Home   Forum   Wiki   Notes   Register   FAQ   Sitemap   About Us   Contact Us  

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

---

Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Amit (@ 216.141.126.194) on: Tue Aug 14 14:39:04 EDT 2001
  
  Right on Sandiren.
  SPB_Maniac, believe it or not, the falsetto voice (like HH in Kaadhaliye...) is exactly what the MD wants and doesn't mean that the singer is unable to hit a high note. And sad though it is, I just don't see SPB returning to domination like before. He is getting old too you know.
  
  
• From: kulkarni (@ ppp7-111.cocr01.wipro.net.in) on: Tue Aug 14 14:50:35 EDT 2001
  
  What is this succing "manly" voice? There are many singers who have this,,RAFI,KJY,KISHORE ..etc etc.....specify please!
  Is this a big criteria for singing....
  
  I feel a refined sound is very important for singing."purity of voice" or mellifluous voice ...Perhaps KJY is the only singer in indian music who has this aspect! Though he doesn't laugh or talk like SPB while singing; the mood of the song is essentially conveyed by his sweet,stream line stuff coming from his throat.....OH! WHAT A GENIUS KJY IS!! Please Adore this genius rather than praising SPB profusely........................
  
  
• From: Radhai (@ pc-43-109.corp.3com.com) on: Tue Aug 14 16:10:17 EDT 2001
  
  One has to satisfy most of the aspects, if not all, to be the best of the lot!
  This includes voice, diction, versatility and variety. SPB could be considered the best in TFM (Tamil & Telugu). But, his Hindi accent might not be the best. KJY would definitely be a better choice for certain Malayalam songs. Even in this, I could be wrong. While most of the singers and MDs consider Mohd. Rafi the best, many hardcore fans of Kishore Kumar might not accept that. Overall, I feel its ones personal choice. Even that, could change with time. For eg. TMS could have been TFMs favourite singer in the 50s and 60s. SPB could have dominated 70 and 80s. Tomorrow, there could be another singer who could win accolades. The argument could go on endlessly.
  
  
• From: Mudhalvan (@ webcacheh07a.cache.pol.co.uk) on: Tue Aug 14 16:38:07 EDT 2001
  
  What is this succing "manly" voice?
  
  Here is a definition: Manly voice is voice like of SPB,Ghantasala with extreme bass, & ability sing in very low(muthalan ghatai)pitches. So far in IFM the manly voices are of;
  
  Late M.Rafi
  Ghantasala
  DR.SPB
  DR.Balamuralikrishna
  
  KJY lacks this & his high pitch rendering is not as excellent as SPB, we have to remember that Dr.KJY is a pur carnatic artists, wherelse Dr.SPB is not, yet his carnatic songs like (shankaraparanam, sirrukum salangai, other semi classicals like, Khadhal Oviyam,Idhyak koyil, .....etc.) are extraordinary & sounds a lot better than KJY,
  
  Talking of manly voice; Listen to SPB when he signs in low pitches & shankaraparanam, that is what you call a deep manly voice, other examples are "maine pyar kiya","sajaan","hum apke khon", etc.
  
  Pls who ever post in this forum have some music sense b4 doing so.
  
  
• From: Amit (@ 216.141.126.194) on: Tue Aug 14 18:45:55 EDT 2001
  
  Mudhalvan: KJY not having a bass voice?? Do you know how my orchestra decided to handle KJY's songs? By giving them out to singers with a good bass. KJY's bass is anyday better than SPB's. And for heaven's sake stop repeating endlessly "Shankarabaranam, MPK, Saajan" etc. We have all also heard these songs. Its not like were born yesterday. And you forgot the one manly voice that never ever sounded femalish....the great Kishore Kumar. Have you listened to him?
  
  
• From: Abraham (@ seednetpx6.itri.org.tw) on: Wed Aug 15 02:05:09 EDT 2001
  
  It is foolish to bit like this. All the artists have their own merits and demerits. Its all depends on the the time and age of film industry they are singing. Not that one person is above all and another one is inferior.
  
  
• From: Raguvaran (@ 212.2.14.241) on: Wed Aug 15 05:10:59 EDT 2001
  
  hello all;
  
  Lets not intimidate other singers, but I have to agree with Mudhalvan with the fact that SPB has the greates bass, although KJY & Kishor Kumar as well,SPB's bass is some what different, he can sing from " muthalankkati to ettank kattai", with great bass, especially "thuli thuli" in "sirpikkul muthu", he starts with "aaahhh", from muthalang kattai, & proceeds till ettankatai.
  
