Counting TFM hits of IR - now @1776 - year 1996 is WIP - poll for "rAman abdullA"

Disclaimer 

This thread / collection / counting is NOT to answer crazy fellows who say IR had only 100-200 TFM hits in his whole carrier. 

This is primarily to RECORD / CAPTURE HISTORY by objective & honest people who lived in corresponding period in TN and witnessed themselves when things happened. (Obviously, the other purpose is to get a small kick out of this exercise  )

Rules for qualifying a song to be a hit

1. The person reporting should have witnessed personally the popularity of the song. (For example, my criteria is "involuntary listen for a few times at least, not in cassette players or music shops but in radio / festival / function / tea stall / bus kind of setting"). No hearsay / advertisement / internet business. 

That way, if someone didn't live in TN during the period that we document, he /she does not qualify to claim a song being hit or not. 

For e.g. app_engine is NOT qualified to categorize ANY TFM song as hit for the periods 1986-mid 2002 or mid 2003-current.  I'm qualified for only the years 1976-1985 & parts of 2002 / 2003 when I resided in TN.

2. Any objection to the "hit claim" will have to be taken into serious consideration / analysis. If the proposer cannot give some corroborative evidence, the song cannot be counted or included.

3. There should be no "doubt" cases. 

4. There should be no "my personal favorite" cases either - the song was either popular with public or not. That's about it. 
(We need to acknowledge that some fantastic songs, that possibly even got their identity in the internet era recently, were obscure / unknown when they originally arrived).

5. To repeat, primary evidence is the objective and honest IRF's claim. Any other evidence is only corroborative (like some website saying so, old newspapers, claims by those associated with the album originally etc.)

I'm taking up the period 1976-1985 and will request others to handle the remaining years when we reach them.

Since we are writing TFM-IR history, please actively participate (and inform all your connections to do so as well).


Frequently used abbreviations / acronyms :

TFM - Tamil Film Music
AIR  - All India Radio
IOKS - Ilangai Oliparappu Koottu SthAbanam
SLBC - Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corp
IRF - IlayaRaja Fan

Year 1976

IR's debut into TFM with annakkiLi.

He had only 4 albums in this year and my job is quite easy to single out the hits and catalog here. 

Those were my school days and not many cassette players existed then. Our school had one spool player but it was in HM's custody with not many having access to it. 
For most common people, it was either radio or vinyl disk players that blasted thru horn speakers for every function / festival. 
(Not many owned the turntables either - only institutions or "sound set" businesses had them and played in functions / festivals and filled the air / reached our ears. So, it was sound bytes thru air or AIR  or IOKS).

Now, let me start the catalog:

#1 machchAnappAththeengaLA (SJ Solo, annakkiLi)
There won't be any question from any quarter on declaring this song a hit   It was definition of patti-thotti-citi hit! Mags those days reported that the disk sale broke previous record of 'elandhappazham' song by MSV/LRE.

#2 annakkiLi onnaththEdudhE (SJ solo, annakkiLi, happy version)
Was regularly on radio & kOlAmbi speakers also. Another song that made IR a household name. Plus, this and machchAna helped make the movie a hit.

#3 annakkiLi onnaththEdudhE (TMS solo, annakkiLi, pathos version)
Though an azhuga moonji song in the voice of TMS, this too made it big on radios and horn speakers

#4 suththachchambA pachcha nellu (SJ and chorus, annakkiLi)
Along with machchAna, this was played in all kalyANam / kAdhu kuththu kind of functions everywhere

#5 sondham illai bandham illai (PS solo, supposedly a later addition to the movie to get more crowds)
Even this pathos number made it big, especially on radio broadcasts and neengaL kEttavi kind of programs, both in AIR & IOKS

#6 kEttELE angE (PS solo, bathrakALi)
Despite being banned from AIR broadcasts, the song made it big to the public by way of loudspeakers.

#7 kaNNan oru kaikkuzhandhai (PS-KJY duet, bathrakALi)
Not just a hit those days (both on radio & kOlAmbi), it had attained evergreen / cult status over the years among TFM lovers (both IRFs and IRHs alike)

#8 oththa roovA onakkuththAREn (SJ-MV duet, bathrakALi)
Song was a hit on kOlambi speakers for all festivals / functions. I don't remember whether this was allowed on radio or not. However, there's no question about the song getting played on patti-thotti those days!

#9 kola kolayA mundhirikkA (SJ and chorus, pAlootti vaLarththa kiLi)
Was on both radio and horn speakers frequently. Unlike annakkiLi / bathrakALi, this movie was a flop and still the songs made into the homes of TN-ers!

#10 nAn pEsa vandhEn (SJ-SPB duet, first of its kind with IR, pAlooti vaLarththa kiLi)
I didn't even pay attention to the name of the movie when I heard it on radio those days. Neither did I knew it was by IR. Nevertheless, can vouch that this song was a 'radio hit'.

#11 vAdiyammA pon magaLE vandha idam nalla idam (SPB-PS, pAlootti vaLarththa kiLi)
This song was frequently on radio too - until recent years, I didn't know that this song was by IR   Interestingly, this song got left out when I did my IR-SPB series on the hub. It's possible that thiraippAdal website didn't have it or even if they had it I doubted if this was indeed by IR.  If any IRF from younger gen have not listened to this before, please check this out ( youtube has even the video ) and you'll be surprised at this "fusion" fun song 

#12 oru nAL unnOdu oru nAL (SJ-SPB duet, uRavAdum nenjam)
A song that needs no intro to old timers or next gen IRFs, regular on radio, one more case of hit song from an utter flop movie

#13 nenachchadhellAm nadakkappORa nEraththula vAdi (SJ-SPB duet, uRavAdum nenjam)
Folk themmAngu duet that was frequently on radio and this was another number that I enjoyed those days without caring for the name of the composer

13 certified hit songs MD-ed by IR, in his first year in TFM!

If there are any questions, please feel free to ask in this thread (or twitter, when I post the link later today).

I think Uravadum Nenjam was a decent movie and a moderate hit.  I still can remember those TIK TIK scenes in the song Oru Naal, where everyone will be shown with a heavy sogam in their faces (Heroine is going to die shortly... All the family members are aware of the same) and the clock ticking away... The Heavy violin piece followed by the TIK TIK TIK and again followed by the violin piece.... Typical Raaja signature stamp in his 4th film itself...

raagakann wrote:I think Uravadum Nenjam was a decent movie and a moderate hit. 

