Derek - I'm actually fairly familiar with some of these songs (one of them is on one of my favorite Indian films, "Sangam".) I've got a couple lps of the film soundtracks listed, "Awaara", "Barsaat", and have seen some of the other films.

It's interesting to note that a chunk of the films that he worked on were by one director, Raj Kapoor, so the songs might have produced by a common music director. You might want to check out some of the films too, in Shree 420 (420 does not have the connotations there that is does here, it's vaguely slang for "thief"), Raj Kapoor plays a Chaplin-esque tramp, with very overt socialist overtones. "Mera Naam Joker" is Kapoor's quasi-autobiographical film, and "Sangam" is a melodrama on par with Sirk. The new DVDs of them look good too.

Hell yeah, I'm intrigued.

Cool music site, too. I see they have some of the Kadri Gopalnath (Carnatic saxophone) material available. Oodles of filmi tracks too...

Thanks for the info & recs, Nirav. Are those dvd editions available in region-free or region 1 formats? I’ll have to do some digging. Haven’t had enough time with the Shipley samples to discern whether his electric violin is featured, but looking forward to finding out. The Stuff Smith of Bollywood?

Joe, is Gopalnath the guy you were the singing the praises of several years ago? Please tell us more about him.

Rates for custom made cds from Hamara are very reasonable. It’s $10 for the first 60min disc plus $10 shipping direct from India ($3 discount off that for a limited time) & $2 S&H per additional disc.

Derek -- yes, I think I once called Gopalnath "the Ornette Coleman or Carnatic music" or something like that. Highly vocalized tone on alto sax. His duo recording with James Newton on the Water Lily Acoustics label -- SOUTHERN BROTHERS -- is a real gem.

There is additional information about him at this site:

http://www.unl.edu/raag/kadri/kadri1.html

Derek, are we sure that's not really a picture of Conrad Birdie? ;>}

Could be Walt, though I think he’s got an edge on Dick Gautier in the looks department. At first glance I thought it was a vintage shot of Liberace’s half-Indian cousin Otto “Peas” Paratha.

Not Gauthier, Jesse Pearson!

http://galen-frysinger.com/images/bye_bye_birdie.jpg

Here's another pic of Shipley/Pearson.

http://www.blacktable.com/images/0306pics/jessepearson3.jpg

(Oh, and I meant to type "Gautier")

The semblance is definitely there w/ Pearson (dig the dueling pompadours), but I think its even more striking with Gautier: http://www.tvtome.com/images/people/13/6/8-18874.gif

Of possible further interest:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/771448.cms

I'm also very found of "Kalaimamani" Kadri Golpanath. I own several records of him.
My favorite so far is "Gem Tones - saxophone supreme, south indian style" on GlobeStyle Recording (recorded between 1997 & 1998 and publish in 2000).
The only problem with much of his CD (this one included even if it's not by far the worst), is the sound quality.
They are badly recorded because the sound engineers don't know, as it seems, how to record the saxophone properly and make a good balance with the rest of the instruments. Too bad, because the music is outstanding.

hi derek, it was very interesting and entertaining to read your article about my father!!! and the subsequent replies. thank you for that. my father(and, yes that's him alright in the pic) made several albums for HMV -now called Saregama who never ever released them on cds even tho' there's always been a tremendous interest for them all around the world. i should know as i meet with people of indian descent who inevitably ask me if i was related to the guitarist, once i introduce myself. as soon as i discovered the comps on hamara cd.com i ordered them right away and as they were for export only, i ordered several as all the titles fell into 2 cds. naturally the first set i sent back to my parents in bombay (coals to newcastle, eh?) and the others for myself and my siblings. well, i could go on and on about my father and his music and his custom designed steel guitars and electric violin but it would take a lo-ong time so i'll end here and if you wish to know more (and i do have some great pics from the past) you can reach me by email. thanx for making my day!- ingrid.

