Fans mourn loss of SPB, share fond memories

In 1984, Rajugopal Iyer sang a demo track for SPB. A budding singer at the time, he never expected the singer to be so impressed with his voice. Raju found himself with an invitation to meet with the singer at his residence at Kamdar Nagar.

“We were to meet at 6 am and spend the whole day together. He had six recording sessions over eight hours, and he took me along for them. He taught me how to sing into the microphone, and how important it is for a musician for emote and feel the lyrics that he sings. Balu sir was kind enough to teach me, in the hopes that I could become a playback singer,” said 67-year-old Iyer.

Iyer shares that the music legend was a cheerful, happy-go-lucky individual, who was always smiling and positive. One of his little quirks was to say ‘God

Bless’ before a recording, and Iyer states that he had a penchant for complimenting those around him for their work.

Fans took to the internet to share their close memories of the man, and event planner Saraswathi Krishnakumar took to Facebook to share her memories with him. “During one of the concerts that we had the good fortune of organising, he strictly forbade us from praising him lavishly in the introduction. He said, ‘There are so many who are so much more talented than me. I just happened to be blessed,” she wrote.

As the holder of a Guinness World Record for the highest number of songs recorded by a singer – over 4,000 songs in 16 languages – fans have a plethora of music to choose from when selecting their favourites. Many also posted covers as a tribute to the artist across social media forums.

“Everyone is an SPB fan. He has sung so many iconic and classic songs that every person in Tamil Nadu has heard his music and loves him. No modern singer has the repertoire of music that he has produced. The musical world is poorer with his loss,” said Iyer.