Possible - my info about movie was only hearsay

However, those two songs were regulars on radio!

IR increased his output leaps and bounds in his 2nd year, 1977, at TFM and there had been around 50 hit songs in that single calendar year!

It would be unwieldy to cover them all in one post (as in the case of 1976). So, I'll break it into 2 or 3 posts.

I'm planning to divide them not simply alphabetically or "all songs of one movie together" kind of fashion. Instead, let me try to categorize them based on the degree of popularity

That way, the first post will be on super hit songs (those had coverage in all sectors - radio / functions / festivals / tea-shops / buses). BTW, 1977 had already brought in tea-shop music culture in TN. The bus music was definitely the in-thing in 1978 but I'm not very sure about 1977

The second post will be on hit songs that had wide reach but may be not patti-thotti.

The third post will be radio-only-hits or "because of being part of a hit album" kind of hits

Year 1977 Part 1 - Super Hits

This was the year when IR got signed up as MD for both NT & MGR. (As MGR became CM and stopped acting biz, the album "unnai vida mAttEn" never came out, even though it got a lot of publicity when the project started - I remember first page kottai ezhuththu thalaippu cheydhi on dhinathanthi ; OTOH, the NT movie deepam came out and a couple of songs were super hits).

The year also saw IR working with the "rising star, kAdhal iLavarasan" & "the new style sensation". And he gave super hit songs / albums for both.

Let me continue the numbering from the earlier post on 1976, for ease of counting

#14 surAngani, surAngani (MV et al, avar enakkE sondham)
Though the main melody was not an IR-original (but from Ceylon), it got some stylish treatment in his hands and the song was a patti-thotti hit. I first heard it when a couple of students danced for it in a "inter-school-competition" in an hospital and it had frequent air time in radio as well as other media.

#15 poovizhi vAsalil yAradi vandhadhu kiLiyE kiLiyE (SJ-KJY duet, deepam)
Song was popular not just at the time of arrival but much longer - for many years - and was heard frequently on buses in years later. Personally, I never connected the song to NT (or even a NT movie) those days  Of course, it has Vijayakumar on screen but main hero of the movie was NT.

#16 andhappuraththil oru maharANi (SJ-TMS duet, deepam)
Unlike poovizhi vAsalil, this was very clear to me even without knowing the movie name that it was for NT  TMS made sure of that  The song was popular everywhere, once again for  years - on radio and otherwise

#17 chinnakkaNNan azhaikkiRAn (BMK solo, kavikkuyil)
This sophisticated song with a classical base was a super hit not just on radio but everywhere (may be with the exception of village festivals but still on loudspeakers on kalyANams and such functions) and no need to mention its evergreen appeal until present

#18 kuyilE kavikkuyilE (SJ solo, kavikkuyil)
This was IR's follow-up on his previous super hits machchAna / annakkiLi the prior year. More popular than even chinnakkaNNan at the time of album's arrival. The popularity was comparable to machchAna / kEttELE, per my observation - even though this movie was not a success (despite Sridevi)

#19 manjakkuLichchu aLLi mudichchu (SJ and chorus, 16 vayadhinilE)
Sensational hit, especially in country side!

#20 sevvandhippoo mudichcha sellakkA (PS-MV and chorus, 16 vayadhinilE)
Song was always on kOlAmbi speakers but I paid attention to the sweet WCM stuff in the 2nd interlude only many months later, when my cousin pointed out

#21 Attukkutty muttaiyittu (MV-SJ duet, 16 vayadhinilE)
Fun song that made its reach to every nook and corner of TN - despite the cheesy lyrics / SJ's kezhavi mimicry / kazhudhai sound etc

#22 sendhoorappoovE (SJ solo, 16 vayadhinilE)
That such a sophisticated song with terrific WCM arrangements was on kolAmbi in the remotest villages of TN is, IMHO, quite a tribute to "IR-uplifting-TNers-listening-taste"!

#23 sOLam vedhakkayilE (IR solo, 16 vayadhinilE)
Possibly aided by the popularity of the movie (especially the olichchithiram! It started with this song and was played everywhere those days "chappANinnu sonnA chappunnu aRainjidu") but the song's evergreen appeal is unmistakable!

#24 vizhiyilE malarndhadhu (SPB solo, bhuvanA oru kELvikkuRi)
Not only a hit when it arrived, it became "talking-bragging matter" for IRFs for years - with that terrific strings in the last interlude!

#25 rAjA enbAr mandhiri enbAr (SJ-SPB duet, bhuvanA oru kELvikkuRi)
Believe me I had heard this song in kOlambi speakers in marriage functions of villages and wondered how can they play a sOga song like this for such occasions   TN "sound-set" fellows had weird taste that way

#26 siththira chevvAnam sirikkakkaNdEn (PJ and chorus, kAtRinilE varum geetham)
Another favorite with the masses, even though the movie didn't click, and was regularly on radio and other loud speakers, for years

#27 kaNdEn engum poomagaL nAttiyam (SJ solo, kAtRinilE varum geetham)
What a tremendous popularity this song enjoyed everywhere - despite the eerie kind of sounds!

#28 sorgham madhuvilE (SPB and chorus, sattam en kaiyil)
Not sure if this song was on AIR or got censored but was regularly on IOKS, in addition to teakkadai / bus kind of popularity for years

#29 en kaNmaNi un kAdhali (PS-SPB duet, chittukkuruvi)
This song was an universal favorite - of radio fellows as well as others with the kuththagai to loud speakers (and of course, evergreen)

#30 ponnula ponnula paNNuna mookkuththi (SPB and chorus, chittukkuruvi)
Very popular themmAngu, patti-thotti hit

#31 adadada mAmarakkiLiyE (SJ solo, chittukkuruvi)
By now people excepted some kiLi / kuyil kind of song ruling the charts and IR had to meet the formulaic expectations (and often exceeded)

#32 thaNNee karuththiruchchu (MV solo, iLamai oonjalAdugiRadhu)
The opening beats would have made many "benches" receive their punishment from amateur "percussionists" those days. No need to emphasize the patti-thotti reach!

#33 ennadi meenAtchi (SPB solo, iLamai oonjalAdugiRadhu)
Another IR-only-possible achievement, of taking popular western stuff to reach remotest village of TN with a "no-compromise" approach!

