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SPB the greatest singer that India had ever produced

Topic started by greatest_spb_fan (@ 212.2.14.241) on Thu Aug 2 04:57:19 EDT 2001.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

why don't anybody start a thread like 'SPB the greatest singer that India had ever produced', pls

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Thiru (@ 63.95.59.197) on: Mon Oct 28 16:13:49 EST 2002
  
  sorry... read the last line as .'His voice and skills have made him versatile enough and not to stick with only particular type of song like rafi & kjy'...
  
  
• From: musicfan (@ 12.32.197.131) on: Mon Oct 28 19:25:32 EST 2002
  
  I have been listening to the song "Yenthan Vaanin" in Kadhal Virus. SPB is simply brilliant. His voice sounds crstal clear and so alluring after so many years that its hard to beleive that this man has been at the vanguard of tfm for so long and still retains the same charm. The song is a simple melody..but SPB takes it to totally new levels ..its kind of a simple lullaby that charms the listener.
  God bless this man and his gift of the greatest voice on earth.
  
  
• From: Sugrutha (@ 68.37.40.126) on: Mon Oct 28 20:40:08 EST 2002
  
  When one talks of best in a certain genre of music, in this case film music, it means versatality in the given confines, being able to perform almost all the music in the genre very convincingly. To that extent SPB has stayed on top of things so far, being extremely adaptable. Whereas Rafi did take a backseat to Kishore in the later stages of his career.
  
  As to whether SPB could take over the Hindi scene, there are a lot of factors. Firstly, is SPB himself interested ? It will be easy for a Rafi to sing Marathi, Gujarathi or Bengali but Tamil ? Similarly SI musicians cannot transition to NI languages as easily as they can traverse the four SI languages. To sing in Hindi convincingly, it is not enough to have studied Hindi at school. It is necessary to live in a Hindi environment speaking the language on a daily basis. Or be a great mimicry artiste like SJ.
  
  Also I dont agree that Lata has a great scale. She sounds so screechy even in a song like 'do sitaron ka zameen' which is in the max-Rafi pitch. I often think Rafi did it deliberately. Lata's technical prowess is unbeatable. But why she is still singing is one of the mysteries of the North Indian psyche :-)
  
  
• From: Ali (@ 149.99.124.121) on: Mon Oct 28 21:08:29 EST 2002
  
  Sugrutha,
  
  Rafi performed in all forms of the music genre very convincingly. In fact he is the only singer probably to perform the most types of songs. Given that HFM had more variety to offer than SI film music when it came to different genres of songs such as the qawalli, mujra, ghazal so on and so forth, Rafi performed was the only male singer to perform well in all these genres.
  
  >>Whereas Rafi did take a backseat to Kishore in the later stages of his career.
  
  I don't see Kishore performing a qawalli or a ghazal or other genres of music as well as Rafi. In the late stages of his career Rafi proved too hot to handle for Kishore as he was on the top until his death. There are many instances where Rafi has overshadowed or stole the limelight away from Kishore in the later stages of his career.
  
  Thiru,
  
  >>'His voice and skills have made him versatile enough and not to stick with only particular type of song like rafi & kjy'...
  
  Rafi didn't just stick to a particular type of song, he covered all types of genres.
  
  When it comes to sheer vocality outside the playback singing realm, Rafi and KJY stand taller than anyone else. SPB may be a great playback singer, but outside the areas of playback singing he is not as adept as are Rafi & KJY.
  
  
• From: Lord LabakuDas (@ 12.162.224.5) on: Mon Oct 28 22:16:47 EST 2002
  
  Ali,
  SPB can sing in Ezhankattai and Ettankattai(source:Raghu)...Can Rafi sing atleast in -4.5 kattai?
  
  
• From: outsider (@ 66.206.32.131) on: Tue Oct 29 02:24:18 EST 2002
  
  Mr. Ali, where from are you?
  
  
• From: Raghu (@ 217.158.120.226) on: Tue Oct 29 04:57:51 EST 2002
  
  Ali;
  >>
  A normal singer with a normal range can sing in low notes and continue through a low scale and his voice will never sound strained.
  >that's why most of the songs by Rafi sound pretty soft in nature... SPB has matured in the last 30 years or so to be adaptable to the changes in the film music scenario and no wonder he's still the no.1 in south indian films... His voice and skills have not made him to sing only particular type of songs like Rafi & KJY>I have been listening to the song "Yenthan Vaanin" in Kadhal Virus. SPB is simply brilliant. His voice sounds crstal clear and so alluring after so many years that its hard to beleive that this man has been at the vanguard of tfm for so long and still retains the same charm. The song is a simple melody..but SPB takes it to totally new levels ..its kind of a simple lullaby that charms the listener.
  God bless this man and his gift of the greatest voice on earth. >Whereas Rafi did take a backseat to Kishore in the later stages of his career.<<
  
  
• From: Raghu (@ 217.158.120.226) on: Tue Oct 29 05:02:26 EST 2002
  
  ali;
  
  Ali;
  
  >>
  
  A normal singer with a normal range can sing in low notes and continue through a low scale and his voice will never sound strained.
  
