Songs of Yore

Best Songs of 1956: Wrap Up 3

AK — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 03:30:22 +0000

The SOY Award for the Best Solo by the ‘Other’ Female Singers for 1956 goes to? My Overview Post on the best songs of 1956 indicates ‘other’ female singers sang at least two and half times of solo songs than Lata Mangeshkar. Those songs include some everlasting songs; even a most biased Lata Mangeshkar-fan cannotREAD THE FULL ARTICLE

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In memory of KS Bhatia

AK — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 03:30:41 +0000

Tributes to KS Bhatia on his 5th Remembrance Day In a group you come across some person, who soon impresses others, not for his or her status or accomplishments, but for his simplicity and knowledge. This is true of online platforms like Songs Of Yore too, where virtually no one knew each other when theREAD THE FULL ARTICLE

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In Memoriam: Suman Kalyanpur, an epitome of talent, grace and dignity

AK — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 03:30:44 +0000

Guest article by Dr Rajesh Deshpande as a tribute to one of the last of doyens of playback singing of the Golden Era (When Suman Kalyanpur passed away recently, I suddenly felt that with her one of the last links with the Golden Era of playback singing is gone. She was a tragic figure, theREAD THE FULL ARTICLE

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Songs of Yore completes 16 years

AK — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 03:30:23 +0000

It is customary to add ‘sweet’ before 16. That is how the hosts of the social game Tambola/Housie describe this number in their sing-song style. How sweet was SOY’s 16th year, or did it simply clock another year? The judgement rests with the readers, for me it was a pleasant experience. As the readers areREAD THE FULL ARTICLE

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Best songs 1956: Wrap Up 2

AK — Wed, 27 May 2026 03:30:19 +0000

The SOY Award for 1956 for the Best Solo of Lata Mangeshkar goes to? SOY regulars are aware of the reasons why I am doing year-wise reviews of the best songs of a Vintage Era year going backwards, and a Golden Era year going forwards simultaneously. Vintage Years backwards, because of the joy of discoveringREAD THE FULL ARTICLE

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Best songs of 1939: Wrap Up 2

AK — Sat, 16 May 2026 03:30:43 +0000

And the SOY Award for the Best Female Solo of 1939 goes to? One can make a general observation about the female solos of 1939. Following the long-term ratio, the female solos outnumber the male solos by a good margin in this year too. But in the era of dominance of KL Saigal and PankajREAD THE FULL ARTICLE

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‘Afsana’, ‘Dastan’, ‘Kahani’ and ‘Fasana’ in songs

AK — Tue, 05 May 2026 03:30:38 +0000

Old Bollywood was our nursery for Urdu. Where else could you get Tamaam gawaahon ke bayanat and memberaan-e-jury ki sifaarish ke maddenazar? There were always fasadat, khayalat in our films. In between there were some exceptions like Khayalon mein kisi ke is tarah aaya nahin karte. But soon it was back to Ye meri khwahishREAD THE FULL ARTICLE

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Best songs of 1956: Wrap Up 1

AK — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 03:30:53 +0000

And the SOY Award for the best male solo of 1956 goes to ? The 1950s are an era of plenty. This was the period when all the greats of the Golden Era were going great guns, creating their best music. Having said that, Naushad, one of the greatest, was absent in the year, butREAD THE FULL ARTICLE

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Best male solos of 1939: Wrap Up 1

AK — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 03:30:42 +0000

In the Vintage Era review of songs, we have reached the end of the 30s. In a stark reminder of our poor record of preserving our legacy, our Resident Scholar, N Venkataraman, gives a stark figure that only 4 Hindi films – Pukar, Aadmi, Dushman, Durga – are available in public domain for viewing. TheseREAD THE FULL ARTICLE

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Songs of a petulant, confused child

AK — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 03:30:57 +0000

What happens if a parent has a petulant, confused child, who is given to throwing tantrums before guests. The parents would be embarrassed, but the guests may comfort them: what a lovely child! But if the child displays aggressive behaviour – unless you give him his chocolate or allow him to watch YouTube videos, heREAD THE FULL ARTICLE

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