#34 orE nAL unai nAn nilAvil pArththadhu (VJ-SPB duet, iLamai oonjalAdugiRadhu)
The song enjoyed a reach among the masses to the level of MGR-Sivaji songs in previous era - while the listeners' appreciation level went far beyond, i.e. in making them to "sing" and talk about "that violin piece, this guitar piece" etc with stunning accompaniments and interludes!

All the above songs had universal appeal and didn't leave city fellows or patti fellows!

1977 Part 2 - Radio and beyond hits

Krishna Raj (@ank24762) mentioned in twitter that some of the songs that are placed in part 2 actually belong to part 1  I'll include his comments in the corresponding songs. 

End of the day, all these songs are certified hits - regardless of the degree of popularity & whether they are in part 1 / 2 or 3 (which is often based on how much an individual got exposed to it - we really do not have "billboard" kind of tools for TN in this time period to get any data analysis).

#35 dEvan thiruchchabai malargaLE (Indira, Poorani and chorus, avar enakkE sondham)
Per ank, it was bigger than surAngani, which is possible. Personally, I've heard surAngani on kOlambi speakers more and thus promoted to part 1  OTOH, this song was not limited to only radio broadcasts. This was often heard in otherwise settings, such as weddings in south TN districts. 
(Though my in-school days were in that tiny hamlet with a visit or two per week to the "town" called Dindigul that was about 10 KM away, all my summer vacation was in Virudhunagar and further south, down to Palayankottai each year. No need to say I was "all ears" for TFM wherever I went and every song that got played on loudspeakers had my attention and the frequent ones got automatically registered in memory. I must confess, however, that my ventures north of Trichy during those years were quite rare! Neither did I have much visits beyond Pazhani / Kodaikkanal for "west")

#36 kAdhal Oviyam kaNdEn kanavO ninaivO (Sujatha solo - either this or kAlaippaniyil was her first TFM song, kavikkuyil)
Sweet song, once again frequently on radio and may be because of kuyilE kavikkuyilE getting frequently played on sound-set fellows, this too had its air time along, in functions.

#37 vAzhvE mAyamA (BSS solo, Gayathri)
Another song that made it beyond frequent radio time and I don't know what was the reason. Also, during later years this was on buses often.

#38 kAlaippaniyil Adum malargaL (Sujatha solo, Gayathri)
Ditto as the previous song, popular both on radio and in the subsequent years on other media

#39 poondhenralE nalla nEram kAlam sErum (VJ-PJ duet, Bhuvana oru kELvikkuRi)
Per ank, a regular choice in "nEyar viruppam" of AIR. The song was immensely popular on IOKS too. In the years that followed, this had frequent bus playing and I need to upgrade it from "just a radio nEyar viruppam hit" and it definitely went beyond

#40 mAthA un kOvilil (SJ solo, achchANi)
Evergreen song whose popularity made it getting reused decades later   Well, personally I've heard it more on radios those days, besides some other informal settings. 

A clarification here - we are going by ALBUM RELEASE YEAR and not the movie release year, for consistency. Also, movies of a number of hit songs never got released

#41 thAlAttu piLLai uNdu thAlAttu (PS-SPB duet, achchANi)
Same case as the mAthA song from this movie, frequently on both AIR or IOKS and them some more!

#42 oru vAnavil pOlE (SJ-PJ duet, kAtRinilE varum geetham)
Very sweet song and immensely popular on radio - besides, it enjoyed that extra popularity at other places due to the "proximity factor" to kaNdEn engum  Also, in subsequent years, I've seen people going for personal recordings of this.

#43 veeNai meettum kaigaLE (SJ solo, vAzha ninaiththAl vAzhalAm)
Popular on radio as well as family functions, per my observation.

#44 Azhakkadalil thEdiya muthu (SJ-MV duet, sattam en kaiyil)
ank remarks that AIR used to play this song when he was eager to get sorgam madhuvilE when they announce the movie's name  Very similar experience on many movies on radio those days. I've mentioned about this thingy in the SPB thread (The announcer will say 'pattAkkaththi bhairvan padaththil irundhu' and my pulse will rise expecting 'engengO sellum' or 'dEvadhai oru dEvadhai' but they'll end up playing 'yArO nAnum neeyum yArO'  ) BTW, this song - like sippikkul oru muthu vaLarndhadhu of vikram - didn't get included in the movie. Some connection to Kamal - sippikkuL muthu - and not getting on screen!

#45 kadaththEngAyO vazhippiLLaiyArO (MV and chorus, sattam en kaiyil)
Besides radio popularity on arrival, this song went on to become fav in teakkadai / buses for a few years, per my observation! May be Kamal connection.

#46 onna nambi neththiyilE (PS solo, chittukkuruvi)
Hit song but less popular than the other three songs of this popular album, though frequently on radio and other village functions. I still can't understand why that discrimination those days

#47 kiNNaththil thEn vadiththu kaigaLil EndhugiREn (SJ-KJY duet, iLamai oonjalAdukiRadhu)
Unlike the 3 songs listed in part 1, this song was not much in country side - though it made it big in IOKS and town areas. This was frequently on teakkadai / buses in subsequent years, as much as the bigger hits

#48 nee kEttAl nAn mAttEn enRA (VJ solo, iLamai oonjalAdugiRadhu)
Similar case like kiNNaththil thEn - but enjoyed much more popularity on radio / played more frequently.

We have some more as part 3 - that were hits and registered strongly in the minds of TFM listeners of those times. However, their reach was either only in radio broadcasts or otherwise in specific media. We'll check them out later, to complete this terrific year!

!977 Part 3  Radio or otherwise "limited domain" hits

These songs were either frequently on radio or heard otherwise in specific circles during subsequent years - but they have great retention value that once you find the name of the song anywhere, it immediately starts playing in mind

Any 1977 song to have such "auto-recall" in me must have been widely popular as I didn't have any kind of personal equipment those days to record / play my favorites. Not just me, none very close to me those days had access to anything but radio!

#49 thEnil Adum rOjA (PS solo, avar enakkE sondham)
Frequently played in both AIR and IOKS those days. "perusus" also did muNu muNuppu of this song from time to time

#50 chellappiLLai saravaNan (PS-KJY duet, peN jenmam)
Another "radio-only-hit" IIRC. Those who had a chance to visit the misra chApu thread in this forum may be familiar with this number as IR's FIRST misra chApu in TFM

#51 idhaya mazhaiyil nanaindha kiLigaL (PS-KJY duet, ALukkoru Asai)
Didn't connect the song with IR those days when this got played on radio. sophi song as it was definitely not on kOlAmbi speakers at any time, as per my memory!

