So Why Is Rafisaab The Greatest Singing Legend?, Fans of Rafisab share your views & experiences Options

[suhana_safar]

With thousands of unbeliveable renditions in a career that stretches back into the mid forties to 80's, Rafisaab began his career as a playback singer in Indian Film industry that in course of time is being regarded as a landmark in HFM.

So what is fscinating about this genius and his career? What are the key featueres of his skills that even made his colleagues who were class singers in their own right look upon him as their hero/idol?. What are the things that keep people still so attached to his songs?


Over the years everything connected with the industry changed:

1. The taste and trends of the audience
2. The technolgy and nature of the recording rooms
3. The style of the actors
4. The styles of the MD’s
5. The words of the song writers
6. The promotion strategy of the music companies
7. The pay cheques
8. The competition
9. The entry of new actors and styles
10. The quality of the audience
11. The politics and power groups in the industry


and many more factors could be added to the list above.

With all the above dynamic changes, for a simple, shy, modest and a genuine down to earth person to not only excel but establish unreachabe standards in playback singing during such a long period is simply more than just an extra ordninary feat. How often we take take for granted the consistent quality of Rafisaab’ singing without giving much thought how difficult and challenging is the art of playback singing specially in the context of the above dynamic changes.

How many times do we care to fathom that extra class that he instilled in the song and thus raised the standard of both the composition and the lyrics not to mention that his voice is also associated with the success of those actors who became stars just because Rafisaab playbacked for them.

Playback singing is a precise and difficult and challenging art, and Rafisaab is rightly acknowledged as a master of this unique genre by both, the masses and the experts.

So what exactly are the attributes and characteritics of this legend of legends that makes him a class apart. What is the exclusive quality/qualities of his singing that makes him a benchmark in playback singing.?

Please share your views with concrete examples and kindly refrain discussing any other singers in this thread as this discussion is only about the one and only, Rafisaab.


I welcome all to come on board (with a positive attitude) and specially the learned and knowledgeable who know about this uniqe art and more importantly about this unique singing phenomenon, Rafisaab.

[princeali]

Rafi Sahab was a PHENOMENON, the likes of which we will never see again. He was a once in a lifetime talent that graced the cinema world and became the pride of our musical heritage.

There can never be enough praise for the legend. For what he brought to his art was such beauty and magestic grace that we are blessed that our ears are subjected to such Gold.

His singing gives you such a warm and peaceful feeling that it makes you feel awesome at heart. He had all the qualities of a perfect singer. His beautiful golden voice with no shades of shrillness, not too thick, not too thin, not too high nor too low, just the right bass, and the most melodious of them all. He could mould his voice to suit any actor of any decade. This is one aspect of his singing that is very mind-boggling. How was he able to mould his voice to suit every actor ?. Only someone who is gifted can accomplish such a feat. How wonderful it is to have a voice behind the microphone match the actor on screen, it makes watching movies with Rafi songs the most enjoyable. His voice changed with the times yet retained its enchanting tonal quality. For thirty plus years his songs rode the cinema screen like a King. There may have been a change in stars, music and musicians, but one common factor was Rafi saab standing out like a pearl in a huge field.

Rafi saab gave 200% to every song he sang. Look through the history books and you will never find a Rafi song which lacks anything. His sur was unparalleled, never off key, he could switch notes with ease, and made it all look so easy. His songs came from various genres, and his repetoire is filled with such variety that you don't have to look anywhere else to hear a certain type of song, Rafi has it all, from classical to pop, sentimental to fun, happy to pathos, qawwali's to pop, bhajans to shabds, and all the songs are evergreen, they don't lend themselves to a certain time period, they sound as fresh as ever, making you seem as if they were made just yesterday.

His voice makes you feel proud, gives you the feeling that you can accomplish anything in this world. His style of singing was completely his, and it wasn't just one, it was different styles for different genres. Today, many singers are identified with just one particular style, whereas for Rafi saab, you can never pinpoint one definite style, it varies with his songs in different genres. In this aspect he was a pioneer and a trend-setter, something others could look to for inspiration.

His range, as high as the himalayas was something unique that no one else has or will ever have. The beauty of this range was that it could lend itself to any song and any situation. Just listen to the Rajesh Roshan composed Kya Mausam Hai which I consider Rafi's best entry song, when Rafi saab enters with Yeh Mastiyan Yeh Bahar, Phir Ho Chala Beqarar like a beautiful meteor dazzling across the sky, you are transported into a different galaxy. When I heard this song, Rafi's entry brought tears to my eyes, such was the depth, emotion, beauty and range of his unbelievable voice. Emotions are subjective to each individual, however if one listens to any Rafi song, one can feel the the emotions that Rafi put into that song pull at your heart-strings. This is what made him stand out from the rest.

He defined what playback singing is about, he re-wrote music history, he made everyone look at singing from a different angle.

All this and more is why Rafi Sahab is the greatest singing legend