  <<
  
  Agreed
  
  
• From: Raghu (@ 217.158.120.226) on: Tue Oct 29 05:02:51 EST 2002
  
  Thiru :
  >>that's why most of the songs by Rafi sound pretty soft in nature... SPB has matured in the last 30 years or so to be adaptable to the changes in the film music scenario and no wonder he's still the no.1 in south indian films... His voice and skills have not made him to sing only particular type of songs like Rafi & KJY<<
  
  absolutely correct!
  
  
• From: Raghu (@ 217.158.120.226) on: Tue Oct 29 05:03:22 EST 2002
  
  Musicfan;
  >>I have been listening to the song "Yenthan Vaanin" in Kadhal Virus. SPB is simply brilliant. His voice sounds crstal clear and so alluring after so many years that its hard to beleive that this man has been at the vanguard of tfm for so long and still retains the same charm. The song is a simple melody..but SPB takes it to totally new levels ..its kind of a simple lullaby that charms the listener.
  God bless this man and his gift of the greatest voice on earth. <<
  Tell me about it, in fact, I am singing this song in a concert, it is very difficult to sing this song as tenderly as SPB did, truly amazing .
  
  
• From: Raghu (@ 217.158.120.226) on: Tue Oct 29 05:03:47 EST 2002
  
  Sugurtha;
  >>Whereas Rafi did take a backseat to Kishore in the later stages of his career.<<
  
  yes, Rafi singing gradually faded away, when Kishor came in to the field, but SPB never faded, when other singers were introduced!
  
  
• From: Janardhan (@ 212.217.67.10) on: Tue Oct 29 06:11:00 EST 2002
  
  Its wrong perception that his singing took a backseat when Kishore became a hit. Infact he went to Haj in the late s and then he himsekf reduced singing. The used to sing songs very rarely. It was later that he started singing again and gave huge hits like "kya hua tera waada", "parda hai parda" etc. But sadly he passed away soon.
  
  
• From: Raghu (@ 217.158.120.226) on: Tue Oct 29 07:24:22 EST 2002
  
  Janardhan;
  
  yes, that may be so, but then again we can say the same thing about other singers reducing their singing as well, can't we ? :)
  
  
• From: Sugrutha (@ 68.37.40.126) on: Tue Oct 29 07:52:47 EST 2002
  
  Although 'kya hua' was a hit, it was not the old Rafi. The 'josh' was not the same. It was not as spontaneous. He was certainly lost after a point in time. In fact, Manna Dey kept up better. ('abhi toh jaam hai' in Seetha aur Geetha for example).
  
  
• From: Raghu (@ 217.158.120.226) on: Tue Oct 29 08:38:30 EST 2002
  
  Sugurtha;
  
  who sang "Khabi kabhi mere dhil mey", was it Manna Dey or Mahendra kapoor?
  
  at last, we see some constructive arguments, keep it up :)
  
  
• From: Janardhan (@ 212.217.67.10) on: Tue Oct 29 09:08:43 EST 2002
  
  "Kabhi kabhi mere dil" has been sung by Mukesh. One of his last hits.
  
  
• From: ;-) (@ 65.69.57.224) on: Tue Oct 29 09:09:20 EST 2002
  
  Only way to end this endless argument is change the title of the topic to
  
  "SPB the greatest singer that India had ever produced - According to Raghu"
  
  
  
• From: Raghu (@ 217.158.120.226) on: Tue Oct 29 10:32:28 EST 2002
  
  Janardhan;
  
  thanks for the info, do u know if this song is available on line some where?
  
  
• From: Thiru (@ 63.95.59.197) on: Tue Oct 29 11:41:24 EST 2002
  
  raghu, i guess the song is available in raaga...
  