#52 manjaL aRaikkumbOthu (VJ solo, ALukkoru Asai)
This song perhaps ventured out of radio also as I faintly recall hearing this in some village weddings and such functions.

#53 dEvi sendhoorakkOlam (SJ-PJ duet, durgA dEvi)
Sweet song that got played on radio every now and then. I remember running close to the radio for this song being a personal favorite! (Also of my cousin as he loved to sing this aloud)

#54 oru kAdhal dEvadhai iru kaNgaL poo mazhai (PS-SPB duet, sAindhAdammA sAindhAdu)
From what I wrote in the SPB-IR thread on the hub :

 This song has such a strong 'evening feel' written all over it and I'm reminded of a typical setting of playing ball-badminton from 4 PM-5.30 or so in the school and come home, wash and relaxedly listen to SLBC for the neengaL kEttavi.

#55 rAjA yuvarAjA nAL thORum oru rOjA (TMS solo, deepam)
Very popular on IOKS - played frequently those days - and at this moment the wind instrument  sound that comes immediately after the first line is playing in my mind  Typical NT-song-of-70s and I connected it with IR only in subsequent years

#56 udhayam varukinRadhE (SJ solo with some nAdan lines by GKV, kavikkuyil)
This song was not only on radio but also on village kOlambi at times and evokes very strong nostalgia in me!

#57 mAnOdum pAdhaiyilE (PS solo, kavikkuyil)
Case similar to that of "udhayam varukinRadhE" from the same movie. For those who followed the #IR_Waltz thread, this song may be familiar as the FIRST IR SONG TO HAVE RAJINIKANTH ON SCREEN! (Though there was no male voice to which he lip-sync'd)

#58 alaiyE kadal alaiyE (SJ-PJ duet, thirukkalyANam)
Heard it on radio only but strongly registered in mind

#59 siriththAl sirippEn avaL oru rAjakumAri (TMS solo, mAriyamman thiruvizhA)
Whenever I saw the name 'mAriyamman thiruvizhA' in the IR filmography, I could never recall any song and always thought this was a rare case of not having even one single hit song in that year. Recently, however, I found somewhere on the web songs of this film and started listening to them. That's when I found that this VERY FAMILIAR song was part of that album. The song got played frequently on radio and some village functions! Unfortunately, I never associated the TMS song with IR until I saw in that site

#60 kaNdEn engum poomagaL nAttiyam (VJ solo, kAtRinilE varum geetham)
IOKS only played this song every now and then. OTOH, SJ song was everywhere in the air those days. Within a few months of annakkiLi, SJ replaced VJ in the top TFM spot!

#61 kAnAnguruvikku kalyANamAm (Manorama solo, vAzha ninaiththAl vAzhalAm)
She had two versions, one mimicking someone of speech-disability and another normal - both were unsahikkable but got regular air time nevertheless

#62 orE idam nirandharam (PS solo, sattam en kaiyil)
I've heard this only on radio. During later years sorgam madhuvilE / kadaththEngAyO / Azhakkadalil got played on buses or tea stalls but not this song. I didn't even connect this to that movie until the internet era.

#63 mErA nAm abdullA, AvO piyA rasagullA (MV et al, sattam en kaiyil)
I don't even recall whether it was on radio or elsewhere I heard this song but the fun song got such a strong recall and I can't help but include it here. May be classmates and others sang it frequently


AhA, we are done with 1977 - IR's second year in TFM with (first) half century of hit songs in a single year!

Super app... IR songsku .. azhagana thread....... U R Great......  tfmpage days. nyabagam vandhadhu..........

inum sila paatu.. radio hits.........

thanga kudathuku pottum iten.. PS song.. en paatiku pidicha paatu.......

Iyarkai radhangalae ulagai marakum.. song.. 

inum enna paatu.. yosichu solren.......

app_engine:

The song "Kanakku Paarthu Kadhal Vandhadhu" was one of the more popular songs that time from Aalukoru Aasai.  Remember that TMS was still very popular at that time.

Similarly I remember Oru Koyilin Iru Dheepnagal being very popular from Pen Jenmam.

nanRi for the inputs, Usha akkA & ank!

Looks like IR had more than 50 in that year

I've started screening the hits for 1978 and there are 50 TFM hits for that year also.

There could be a question - why didn't he increase the number? The reason could be his spreading out to other languages significantly in this year (as per Anbu sir's spreadsheet).

As in the case of 1977, I'll do this year in 3 parts - while keeping the numbering continuous.

1978 Part 1 Super Hits

This year probably saw the sale of HMV Fiesta turntable (vinyl record player) peak in sales as I saw so many of them (including in homes of some friends). Also, I've personally seen them in quite a number of tea shops, thus making the arrival of "local music" (and not radio music) ruling such places. The buses have started playing cassettes but personal cassette players themselves were not many (as people had to still buy them at burma bazAr as regular electronic stores didn't have any in their showcases).

I've cataloged IO among 1977 hits but they had more air time in 1978, with the movie too getting released and access to "local music" drastically increasing. I never lose any opportunity to give that album the credit for being a biggie in the early days in making the tea-shop music and bus music big in TN

Now, let us continue our listing - this year seems to have more "super hits" than "ordinary hits"

#64 mAnjOlaikkiLi dhAnO (JC solo, kizhakkE pOgum rayil)
Despite being a semi-classical kind of dance number, this one was patti-thotti popular. Schools used to have singing competition in their annuals and there had been any number of murderings of this song

#65 poovarasampoo pooththAchchu (SJ solo, kizhakkE pOgum rayil)
'rayil' Radhika got featured in this song, it was her debut film and she is acting until now   This song's popularity everywhere was like the other female solos that powered IR's initial days (machchAna / kEttElE...)

#66 senthAzham poovil vandhAdum thenRal (KJY solo, muLLum malarum)
J Mahendran's first film as director, four super hit songs from this album. The movie was liked by critics and mass alike and so were the songs!

#67 adi peNNE (Jency solo, muLLum malarum)
My first experience with this song was during a bus travel and instantly loved it! Didn't care which movie this was from. Frequently on radio and kOlAmbi speakers!