  Absolutley amazing, if you listen to "elisai geethame" of KJY, you will realise that SPB's voice is lot heavier than of KJY when he sings that bit "etho ragam ennathu koralin vali".
  
  Other singers like TMS,HH,Shanker,Unni krsihnan all lack this excellent bass.
  
  but SPB signs with great bass at all times, but KJY does not, he only does that, when he goes to muthalang kattai, but it is not as thick & heavy as of SPB.ok
  
  
  Amit;
  
  I thought you were hardcore fan of the biggest naslaist in the worl, kumar sanu, wht happened now You are not loyal to kumar sanu, hahahahahahah
  
  
• From: Raguvaran (@ 212.2.14.241) on: Wed Aug 15 05:21:24 EDT 2001
  
  I happend to meet the great Dr.KJY in London as well the genius DR.spb, who praised each other very well, they are very good friends as well. But KJY said" no body can (apart from the late Rafi) can compete with balu in high & low notes", he also said that SPB is like sivaji in music, You just need to tell him a tune once, & he will grasp it very quickly & advice the MDs for any enchancements!
  
  S.janaki's Husband also quoted the above!
  
  
• From: fan (@ 202.9.147.206) on: Wed Aug 15 07:46:47 EDT 2001
  
  raghuvaran, thank you for this bit of information. SPB is the lord of Indian Film Music.
  Nowadays he doesnt sing much in Tamil films and lots of newcomers are doing it(rather spoiling it and nobody seems to be bothered abut it) only criteria is the background music and hencefor th you cannot discover another tms or spb. you have to put up with hh,uk,srini,shankar etc before some other divine voice comes out in tfm. In this aspect, telegu films are lucky as spb is the numero uno in that even today
  
  
• From: Raguvaran (@ 212.2.14.241) on: Wed Aug 15 08:29:44 EDT 2001
  
  Fan;
  
  It is great that SPB still rules in Telugu, have you heard his "Thenali(telugu versions)" songs all the songs are rendered by him & his children!!, ARR should have used him for all the songs in tamil, thenali, it would have been superb, then ARR do not wanted to loose all his credit to SPB!!, Does he?
  
  
• From: Raguvaran (@ 212.2.14.241) on: Wed Aug 15 08:37:32 EDT 2001
  
  radhai;
  
  >>his Hindi accent might not be the best<<
  
  since when is this a criteria for singing, all you need is manly voice, excellent bass, excellent modulation, excellent style of expressing emotions, the only singer in IFM wioth all this attributes ar, of course DR.S.P.Balasubrhamanium!!!
  
  
• From: Raguvaran (@ 212.2.14.241) on: Wed Aug 15 09:25:45 EDT 2001
  
  >>vardhini, you have said the exact thing . still spb is the most liked and loved artist in tfm. people just like to hear his voice and none other than him. music directors , who are at present interested only in music, doesnt feel the pulse of the general public and are keen not to give even melodies only for the reason that he dominated for several decades. this is a sorry state of affair and i hope music directors very soon realise the pulse of the public<<
  
  well said fan, I hope the dumb MDs realise this & do something abt it.
  
  
• From: Raguvaran (@ 212.2.14.241) on: Wed Aug 15 10:14:07 EDT 2001
  
  SPB rules in IFM, nou doubt!!
  
  
• From: Swamy (@ ppp-200-0-209.bng.vsnl.net.in) on: Wed Aug 15 11:11:08 EDT 2001
  
  
  I am Swaminatha Iyer and i am 78 years old. This forum interested me in that some people out here really know music. On the other hand i also find lot of people say things that i dont feel is justified.
  I think it is wrong to condemn music or artists on either side of vindhyas. Our indian music is one of the few which has not been cleaned off by the western music though there has always been a influence. It speaks a lot of the richness of our music.Sometime back director of MTV had said..that MTV westernised the music wherever it went but in india , MTV had to be indianised for it to be accepted.A lot of this credit goes to the indian film music.
  I hail from Tiruchi and i am a part of music associations in tiruchi, M'as as well as in W.bengal and Maharastra.
  I have been fortunate to have close personal association with Rafi, Sirkali, TMS,Dr. BMK,Kishore,SPB & KJY,PS,Mannadey and the one and only Lata Mangeshkar.
  I felt a urge to share some things, when i saw some of the postings here which hurts me as a music follower.
  Comparisons are bound to come, but almost every artist or i have met considers Lata to be beyond comparison. Her talents are beyond anyones reach. Even Sirkazi used to talk of her singing like a die-hard fan as do countless others.
  