  
• From: Ali (@ 149.99.113.137) on: Tue Oct 29 14:45:40 EST 2002
  
  First of all, Rafi did not lack the "josh" in his later songs. Are you diminishing the songs from 'Laila Majnu' or other movies as Rafi being lost after a point in time ??. In fact Rafi sounded younger in the later stages of his career and could sing for actors like Rishi Kapoor etc.. Secondly, majority of the MD's gave Rafi some of his best songs in the 70's decade at a time when the "so called" KK wave was going on. When a new singer arrived on the scene, Rafi did not fall behind. You cannot compare SPB's career and Rafi's career regarding new singers. Rafi was the voice of basically all actors throughout
  the 50's and 60's and with Rajesh Khanna & RDB coming on to the scene, RDB wanted to bring his
  favourite KK along and prove that things could be different. With SPB, there were other singers such
  as TMS, PBS etc. singing for different actors and SPB for others. SPB mainly came into the scene in the late 70's and K.V. Mahedevan probably gave SPB & Janaki 'Shankarabaharanam' because he felt these two would be the future top singers in tamil cinema instead of giving it to a person such a BMK or a Yesudas. So when new singers
  came in the 80's, SPB and Janaki were already at the top by then so it was difficult to take them off the top though these new singers sang songs for other actors which SPB or Janaki did not sing for alot. During the "so called" KK wave, Rafi still sang for majority of the actors and gave others career breaks proving that KK was no threat. When new singers came onto the horizon, they were either Rafi's clones or others which proved no challenge to him though they also sang for other actors too. Rafi was still the voice for majority of the top actors. By the way, Ravindra Jain came to Rafi for the songs of ChitChor first but Rafi told him to give it to Yesudas since he was new in the industry and wanted to give him a chance. Ravindra Jain says there still has been no replacement for Rafi today. So you see there was no threat to Rafi's position anytime in his career. The two situations are completely different regarding Rafi & SPB. With the intro. of new singers today, you don't see SPB being the top singer for many actors now a days do you ?. And he is around the same age now as Rafi was in the late 70's, whereas Rafi was still the top voice for many actors back then. It's not because SPB is not one of the greats that he's not being used, it's just because MD's probably feel he doesn't suit the younger generation of actors or MD's don't want to use him for some reason. SPB ruled specifically from the late-70's to about the early 90's whereas Rafi ruled from the early 50's until his death in 1980. I am posting an article entitled "The mammoth myth about Mohd. Rafi". You should read this article and it will give you a better view of the situation in the 70's :
  
  http://www.screenindia.com/20020726/mcov2.html
  
  Also, there is this guy Sandeep from another forum I am in and he is a South Indian from Bangalore. He explains that he thought
  TMS was the best singer before he heard Rafi & SPB and now rates Rafi the best followed by SPB. He gives his reasons based on the exposure he has had to many of the singers from both the south and the north. The point i have been trying to make all along is that one needs exposure to certain things to receive a better understanding of them. Many here should get a better exposure to Rafi and then they will know why SPB, Yesudas and Jayachandran all point towards him as the ultimate. There are more experts than one can count who have all acknowledged Rafi as the ultimate. NTR, the telegu actor always got Rafi to sing his telegu songs for him whenever he wanted a Non-Southern singer to sing for him. He labelled Rafi as the "gandharva gaayak".
  There is no sin in having a favourite singer regardless of if he/she is the best or not, but if you want to discuss technical aspects and other merits about who we feel is the "best" then you have to have exposure to many singers and not just a few and then come up with your own judgements. I am providing the links for that forum if anyone is interested in visiting it :
  
  http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Rafi+%26++SPB&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=D9EKtG.M04%40nntpa.cb.att.com&rnum=1
  
  http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Rafi+%26++SPB&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=D6u2ML.JrC%40nntpa.cb.att.com&rnum=3
  
  http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Rafi+%26++SPB&start=20&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=5qcjfe%24797%241%40orthanc.reference.com&rnum=24
  
  http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Rafi+%26++SPB&start=30&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=D64HKq.1y7%40nntpa.cb.att.com&rnum=36
  
  http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Rafi+%26++SPB&start=40&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=4loq7b%24qf6%40nntpa.cb.att.com&rnum=48
  
  There are more Rafi clones than any other singer in India. Everyone wants to sing in his style including SPB who models himself after Rafi.
  
  Lastly, if you ask a person who is your favourite singer and they reply in a diplomatic form like "TMS & Ghantasala are good.........". This
  is different from "I have been inspired by..............". Such comments cannot be taken lightly as can diplomatic ones.
  
  Raghu, if you want, you should go and hear the songs of 'Laila Majnu' composed by Madan Mohan on musicindiaonline.com
  
  
• From: sarat (@ 128.192.5.157) on: Tue Oct 29 15:25:08 EST 2002
  
  "There are more Rafi clones than any other singer in India"
  
  Ali
  
  There are a lot many more clones of Kishore than there are of Rafi
  
  Abhijeet
  Shaan
  Kumar Sanu
  Vinod Rathod
  Babul SUpriyo (Kumar Sanu clone)
  
  Sonu Nigam is the only guy who sounds like he is imitating Rafi.
  
  

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