#68 rAman ANdAlum rAvaNan ANdAlum (SPB and chorus, muLLum malarum)
I've written "nostalgia thingy" about this song in my SPB-IR series. No need for anything to prove that this was a hit.

#69 niththam niththam nelluchchORu (VJ solo, muLLum malarum)
Documented in the GA thread before. Once again, evergreen number that needs no intro. So, with the exception of mAninamE (which I came to know about only in the intenet era), all the songs were super hits from this movie.

#70  ennuyir nee thAnE (Jency-KJY duet, priyA)
Biggest favorite for buses for many years to come. 

#71 Aye pAdal onRu (SJ-KJY duet, priyA)
Most favored by radio was this number while it was hot otherwise too. Radio at times will get only one channel when IOKS played this song, with the singer almost muted

#72 dArling dArling dArling (PS solo, priyA)
Was always on air at one place or other - countless times heard involuntarily those days! Including this, 3 super hits from that album. There were two other hit songs but those can be featured only in part 2 or 3

#73 kattappuLLa kuttappuLLa (SJ-TMS duet, bhairavi)
Besides radio, this song was very popular in village functions / festivals. Unfortunately, I thought this was by S-G those days. 

#74 naNdooRudhu nariyooRudhu (TMS solo, bhairavi)
Another patti-thotti hit song, once again placed under S-G by me those days and honestly, not liked by me  However, no question about the popularity of the song.

#75 thEn mallippoovE (SJ-TMS duet, thyAgam)
2nd NT movie for IR and this duet was very popular on radio and other NT-reachable places (such as functions / festivals). In later years, however, this was not that big a fav with IRF's who were recording in TDK cassettes feverishly  Not many of the TMS numbers made it in that category.

#76 vasantha kAlakkOlangaL (SJ solo, thyAgam)
Even before listening to this song on radio, kOlambi speakers introduced it to me! I can recall that fantastic 2nd interlude playing from horn speakers - ringing in my ears now!

#77 nallavarkkellAm sAtchigaL reNdu (TMS solo, thyAgam)
Typical TMS-NT song and thus got lapped up by people who loved such numbers. Such groups made sure this was on air often!

#78 indha minminikku kaNNil oru minnal (SJ-MV duet, sigappu rOjAkkaL)
BR's 3rd movie, Kamal-Sridevi thriller, two super hit songs that are evergreen

#79 ninaivO oru paRavai (SJ-KH duet, sigappu rOjAkkaL)
No intro needed - even super singer kind of fellows are not leaving this song

#80 uRavugaL thodarkadhai (KJY solo, avaL appadiththAn)
Big favorite with buses (besides its appeal to radio listeners and functions in towns)

#81 poopOlE un punnagaiyil (SPB solo, kavarimAn)
SPB singing for NT - very popular song! Heard everywhere those days. I think by now I was becoming IR admirer and this was the song I myself sang in some entertainment event  (School scouts camp IIRC)

#82 AgAyam mElE bAthALam keezhE (KJY solo, nAn vAzha vaippEn)
Another Rajinikanth hit from this year (there are already many above). That it was in a NT movie was the interesting part.

#83 endhan pon vaNNamE (TMS solo, nAn vAzha vaippEn)
Probably the biggest TMS hit for IR on IOKS! The song was very popular even on other channels.

#84 nAnE nAnA yArO dhAnA (VJ solo, azhagE unnai ArAdhikkiREn)
IR-Sridhar combo's second movie and few songs were patti thotti hit, despite being sophi numbers. This was definitely one.

#85 abhishEka nEraththil (SPB solo, azhagE unnai ArAdhikkiREn)
Teakkadai / bus favorite. Not sure if AIR banned it or not

#86 Oram pO (IR solo, poNNu oorukku pudhusu)
Another song banned by AIR but could not be taken away from every street / nook / corner of TN

#87 sAmakkOzhi Ey koovudhammA (SPS-IR duet, poNNu oorukku pudhusu)
Not just a regular on radio, this was all the time heard on kOlAmbi and other speakers for functions. Of course, teakkadais / buses as well.

#88 sOlaikkuyilE kAlaikkadhirE (SPS, poNNu oorukku pudhusu)
Obviously the most favored one by radio fellows but the song made it big otherwise as well.

Interestingly, a number of the songs above weren't credited to IR those days, in my mind  It was only in the next year or so I became IR-crazy in the fullest sense.

app,
IR songs kaeta option...... cinema theatre .. idhaiyum serthu kollanam......

Bus il IR songs...... pudhu culture adhu...... periya vishayam....... IR songs.. kaetukondu.. bus il payanam..
idhu miga periya asai apodhu enaku............ ... Bus yeriya pin.. IR paatu ilai endral.. bus ai vittu yerangi viduven........

Theatre il epadi MGR and Sivaji padam matum vandhadho. adhai pol.. Cinema theatre il vaikum paatum..Sivaji and MGR songs dhan.. idhu mariyadhu. IR
vandhadhum......

Annakili vandhadhu mudhalae.. IR Mafia dhan naan...... IR paatu.. Radio vil kaekum podhae theriyum... paatukaga padam parkanam........ ipadi than feelings apodhu............

Usha wrote:Annakili vandhadhu mudhalae.. IR Mafia dhan naan...... IR paatu.. Radio vil kaekum podhae theriyum... paatukaga padam parkanam........ ipadi than feelings apodhu............

In the whole internet, ungaLaippOl oru IRF kANbadhu aridhu

1978 Part-2 Multiple Domain Hits

As before, the hits below were not just regular on radio or in a single domain (such as village functions / weddings etc) but went beyond, as there were variety of listeners who lapped them up. 