  Now coming to the Rafi-SPB discussion.
  It might be difficult to convince an south indian to belive Rafi is the better and at the same time Rafi crowd will never believe any other male singer comes anywhere nearer.
  There is one more mobile crowd, which is well conversent with hindi and some south indian language. Majority of them tilt to either Rafi or Kishore.
  
  During one of my stays in M'as i had stayed with SPB. While talking of true voices he said, i dont feel like half a singer when listening to Rafi.
  True voice is not a tech term but many in circle use it.Perfect example would be lata,
  but to understand consider our own PS who within her range is superb. In Paal polave... pay attention to "vaan meeediley". Within these two words there is modulation combined with high pitch and extreme stress/punch on words.
  To do such things you need a true voice.People who do not have such true voices can never do justice to original.They generally underplay many parts of the song or fake it with bass/superficial singing.
  True voices make people like Sirkazi,Nusrat Fateh ali khan,Lata... Inimitable.
  However since Sirkazi and Nusrat did not have the filmy voices their "real" following is limited to their local arena.
  Think of "Odum Nadiiniley....","Chinnajiru Penpoley".You can never better it with just a greater bass in your voice. Probably you can only sound more sophisticated but never that manly b'cos you will lack the punch.
  
  In additon to the true voice if the singer has a very good voice then in "most" cases he/she can better songs of others.
  It is this combination which makes Rafi stand out among the other male singers.
  
  There are many here who seem to have mistaken notions on a good bass and also on high pitch.
  Bryan Adams does not require a monster bass in "Summer of 69" to sound real manly. It is the punch which gives that feel and that is decided only by the comfort level in most ranges (that is by what your throat can support). This you CAN never disguise with bass.
  
  Since people have talked about lack of manly voice viz. a viz. rafi it was necessary to bring this point out.
  I have had the fortune of listening to most singers in studio and some times without a mike, practising with MD's.When Lata or Rafi do, the level is so high that people hesitate to even hum.It felt silly to sing in their presence (and it feels silly when someone says his voice isnt manly).
  In RD's tribute when SPB sang "Aaja Aaja mein hoon" or "Chaand mera dil" it sounded only sweet and lacked punch if u compare with Rafi's original.
  Yesu once told me god has been partial to Rafi.He said "god gift term anavasyamaa romba common aa ippo use aardu".. but idu Rafi kee thaan 100% porundu".
  This person could sing "as intricatley as a lady without sounding thin","cover any mood", "versatility odey perfect example rafi".
  Yesu said most important is the comfort level over ranges which makes you feel god has been partial to rafi.
  (But Of course in Rafi's early career (1950's) the voice was relatively feeble)
  To people exposed to rafi's talent, these or any amount of praise can only seem less.I just wish he was alive and you people could get a live chance to hear him.
  Probably you can get hold of the DD album for the Geet Gaata Chal series where the first four episodes were dedicated to Rafi. Rafi is on camera singing "Duniya key Rakwaaley" and many other songs.
  If u see and hear the last part you will realize why SPB said "impossible"
  I think particulary those people who have talked about scales w.r.t rafi should see this album.
  Its a known fact in industry that rafi ruled high pitch and there is no male singer better in switching notes so easily. There are artists who can go beyond but then they sound strained or they dont have pleasant voices when they venture into those territories.
  
  Many singers of today are his compulsive followers.But they end up inheriting only part of his quality.
  Md. Aziz ended up with a sad voice.Mahendra kapoor with a thick nasal voice. Anwar with a nasal voice. Sonu nigam with a feminine voice.
  Rafi neither had a soft voice nor a heavy(bass) voice he had a good voice. Importantly did not strain at high notes, and voice if at all only became better at higher notes.If you see him singing it will remind you of Janaki. However diff the song is or the note is he will be smiling and singing. It is unthinkable that he cannot sing something.
  
