SPB, Simply Phenomenally Bountiful
SPBâs death has caused immense grief. When Steve Jobs died, his step sister Mona Simpson said, âWe all die medias resâin the middle of a story.â What makes SPBâs passing an inconsolable mourning is that he died in the middle of a beautiful melodyâin the midst of a music career that would have gone on and on. The philosophy that life on this earth is not permanent seems to offer solace. Some stalwarts push us into a delusion of immortality. And we thought SPB could never die. He was hearty, radiated warmth and remained jolly good. Ageing never seemed to have happened to him. His voice still generated awe and even at 74, he was amenable to music. Thatâs surely a rare gift that God bestowed on him. But slightly probing to see the effortless ease with which he went about his art, he made it possible only by winning over all the ordeal he had to endureâmultiple surgeries on this vocal cord, bariatric surgery, and numerous ailments that kept coming to him, small and inconsequential. God had given him another gift that his voice was not cracked by any surgery. He kept making remarkable recoveries and comebacks. He was able to preserve his voice through time and multiple strains. But it was also a gift for which he didnât do anything special for his voice. The deadly coronavirus finally infected him, snatching him away from us, and perhaps that was one time he rather gave in to the illness against his will.
SPBâs personality remains surreal as how someone can lower himself to such remarkably humble levels. Vinayam is one way to greatness and it was a so natural part of him. He was no doubt a phenomenal talent, evident by his five-decade-long career in music. He traversed the careers of genius composers and lyricists and sang a mindboggling 45,000 songs in 16 languages, probably an unsurpassable achievement. His popularity is not restricted to Tamil cinema. He was equally feted in Telugu film world, where he was the Ghana Gandharva, and more appropriate as Telugu was his mother tongue. And in Kannada, he was not far behind in popularity and also gave memorable numbers in Hindi (even as the Hindi world didnât welcome him with open arms to begin with and it is to the credit of ace director KB that he debuted in Hindi with Ek Duje Keliye). And that repertoire extends to several other languages.Â
He embellished his talent with being extraordinarily human, which pulled even people on the fringe to his fan circle. Initially very outsider to his fan circle, soon I jumped in, dissolving in his melting voice that kept my company on many long nights at my desk. Maybe he was so contented with his gifts that he never saw the faulty side of humans. As Kamal Haasan said, he simply swallowed every insult and harboured no ill will. If God is love, he was all of love. His demeanour defied his impossibly tall achievements. It used to be asked of Charles Dickens if he never slept or rested that he just churned one work after another. Rarely went a day when SPB didnât sing perhaps. His corpus of work not only shows his versatility and talent but also his dedication to work. To surpass every possible singer on earth in terms of numbers is a feat that he seemed to have achieved with felicity. Behind it lies hours of hard work and unmatched sincerity to his art. Though he created history, he didnât receive public felicitation for his achievements. He consciously refrained from it. Maybe, if he were alive to give us 50,000 songs, he would have agreed to a felicitation. His exemplary manner kept all his genius under wraps, but can passing clouds hide the blazing sun? And his manner was as sweet as his music. Grace and humility a part of his persona that just endeared people to him. Big or small, those who knew SPB also knew his generosity of spirit and his warm way of treating others with dignity and respect.
SPBâs career started in the music world that was already filled with stalwarts of the era. If MSV and Kannadhasan combo was ruling Tamil cinema, TMS and P. Susheela were their favourite crooning pair for romantic numbers. TMS had perfected the music voice of MGR and Sivaji Ganesan. S. Janaki was another popular singer giving her nectar-filled voice to many a heroine. And then Yesudoss just had broken into this talent pool. Into this heady mix, SPB made his entry with a two-year wait after debuting in Telugu (thatâs because MSV asked him to perfect his Tamizh). SPBâs first song in Tamil happened to be a non-starter for a film called Hotel Ramba, which wasnât released. But his next two numbers (Iyarkkai Ennum Ilaya Kanni for Gemini Ganesan and Aayiram Nilave Vaa for MGR) made him a household name. After then there was no stopping him.
With no formal training in classical music, his remarkable ability to turn into a musical voice for the MGR and Sivaji generation and then for the Rajini and Kamal generation turned the tables for him. He could modulate suitably for different actors and infuse variation into his singing style to suit their personality and voice at some level. This proved to be a clincher for him right down to Vijay, Ajit and Dhanush, the fourth generation of actors in his long career. If Vaali was a permanent fixture as a lyricist in Tamil cinema until death, SPB etched his place with equal ease for also his unique ability to offer emotions inside songs. He would giggle, laugh, cough and emote all inside a song to give that âfeelâ. And his romantic interludes and modulations just made lovers seek their sweethearts by just singing his numbers. He was a constant in the musical dreams of youngsters hopelessly in love.
His camaraderie with Ilayaraja, hailed as the god of music by his fans, was special and the duo gave Tamil cinema vintage songs that still accompany many a fan on their car travel and at night. Perhaps fans still relish the memorable and melodious numbers this combination made for Mic Mohan, who shone in film world for a short time, that are inerasable by time. SPB hits composed by Ilayaraja is an indelible chapter in Tamil film music. His romantic numbers for Kamal and opening songs for Rajini were special treats to fans of both stars. He also gave musical voice to the present-day stars Ajit, Vijay and Dhanush.Â
SPB just captured millions of hearts by his melting voice, another plus to his talent. And as melting was his voice, equally pleasing was his manner, which proved to be a magnet for people to get attracted to him. He propounded love of unmatched proportions. He loved life, loved people, loved music, loved everything in life. As he knew no hate, no one could hate him.
He left the world in tears more than anyone in recent memory. It looked that a day will never come when we would sing eulogies for him. For someone immortalized already by his songs, his passing is just the end of his bodily frame and pleasing manner. We would miss his live concerts where he would greet the audience with a bow and extol people who gave him life to heights of glory. His pat on the back for many upcoming talents was all the boost they needed in affirmation of their abilities. He may not be there to do all this but his songs will still float in the air waves for many many years to come and he will die only when his last standing fan would pass on, and that would be seven generations from now, as Kamal Haasan said.
But a man in whose music we soaked in left us soaking in tears too!