However, these didn't reach to an extent that people who typically didn't pay attention to film songs may not have "registered" them and thus cannot remember / recall

#89 engum niRaindha iyaRkaiyil enna sugamO (SJ-KJY duet, idhu eppadi irukku)
parattai's punch line was the movie title but the hero was Jaishankar IIRC. Song was a regular on radio and made into some buscasts and other places in the following years

#90 kOvil maNi Osai thannai (SJ-MV duet, kizhakkE pOgum rayil)
Song was widely popular and can almost be called a super hit but I placed it here to differentiate the bigger reach of poovarasam poo

#91 malargalE nAdhaswarangaL (SJ-MV duet with chorus, kizhakkE pOgum rayil)
One of the many sweet songs IR gave to BR to end as "Only in album not in movie". Nevertheless, reached TN/SL households effortlessly

#92 akkaraichcheemai azhaginilE (KJY solo, priyA)
Radio / bus / teakkadai + some town functions but didn't make a big noise on country side horn speakers, so got placed in part 2

#93 sreerAmanin sreedEviyE (KJY solo, priyA)
Similar to akkaraichcheemai song

#94 ennOdu pAdungaL (SPB solo, nAn vAzha vaippEn)
There's a TMS version somewhere that didn't make it to the disk (because of not meeting IR standards). This was popular on radio and beyond but not patti-thotti kind

#95 thiruththEril varum silaiyO (PS-SPB duet, nAn vAzha vaippEn)
Very popular on radio and buses.

#96 manjaL nilAvukku inRu oRE sugam (PS-PJ duet with train sound, mudhal iravu)
Reportedly a favorite of director Sridhar, popular on radio and 'pAttuppOtti' circles

#97 thenna maraththula thenRal adikkudhu (PS-IR duet, lakshmi)
First duet for singer rAsA Popular in villages and had some radio time but possibly not a biggie in cities, so part 2

#98 mELam kotta nEram varum (BSS solo, lakshmi)
Very popular on radio and village functions, heard it many times on buses too but not sure about the popularity in other domains

#99 en kalyANa vaibOgam unnOdu dhAn (VJ solo, azhagE unnai ArAdhikkiREn)
Regular on radio those days and also popular for town-side family gatherings but not a big one on kOlAmbi

#100 kuRinji malaril vazhindha rasaththai (VJ-SPB duet, azhagE unnai ArAdhikkiREn)
Very popular on radio / buses / teakkadais

#101 hEy masthAnA (Jency-PJ-VJ-SPB double duet, azhagE unnai ArAdhikkiREn)
Had to feature this song on both Jency and VJ threads of the forum and earlier in the SPB-IR thread of the hub Had a wide reach but not a kOlAmbi kind

#102 oru manjakkuruvi (IR solo, poNNu oorukku pudhusu)
Was frequently on radio (probably to compensate for the banning of Oram pO) and also heard in country side - but not a biggie like Oram pO

#103 unakkenaththAnE innEramA (Sarala-IR duet, poNNu oorukku pudhusu)
Very familiar to radio listeners and those who lived in country-side thanks to village functions and thiruvizhAs...

Even before going to part 3 of IR's 3rd year, we've already crossed 100 hit songs!

Well, we've only just begun!

app_engine wrote:1978 Part-2 Multiple Domain Hits

As before, the hits below were not just regular on radio or in a single domain (such as village functions / weddings etc) but went beyond, as there were variety of listeners who lapped them up. 

However, these didn't reach to an extent that people who typically didn't pay attention to film songs may not have "registered" them and thus cannot remember / recall

#89 engum niRaindha iyaRkaiyil enna sugamO (SJ-KJY duet, idhu eppadi irukku)
parattai's punch line was the movie title but the hero was Jaishankar IIRC. Song was a regular on radio and made into some buscasts and other places in the following years

#90 kOvil maNi Osai thannai (SJ-MV duet, kizhakkE pOgum rayil)
Song was widely popular and can almost be called a super hit but I placed it here to differentiate the bigger reach of poovarasam poo

#91 malargalE nAdhaswarangaL (SJ-MV duet with chorus, kizhakkE pOgum rayil)
One of the many sweet songs IR gave to BR to end as "Only in album not in movie". Nevertheless, reached TN/SL households effortlessly

#92 akkaraichcheemai azhaginilE (KJY solo, priyA)
Radio / bus / teakkadai + some town functions but didn't make a big noise on country side horn speakers, so got placed in part 2

#93 sreerAmanin sreedEviyE (KJY solo, priyA)
Similar to akkaraichcheemai song

#94 ennOdu pAdungaL (SPB solo, nAn vAzha vaippEn)
There's a TMS version somewhere that didn't make it to the disk (because of not meeting IR standards). This was popular on radio and beyond but not patti-thotti kind

#95 thiruththEril varum silaiyO (PS-SPB duet, nAn vAzha vaippEn)
Very popular on radio and buses.

#96 manjaL nilAvukku inRu oRE sugam (PS-PJ duet with train sound, mudhal iravu)
Reportedly a favorite of director Sridhar, popular on radio and 'pAttuppOtti' circles

#97 thenna maraththula thenRal adikkudhu (PS-IR duet, lakshmi)
First duet for singer rAsA Popular in villages and had some radio time but possibly not a biggie in cities, so part 2

#98 mELam kotta nEram varum (BSS solo, lakshmi)
Very popular on radio and village functions, heard it many times on buses too but not sure about the popularity in other domains

#99 en kalyANa vaibOgam unnOdu dhAn (VJ solo, azhagE unnai ArAdhikkiREn)
Regular on radio those days and also popular for town-side family gatherings but not a big one on kOlAmbi

#100 kuRinji malaril vazhindha rasaththai (VJ-SPB duet, azhagE unnai ArAdhikkiREn)
Very popular on radio / buses / teakkadais

#101 hEy masthAnA (Jency-PJ-VJ-SPB double duet, azhagE unnai ArAdhikkiREn)
Had to feature this song on both Jency and VJ threads of the forum and earlier in the SPB-IR thread of the hub Had a wide reach but not a kOlAmbi kind

#102 oru manjakkuruvi (IR solo, poNNu oorukku pudhusu)
Was frequently on radio (probably to compensate for the banning of Oram pO) and also heard in country side - but not a biggie like Oram pO

#103 unakkenaththAnE innEramA (Sarala-IR duet, poNNu oorukku pudhusu)
Very familiar to radio listeners and those who lived in country-side thanks to village functions and thiruvizhAs...

Even before going to part 3 of IR's 3rd year, we've already crossed 100 hit songs!

Well, we've only just begun!

Nice list.

"Thennamarathule Thendral" from Lakshmi was a huge hit in Madras.  In fact, it was on the strength of that song and its popularity that the movie became a commericial hit.

Engum Niranindha was very popular also.  (what a brilliant song...)

One request. As you keep filing superhits (A), hits (B) and moderate hits (C), kindly make an individual list of A, B and C for each yr along with your final list of all sorts of hits. Will give an idea of how many agmark super duper hits he's given. Even just this number will soar to a 1000+ by the time we're done.

