The Micro View of Best Songs of 1947 : Setting The Stage

The journey of Best Songs for TheYear @ SoY started rolling backwards from the initial phase of the Golden Era and has now reached well into the beginning of the end of Vintage Era. The journey has  had milestones @ 1955, 1953, 1951, 1950, 1949 and  1948. We now move on the next milestone ‘Best songs of 1947: And the winners are?’

The overview article notes the year that was the best of the years and the worst of the years- in so far as an event in the history of our nation. The article further goes on to note that (in so far as Hndi Film Music is concerned) , “many Muslim music directors and actors chose to go to the other side or would move shortly – Ghulam Haider, Rafiq Ghazanavi, Firoz Nizami, Khursheed Anwar, Noorjehan etc. It was a sad year for another final departure – the greatest actor-singer ever KL Saigal passed away on 18 January 1947 at a young age of 43. But the year also saw the debut of Lata Mangeshkar as a ‘playback’ singer in Aap Ki Sewa Mein.”

At the stage of beginning of the Micro View of the Best Songs of 1947 @SoY, I have a mixed feeling. The first reaction is that this is a year where I am likely to come up with many more songs that I have never heard. On the other hand, when I read through the SoY overview article,  I find many songs that are quite well-known too. Moreover, it would remain to be seen how many songs I can list form HFGK and how many of these songs would be available on YT.

With, this prologue, we begin our journey of Micro View of the Best Songs of 1947 @SoY, with excerpts from SoY over article::

Musical landmarks:

• C Ramchandra’s Ana Meri Jaan Sunday Ke Sunday sets the bos office rining, even now.
• Naushad continues his success run with Dard, Elaan and Natak.
• M S Subbulaxmi incarnates Meera on celluloid
• Kursheed Anwar creates some of the career-best songs of K L Saigal and Suraiya in K L Siagal’s last film Parwana

Other important musical compositions are no less noteworthy nor have lost their charm. We will enlist them here –

Pt. Amarnath, Husnlal, Bhagatram

Mirza Sahiban – The only film in which these three brothers composed music together.

Aa Ja Tujhe Afsana Judai Ka Sunaayein – Noorjehan
Saamne Gali Mein Mera Ghar Hai – Zohrabai Ambalewali

Khemchand Prakash

  Sindoor

O Roothe Huye Bhagwan Tumko Kaise Manaaun – Amirbai Karnataki

Nissar Bazmi

Jugnu

Yahan Badla Wafa Ka Bewafai Ke Siwa Kya Hai – Mohammad Rafi & Noorjehan

S D Burman

Do Bhai

Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya – Geeta Roy

Debut, fact file and trivia

Lata Mangeshkar – in Aap Ki Sewa Mein, as playback singer –  Paa Lagun Kar Jori Re, Sham Mose Na Khelo Hori Re

M S Subulaxmi – in Meera

Meerabai was also released in the same year, in which Sitara Kanpuri was the playback singer.

Shakeel Badayuni and Naushad, as lyricist-music director team, in Dard

       Uma Devi – Afsana Likh Rahi Hun

Rajendra Krishna – as a as lyricist – Gori Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol Do – Janata; He also debuted as a screenplay writer to oin this year.

Ghulam Mohammad – as an independent music director – in Tiger Queen and Doli

Ram Prasad Sharma – father of Pyarelal of LP duo – in Nayi Baat

Snehal Bhatkar – in Neelakamal under pseudonym of B Vasudev

Sulocana Kadam and Krishna Goyal – as singers – in Krishna Sudama

Mohammad Rafi – in a cameo appearance in Wo Apni Yaad Dilane Ko – in Jugnu

Mohammad Raf- Lata Mangeshkar – maiden duet – Chalo Ho Gayi Taiyaar – in Shhadi Se Pehle

Raj Kapoor – sings his own song – O Duniya Ke Rahanewalo Bolo Kahn Gay Chitchor  – Dil Ki Awaz – under S D Burman’s baton, and

Piya Milne Naveli Jaye Re in Jai Yatra, iunder the baton of Neenu Mazumdar

Meena Kumari – sings 6 solos and 2 duets – in Piya Ghar Aa Ja

Man Mohan Krishna – sings Tujhe Aap Bitana Hai Apna Jivan – in Andhon Ki Duniya, under Vasant Desai’s baton.

Anil Biswas uses Shamshad Begum for the first time in Bhookh

List Of Memorable Songs is a fairly representative list of films, music directors and known as well as less-known songs that were released in the year. I have re-compiled this list, under the title Memorable Songs of 1947, by adding the relevant link to YT file.

For the year under review, Special songs also cover the songs which open a path of discovery on their own well as they have their own personality. In this case too, I have brought these songs on the same page with List of Memorable Songs of 1947.

The stage is now set to commence our journey into the Micro View of the Songs of 1948. As the List of Memorable Songs and Special Songs have covered most of the well-known songs for the year, we will restrict our micro-view to in-depth listening of not-so-well-known songs. We will then combine our impressions of these songs with that we already have for the well-known ones to present our point of view in so far as

Best male playback singer
Best female playback singer
Best duets
Best music director

                                are concerned for the year 1947.

All the posts that will appear on this subject here have been tagged as Songs of 1947 @ SoY.

We will take Solo Songs of Male Playback Singers in our next episode.