  There seems to be lot of talk about "Shankara Bharanamo" song. SPB has sung many a great numbers and things being said about this song in this forum are rather amusing..particulary b'cos 3 out of 4 people who can be called as singers will be able sing it and at least one out of 10 will sing it with the same effect.There are lot of other songs of SPB where this great singer has played with songs in total control.
  
  You will find most south indian singers who have had a good exposure say that it is beneficial to learn hindustani as it gives better breath control and improves expression.
  Rafi was not only able to glide over a song,the important thing was that he could express each word/sound when singing.
  It is one thing to hold your breath, start and reach a crescendo (high note)..as like in "Shankara","Anbey (Yennai kaan villaye)" it is different ballgame if u have to do it from low notes or suddenly switch notes. With practise the former can be done, latter requires a special gift.Rafi had a natual ability to do the latter.In "Tum joh mil gaye ho" there is such a transition in the "karwaan mil gaya" part.I have never seen anyone do justice to most of his songs in my life time.
  In "parda hai parda" quawaali the similar part is "kar doon to,.Akbar mera naam".In fact most of his songs will have these speciality as it was his natural ability to sing freely in a wide range at the same time giving that extra expression.
  Whereas SPB takes us to heavens with "Idu oru pon maali","Ilaya nila" "bisiladarenu"(kannada),when he sings Rafis song it lacks the puch or expression, though it has the bass.
  But atleast most agree that SPB does some justice to original, whereas most others murder the original.
  
  One trivial point i would like to add is that singing in hindi is harder. There are more "JHA","CHA","HA","THA", "KHA","JA","FA". These take away the breath faster. The more expressive you are the more air you are using up.Just singing from Nabhi will not help, your throat also needs to do a lot,for singing in Hindi, bengali etc.SPB makes you fall in love with his south indian songs but same cannot be said about his hindi songs.If you just glide thro words having these sounds , you will never be expressive.Doing this as well as reaching high notes is not easy. Rafi had this gift and thats why it is difficult to imagine anyone else in his shoes.Song "Chalkaaye jaam" has so much expression that it is unthinkable how anyone can sing it.When rafi switches to a high note with "Mitwaa" in the song "Chaahunga mein tughey" you cannot replicate it with bass. Most others will sound as if they are shouting in such cases.That man's throat had the ability to freely sing at such levels.)
  
  Verstality is not just the ability to sing in various styles, more important is how good you are singing in those styles.
  You have lot of Ghazal singers today but when Rafi sings a Ghazal u will sit up and take notice. you dont have to be part of the Ghazal listeners crowd.This is one important aspect.Whatever style you sing you should be able to pull the common man to listen and not just a particular crowd.
  Pick "parda hai parda" or any quawalli and it will stand tall among other quawaalis.
  Variety is amazing :
  songs of gurudutt's Khagaz key pho..l
  or songs like
  abhi naa jao chod key,Aaja teri yaad aayi,Aaaj kal mein dhal gaya,,Aaj kal terey merey pyaar,Aasmaan sey aaya farishta,
  Dil ney pyaar kiya hai,Deewana mujh saa nahi,Din dhal jaaye,Duniya paagal hai,Duniyaa walon jara,Dil joh na kaha saka,Dil key jharokon mein,Dil kaa bhavar,Chalkey teri aakkhon sey,Kar chaley hum fida,khilona jaan kar tum,Woh jab yaad aay,Woh hain jara khafa,Vaadian mera daaman,Pathar key sanam,Chaand mera dil,Main zindagi kaa saath,Mainey poocha chaand sey,sun sun jaalima,Koi jab raah na paay,hum to chaley pardes,badan pey sitaarey,laal chadi maidaan,Tum jo mil gaye,O meri shaahey,so baar janam lengey,Tum mujhey yoon bhula,Tumney mujhey dekha,Terey merey sapney,Tumny pukaara hum chaley aay,
  Name a situation/mood and rafis song will be there on the top.
  
  Swami
  
  
• From: unmaivilambi (@ 63.75.49.120) on: Wed Aug 15 11:26:16 EDT 2001
  
  That was a great analysis by Swami. Though I accept most part of that ,I still feel Kishore kumar is as versatile as Rafi.
  
  

---

List all pages of this thread

Post comments