Drunkenmunk wrote:As you keep filing superhits (A), hits (B) and moderate hits (C), kindly make an individual list of A, B and C for each yr along with your final list of all sorts of hits. 

Will do - just one more column on excel

I have not separated them as parts for 1976, the debut year. 

1977 and beyond are already getting covered that way - let me identify for 1976 here:

Super hits (7) : machchAna, annakkiLi SJ version, suththachchambA, kEttELE ingE, kaNNan oru, kola kolayA mundhirikkA, oru nAL unnOdu oru nAL

Hits (4) : annakkiLi TMS version, sondhamillai bandhamillai, oththa roobA onakkuththAREn, nenachchedhellAm nadakkappORa

Moderate (2) : nAn pEsa vandhEn, vAdiyammA pon magaLE

After completing 1978 part 3, we can do cumulative.

1978 Part 3 Radio or limited domain hits

#104 idhO idhO en nenjilE (BSS-SJ duet, vattaththukkuL sadhuram)
Was frequently on radio / nEyar viruppams,  but don't think it got played otherwise.

#105 mAlai iLa manadhai (Surendar / Shobha duet, avaL oru pachchaikkuzhandhai)
Never knew that it was a rAjA song those days when radio played it - people often used to comment on the singers ("amateur mellisaikkachchEri level", akkA thambi in real life, interesting to note that SAC called himself S C Sekar those days. Yes, the singers are current star actor Vijay's mom and uncle who used to sing for IR's mEdaikkachchErigaL then)

#106 Odam onRu kAtRil pOna vazhi (IR solo, thiripura sundari)
Radio only - haunting song

#107 veLLi nilAvinilE (JC solo, sonnadhu nee thAnA)
Frequently on radio and nEyar viruppams but didn't get audience otherwise

#108 panneer pushpangaLE (KH solo, avaL appadiththAn)
Read somewhere that this & ninaivO oru paRavai got recorded on the same day. These were the first couple of songs KH sang under IR. I've heard mostly on radio only those days.

#109 mEghamE thoodhAga vA (PS-SPB duet, kaNNan oru kaikkuzhandhai)
Was both on AIR & IOKS frequently, sweet number

#110 kAmAtchi meenAtchi kalyANam paNNalAmA (MV and chorus, mudhal iravu)
I've heard this probably on kOlAmbi and functions only. Possibly banned from radio. It was quite popular among school / college boys those days, for obvious reasons

#111 pandhayaththula kalandhirukkuRa (VJ solo, Lakshmi)
Frequently on village kOlambi speakers, may be radio too had it but not that often

#112 vElAyi veerAyi (SJ and chorus, Lakshmi)
Strictly village kOlambi speakers only. And was limited for that time period. However, it was heard very frequently within that span.

#113 azhagE unnai Aradhanai seigiREn (JC solo, azhagE unnai ArAdhikkiREn)
Short song but got played on radio and at times on buses (when the whole AUA album got played together). That way, limited but sure reach. This possibly encouraged the IR-Sridhar combo to later do a similar short one in NN

OK, we are done with 1978

Statistics for the 113 hits cataloged so far :

Year                  Cat A (Super Hits)         Cat B (Hits)          Cat C (Moderate Hits)    Year Total

1976                           7                                4                                     2                     13
1977                          21                               14                                   15                    50            
1978                          25                               15                                   10                    50 

Total so far                    53                                      33                                           27                       113

1979 Part 1 Super hits

By this year, all the forms of "music propagation" that we associate with the advent of IR seemed to have been  in place - except that the "recording centers" were yet to mushroom. There had been possibly a few here and there, to take care of the market coming up with those Panasonic players that were getting very popular with tea shops and middle class people. (Even during this time, they were either bought in Burma Bazar kind of places or people brought them from gulf / Singapore only. They were not available in regular radio shops but I saw them in much bigger numbers among the public). However, they were not in numbers like what they were in 80's.

Most people "recorded" the songs themselves, typically from radio broadcasts or by "sharing with friends"  I was in 10th-11th in this year and TFM started occupying a major part of life now, not just listening but discussing, even a lot of arguments in favor of IR...

Well, the super hits - 33 of them from this year - that we list here were widely popular in many of these media streams those days (AIR, IOKS, thiruvizhA kind of kOlambi stuff, village functions, town functions, tea shops, buses, personal cassette players. Vinyl players were still popular).

Not to be missed out are the "light music programs" which were very popular in this time frame. (Possibly earlier also but I got to attend so many of them during this period, especially in the "porutkAtchi - exhibitions" that got conducted in school grounds in mid & south TN during summer).

#114 thavikkudhu thayangudhu oru manadhu (SPS-JC duet, nadhiyaiththEdi vandha kadal)
Possibly the only JJ movie with IR's music and this song was heard everywhere and was a top fav with IOKS. I've personally noticed a few people "recording" this in their personal cassettes using IOKS broadcasts and replaying. Regular on buses as well.

#115 vAn mEgangaLE (SJ-MV duet, pudhiya vArppugaL)
BR's 4th silver jubilee hit movie had 3 hit songs, this was the only male-female duet. KBR's debut as hero.

#116 idhayam pOguthE (Jency solo, pudhiya vArppugaL)
Needs no intro

#117 thamthana namthana thALam varum (Jency-Vasantha duet, pudhiya vArppugaL)
There had been endless conversations reg. orch around this time (adhu veeNaiyA guittArA and such)

#118 iLamai enum poongAtRu (SPB solo, pagalil oru iravu)
This song was always on 'kAtRu' - one lost count how many times they've listened to this number those days. 100% involuntary listens only those days!

#119 thOttam koNda rAsAve (Jency-IR duet, pagalil oru iravu)
Another patti-thotti hit song from that very special IR album for I V Sasi. Big teakkadai favorite for years, this one!

#120 Ayiram malargaLE malarungaL (Jency, SPS, MV - niRam mARAdha pookkaL)
At one point of time, IOKS played this song at least once each day - for many months

#121 mudhal mudhalAga kAdhal duet (SJ-SPB duet, niRam mARAdha pookkaL)
First SPB song for a BR movie and it was on air all the time

#122 iru paRavaigaL malai muzhuvadhum (Jency with chorus, niRam mARAdha pookkaL)
Just imagine listening to such classy songs on kOlambi speakers in TN country side - lovely days those were!

