razia Sultan (1983). For Naunihal (1967), he wrote the song "Meri Aawaz Suno Pyar ka Raaz Suno" (Hear my voice, hear the secret of love) sung by Mohammad Rafi. The song is picturised over the funeral procession of Prime Minister of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru. Years later, after Azmi's own death his daughter, Shabana Azmi mentioned finding comfort in verses from the song.[14] Azmi wrote the lyrics for Bible Ki Kahaniyan, the first Christian mythological television show broadcast in india

‘Waqt ne kiya kya haseen situm’ (Kagaz ke Phool, 1959)

: Arguably Kaifi saab’s most memorable Hindi film song.

"Raat haseen yeh chaand haseen, tu sabse haseen mere dilbar, aur tujhse haseen tera pyaar, tu jaane na" are still capable of giving one gooseflesh.ye nain darey darey from Kohra

‘Karchalein hum fida’ (Haqeeqat, 1964

‘Kuch dil ne kaha’ (Anupama)

‘Meri awaaz suno’ (Naunihal)

Yeh duniya yeh mehfil’ (Heer Ranjha, 1970):

‘Chalte chalte’ (Paakezah,

‘Tum jo mil gaye ho’ (Hanste Zakhm, 1973):

Tum itna jo muskara rahe ho’ (Arth, 1982)

Kaifi Azmi wrote some of the truly blockbuster songs on Bollywood.

Zara si Aahat Hoti Hai to dil Sochta Hai from Haqeeqat. Composed by Madan Mohan, sumg by Lata

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-CCYBATVpI

Originally posted by: surajhere

It is amusing, isn't it we never mark a song as a particular writers song. I mean many of us pride ourselves in recognizing which song might be composed by which composer but we have no idea about the hallmarks of the writing of any lyricist, maybe, except Gulzar, many of you can recognize songs written by Gulzar.

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

So far we've not posted any tribute/ memoriam to any International (rock and pop artists), and there can be no better way to begin this than one to a cultural icon and single-handed catalyst for the musical revolution that took place in the early 60s that was responsible for changing the landscape of music the world over.

Yes, we're talking of none other than the King of Rock n Roll - Elvis Presley and today, Jan 8 would have been his 89th Birthday.

Born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935 and eventually moving to Memphis, Tennessee, Elvis grew up in a dirt poor family. His early musical influences were largely to be found through the Assembly of God church that he attended and the radio where the music of various Black artists captured his imagination. His childhood was miserable, his father did several odd jobs and ended up in prison for forging a cheque. Elvis was bullied in school and was said to be painfully shy with a bad case of stage-fright. It was only in high-school that he began to stand out having styled himself to grow long sideburns and wearing flashy clothes. He had been dismissed as a failure by his elementary school teachers, but by the time he got out of high school he was competent enough to participate in music competitions.

Elvis was always very close to his mother, often teased as 'mama's boy' and it was in 1953 that he walked into Sam Phillips' independent recording service (before it became Sun Records) to cut an acetate for her. That one went unnoticed, but Sam Phillips was always on the lookout for new talent who could popularize the music of Black musicians. Music those days was highly racially divided and the Southern US states were largely leaning into "White" country and hillbilly music while the Black musicians' blues were confined to Black radio stations. Sam invited Elvis to sing Jimmy Sweeney's 'Without you' and got two local musicians, Scotty Moore and Bill Black - to play for him. Elvis' couldn't manage that song very well, but he began fooling around with Arthur Crudup's 'That's Alright, Mama,' changing it around and imbibing it with an energy that the original lacked. Sam saw promise in it & got him to record the acetate with 'Blue Moon of Kentucky' on the B side.

Elvis initially did not find airplay on radio on country music stations because Country Music DJs thought he sounded too 'Black', while the R & B stations thought he sounded too 'hillbilly'.

In 1955 he won Most promising male Artist at a Country music convention and Colonel Tom Parker took over as his manager, striking a deal with RCA records. This was followed in 1956 by his first big hit 'Heartbreak Hotel'. His live shows began catching on and so did the frenzy. His natural shyness and nervousness that had led to him shaking his legs during a performance to quell his anxiety, now turned into confident, sexually provocative hip gyrations which earned him the dubious nickname, The Pelvis and created a huge controversy. That must have been fueled by how crazy women would go during his stage shows. Elvis himself never understood his appeal and is said to have remained largely humble, dismissing the popular epithet of King of Rock n Roll bestowed on him and saying Fats Domino rightly deserved it.

He was drafted into military service in 1958 and served for two years, came back to record several hits and do a score of movies. Though he rarely wrote any of his own songs, he is credited as collaborator on several & was a huge influence for future influential songwriters and artists such as Dylan, Lennon & Springsteen. I cannot see the 60s rock and roll movement happening without his figure looming large over these artists. His appeal lay in the way he put his own spin around classic blues and R & B, infusing it with a unique blend of country and blues (Rockabilly) and put his own stamp on it.

I'm posting 3 of my favorite Elvis songs, but I have dozens - All Shook up, Hound Dog, Devil in Disguise, That's Alright, Mama, Blue Moon of Kentucky, Jailhouse Rock, Always on my mind, Can't help falling in love, Love me tender, Don't be cruel ... oh so many.

What are yours?

Heartbreak Hotel (1956)

Songwriters: Mae Boren Axton, Tommy Durden, Elvis Presley

In the Ghetto (1969) (A lot of this song reflects Elvis' own poverty ridden childhood)

Songwriter: Mac Davis

Suspicious minds (1968)

Songwriter: Mark James

Apart from Michael Jackson I think Elvis Presley is the only American singer known all over the globe for his songs by people of all demographics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8YHBvX4QtM

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

This is so true. Composers are easier to recognize because of their trademark beats and some favoured instruments / orchestration choices but lyricists are a whole different ball game. More so because they have to write songs appropriate to a situation and therefore mould themselves to it rather than the other way round. I agree Gulzar’s work is easier to recognize than most others because of his choice of words/ metaphors. Sahir Ludhianvi is another. Shailendra when he writes a certain type of song. Neeraj also makes some typical word choices and Bharat Vyas emphasizes on shuddh Hindi. But I tend to not always hit the bullseye with lyricists although they are such an important component of a composition. Even when I look up Google for who wrote a particular song, more often than not the credits omit the name of lyricist, and only mention the singer/s and composer/s. Even the actor/ actress who simply perform/ lip sync to the song are given more importance than the lyricist. Such a shame. Lyricists need more recognition.

Apart from choice of words /metaphors, it is also the time period in which he operated. IMO, the years in which he was a prolific writer saw a scarcity of truly gifted writer. Even though he started in 60's he came into his own in the 70's and 80's, his words seemed to have more gravitas, I love all his songs from 70's and 80's, I think that was the peak of his writing. Even today he is fantastic but those two decades were just really good.

Similarly, in the 90's Sameer seemed to be the only lyricist around, of course Gulzaar and Javed Akhtar were there but in 90's every hit song seemed to have Sameer as the writer.