Saturday, July 3, 2010

I am a Disco Dancer - The singer Vijay and the song.




There is one L.P. Record in my collection which contains, a few outstanding songs in the Disco Music category.The record is of the 1982 film DISCO DANCER starring Mithun Chakroborthy, Kim, Rajesh Khanna and Kalpana Iyer. The film was directed by B. Subhash and the enchanting music score was by Music Director Bappi Lahiri.

The music and songs of the film were big hits at that time when disco dancing and disco music were gaining a lot of popularity. It was the film which catapulted actor Mithun Chakroborthy. an average success since his award winning film 'Mrigya', as a hit dancing star, a guaranteed success for a long time. The songs of the film hit the top in popularity charts and were on the lips of a generation of young music lovers. The song 'Jimmy Jimmy
Jimmy Aaja' sung by the famous pop star and singer, Parvathy khan, was hugely popular among disco music lovers. The song,Garon ki na kalon ki', by Suresh was also a noted melody.

But what made the album such a celebrated hit was the song, 'I am a disco dancer' by Vijay, till then not known much as a playback singer. This was a trend setter making disco music a rage among the young generation. The singer Vijay and the song gained cult status and there was no stage program without this song being sung in those days.This single song made Vijay famous and he went on to sing for about forty Hindi films. But at the height of success and popularity life took a tragic turn for him with the death of his brother and he vanished from the scene of playback singing. After years of trials and tribulations he reemerged as a Gospel singer, Vijay Benedict, and along with his family and kids, is now conducting numerous stage programs of Gospel music rendering solace and peace to millions.

The record of film, ' Disco Dancer', is preserved by me in memory of the song,and its singer Vijay.



Tail piece:- A successful Malayalam play back singer who followed a similar path to sing only
devoional songs Jolly Abraham.

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