#123 AhA vandhuruchchu (MV solo, kalyANa rAman)
There was none those days who did not hum this number

#124 kAdhal deepam onRu (MV solo, kalyANa rAman)
Though not to the extent of its happier twin, this too was widely popular on all sound propagation channels

#125 malargaLil Adum iLamai pudhumaiyE (SPS solo, kalyANa rAman)
Very popular everywhere. By this time, it became a habit for me to "wait" for buses with music

#126 oru thanga radhaththil (MV solo, dharma yudhdham)
patti-thotti hit with that thangachchi sentiment

#127 AgAya gangai (SJ-MV duet, dharma yudhdham)
Very popular and evergreen number, needs no intro

#128 veththala veththala veththalaiyO (MV solo, rOsAppoo ravikkaikkAri)
patti-thotti hit. Even those Sivakumar dialogs were popular  I don't remember if this was banned by AIR or not...

#129 mAmEn oru nA malligappoo koduththAn (SPS-SPB duet, rOsAppoo ravikkaikkAri)
Extremely popular on every channel those days

#130 uchchi vahindheduththu (SPB solo, rOsAppoo ravikkaikkAri)
Popular to such an extent that even an imitation (pattu vaNNa rOsAvam of kannipparuvaththilE by S-G) became very popular later on

#131 chinnappuRA onRu (SPB with chorus, anbE sangeethA)
Proved the power of IR's music that it no longer matters who acts on screen - the song was heard everywhere

#132 nadhiyOram (PS-SPB duet, annai Or Alayam)
By this time, I've started getting intro of new songs by buses playing them (rather than IOKS that plays songs before the release of the movie - AIR never did that those days, except in viLambaradhArar nigazhchchi in vividh bhArathi). I've heard all the songs of annai Or Alayam for the first time on a bus!

#133 appanE appanE (PS-SPB duet, annai Or Alayam)
Extremely popular song, more popular than nadhiyOram

#134 ammA nee sumandha piLLai (TMS solo, annai Or Alayam)
Though I didn't like this song, I need to admit that this was perhaps the most popular song of that album

#135 engengO sellum en eNNangaL (SJ-SPB duet, pattAkkaththi bhairavan)
I used to get irritated that such a sophisticated / classy song associated with a crude movie title

#136 dEvadhai oru dEvadhai (SJ-SPB duet, pattAkkaththi bhairavan)
Ditto as the number above

#137 azhagiya kaNNE (SJ solo, udhirippookkaL)
Should I even write about this song?

#138 kaNmaNiyE kAdhal enbadhu (SJ-SPB duet, 6-il irundhu 60 varai)
Popular to this day

#139 meenkodiththEril (KJY solo, karumbu vil)
Extremely popular song from such an obscure movie

#140 meenkodiththEril (Jency solo, karumbu vil)
Equally popular everywhere, like its male counterpart

#141 nEramidhu nEramidhu (PS-TMS solo, rishi moolam)
Nice song but the popularity could be also due to NT factor

#142 aimbadhilum Asai varum (TMS solo, rishi moolam)
This song's case is different, people used to enjoy the "sounds" by IR more. (I've heard any number of people talk about the ending sound of first interlude and also the thookkal bass guitar)

#143 Aththu mEttula (SJ-MV duet, grAmaththu aththiyAyam)
patti-thotti hit that was very popular on radio also

#144 vAdAdha rOsAppoo (SPB solo, grAmaththu aththiyAyam)
Another hit song from the same album, despite the big sOgam it creates....frequently on radio, buses, teakkadais)

#145 iLangiLiyE innum viLangaliyE (SJ-SPB duet, sankarlal)
Whatever circumstances that led to this movie having IR-GA name as MDs has to be probed (as IR seems to have done only this song and nothing more).

#146 Anandha thEn kAtRu thAlAttudhE (SPS-MV duet, maNippoor mAmiyAr)
Classic example that even the movie need not get released for an IR song to become a super patti-thotti hit by now!
Of course, regular broadcast by IOKS introduced this song to south TN but then people loved it so much that it made into all other forms of propagation (except AIR). Interestingly, that included even village kOlAmbi speakers, as the sound-set fellows happily bought that disk!

Kaadhal vandhiruchi song was an instant hit.  Whole TN went mad over this song.  Iremember, Ananda Vikaten in its weekly edition, came out with a full page cartoon - "An old man running after an old lady singing Kaadhal vandhiruchi...."

App

   Good work. I will wait for your list to grow before I say anything, as you have covered only 3 years.

  One observation - Pagalil Oru Iravu - I used to like the song 'Ponnaram Poovaram' by SP Balu. Though this may not be a super hit, this is one of the earliest of Raja songs that gave away his 'tabla/bass guitar' signature that I can recognize till today. Though  the recording was mono, you can clearly tell. Just wanted to record my early Raja observations - this guy sounds so different from MSV! (though I used to dismiss him as another wannabe MD)

ravinat wrote:App

   Good work. I will wait for your list to grow before I say anything, as you have covered only 3 years.

  One observation - Pagalil Oru Iravu - I used to like the song 'Ponnaram Poovaram' by SP Balu. Though this may not be a super hit, this is one of the earliest of Raja songs that gave away his 'tabla/bass guitar' signature that I can recognize till today. Though  the recording was mono, you can clearly tell. Just wanted to record my early Raja observations - this guy sounds so different from MSV! (though I used to dismiss him as another wannabe MD)

 nanRi ravinat sir!

ponnAram poovAram is my all-time-fav and it is coming up in part 2 of this year.

When this album started playing on radio those days, I was thrilled with the thookkal bass sound (especially the 'thAmtha dheemtha' song)! 

Actually all the albums that IR did in that time period for I V Sasi (this one, guru, kALi) had "boosted bass guitar sound" in my perception, that could be heard sitting "in front of" the valve radio we had then. 
(It was typically feeble in other albums when heard on radio - I had to often go "behind the radio" to hear my favorite bass guitar sounds  )

app,

 mazhai varuvadhu mayiluku theriyum paatai sonnengala.. radio hit dhan idhudvum.....

oodha kathu veesaiyile kuyilu kuvaiyile.. indha paatum radio hit dhan......... guitar sound.. village song. romba rasichu kaetu iruken..........