Guest Authors

Some Hidden Gems of Mohammad Rafi: The Romantic Solos

Rafi August 23, 2024

Guest article by Ashok Vaishnav continuing the centenary celebrations of Mohammad Rafi (24.12.1924-31.7.1980) (Among many romantic solos of Rafi there are several gems hidden under the layer of superhit songs. Some of the hidden gems are more melodious than superhit songs. Our SOY regular and guest author today, Ashok Vaishnav, throws the spotlight on some […]

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Mohammad Rafi & Johnny Walker in Symbiosis

Mohammad Rafi-Johnny Walker July 31, 2024

Guest article by DP Rangan as a joint tribute to Rafi on his 44th Remembrance Day and Johnny Walker on his 21st Remembrance Day. (The title of this post says it all. When you think of Johnny Walker you think of Rafi. JW established a presence for himself and soon the producers and music directors […]

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Rafi ‘s songs for “not the top heroes”

Rafi July 10, 2024

Continuing Rafi’s centenary celebrations, guest article by Sivanandam Palamadai on his songs picturised on not-so-famous actors (Songs Of Yore has been celebrating Rafi’s centenary year 2024 with a series of articles, some by guest authors. Sivanandam Palamdai, who is one of Rafi’s prominent fans in blogosphere, now writes on his songs for not-so-famous actors. We […]

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The Sculptors of Film Songs (14): Four Shades of the Dusk of the Series

Bhanu Gupta-Homi Mulan-Kishore Sodha-Ranjit 'Gamzer' Kancha April 11, 2024

The concluding article in the series on Arrangers and Musicians by guest authors, Piyush M Pandya (Gujarati original) & Ashok M Vaishnav (English translation), wishing everyone Eid Mubarak (As we celebrate Eid, our guest authors Piyush M Pandya and Ashok M Vaishnav mark the happy occasion with their concluding article in the series on Arrangers […]

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The Sculptors of Film Songs (13): Ramprasad Sharma & Sons

Ramprasad Sharma & Sons March 30, 2024

Guest article by Piyush M Pandya (Gujarati original) and Ashok M Vaishnav (English translation) (Ramprasad Sharma may be an unfamiliar name to many, but Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo were the biggest guys on the film music scene. They broke all the records: for number of films for which they composed music, total number of songs by them, […]

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Rafi’s Centenary Special: 35 songs from 35 years (1946-1980)

Rafi March 19, 2024

Guest article by Sivanandam Palamadai as a tribute to Rafi with 35 songs in 35 years (1946-1980) in the continuing series of articles on Rafi’s centenary (24th December 1924-31st July 1980) (Songs Of Yore is celebrating 2024 as the centenary year of Mohammad Rafi. I heralded the year with his solos from A to Z. […]

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Street Dancers of Bollywood

Thumbnail image for Street Dancers of Bollywood February 13, 2024

Guest article by DP Rangan (An interesting feature of our films is the dances performed in the streets, often by unknown actors. Sometimes the main protagonists also take to dancing and singing in the streets. Naturally a big crowd assembles around them enjoying the performance. These songs generally come at a critical juncture in the […]

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The Sculptors of Film Songs (11): Goody Seervai

Goody Seervai January 20, 2024

Guest article by Piyush M Pandya (Gujarati) and Ashok M Vaishnav (English translation) (Continuing their series on Arrangers and Musicians, now the guest authors Piyush M Pandya and Ashok M Vaishnav throw the spotlight on one of the most respected musicians, Goody Seervai, who became synonymous with piano accordion. The songs they have mentioned have […]

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Qamar Jalalabadi: The Unforgettable Lyricist

Qamar Jalalabadi January 9, 2024

Guest article by DP Rangan paying a tribute to Qamar Jalalabadi on his 21st Remembrance Day (b. 9 March 1917 – d. 9 January 2003) (Among the main markers of a film song – the film, the singer, the lyricist and the music director – the lyricist, whose words gave birth to the song, is […]

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The Sculptors of Film Songs (10): Van Shipley

Van Shipley December 21, 2023

Guest article by Piyush M Pandya (Gujarati original) and Ashok M Vaishnav (English translation) (Van Shipley earned acclaim for his proficiency in violin and guitar, and he brought out many independent albums of tunes of film songs on these instruments. As such, he was among the well known arrangers and musicians. Yet there is no […]

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