Re: A post by derek on July 8, 2004 04:30 AM

Is there any way to contact your friend Ted who has the Van Shipley 78 rpm?

Those records are priceless. The 36 tracks on Hamara came in much later, possibly in 1973.

The 78s are from the 40s and 50s.

Any info will be appreciated.

Jay Koshal

If anyone has Van Sipley 78 rpms, please contact me
at koshal@pgrahams.com
Jay Koshal

Hi Ingrid, just stumbled across your post here & realize regrettably that you’re probably long gone. Many thanks for dropping by & sharing those words about your father.

Jay, just sent you an email with Ted’s coordinates.

Are the van shipley albums(Saregame) still available at HMV? Please let me know.
Thanks

I want to know more about Van Shipley.I want to learn guitar from him.

Please let me know if someone could help.

F.J., your best bet is probably contacting Ingrid above (her e-mail is accessible by clicking on her name at the bottom of the post), good luck.

does anyone know about Van Shipley s' whereabouts.
Where is he staying now.Any contact number.

regards
laha

Please somebody help me contact Van Shipley in Mumbai.
I am a slide guitar enthusiast.
I want to meet Van Shipley.

regards
laha
9322843874

Hope you will be able to help me; I met Van many years ago in Trinidad when he came to play in some concerts; I have not seen him since then; but he will remember "one Daniels and two Shipley make One Landi Duggal" would appreciate an e-mail for him, Enoch Daniels and/or Arun Adhikari.

Best wishes and thanks, Imzan.

I have what I believe to be a number of Van Shipley tracks recorded first from Vinyl onto Cassette and then from cassette into MP3 format - I can email some samples if anyone is still looking for it and you can tell me if it is indeed Shipley's music :-)

Does anyone know the title of an audio tape by Van Shipley that was around in the early 70s ?
It had a mixture of instrumental and songs. It MAY have had a pic of of van shipley on te front and the background COULD have been yellow! ( Memory not what it use to be! ) I " lost " my copy along theway
Thanks

HI ,
MY NAME IS VALENTINE SHIPLEY AND I AM VAN SHIPLEY,S NEPHEW.HE IS MY DAD VERUS SHIPLEY ELDER BROTHER AND I AM PART OF THE INDIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY FOR LAST 20 YEARS. I HAVE 4 GUITAR INSTRUMENTAL ALBUMS ON TIMES MUSIC AND A SOLO DEBUT ALBUM CALLED 'THE WANDERING MYSTIC' .I AM A SINGER /SONG WRITER/COMPOSER/SOCIAL ACTIVIST AND ABOVE ALL HIS BIGGEST FAN AND ALSO A LITTLE TRIVIA FR ALL OF YOU.HIS NAME WAS ALSO VALENTINE SHIPLEY AND HE GAVE HIS NAME TO ME AT BIRTH.I HAVE SOME OF HIS RECORDS AND 78'S.WILL POT MY COMPLETE PROFILE SO DO GET IN TOUCH WITH ME.I AM INGRIDS YOUNGER COUSIN BROTHER.
PEACE
VAL

HI,Here is my Profile.

VALENTINE SHIPLEY

The Musical Journey

Born into a family very rich musical heritage Valentine got initiated into music at a very tender age of four years when he gave his first live concert in Lucknow. Valentine is the nephew of the famous Van Shipley popularly known as “Man with the Golden Guitar and magical Gypsy Violin”, who is one of the pioneers of instrumental music in India. He draws his inspiration from varied musical traditions and his work reflects influences of greats such as Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Page, Van Halen, Ritchie Blackmore, J.J. Cale, Larry Carlton, B.B.King and R.D. Burman.

As a teenager at St. Xaviers School in Delhi, he was part of the famous Glee Club at the school headed by the most prolific music composer / director - Param Vir. He has sung for various musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar, Oliver, Mikado, Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita etc. At college Valentine played with various rock bands winning most of the prestigious competitions like IIT (Delhi / Kanpur), BITS Pilani’s Culfest etc.

He got a Tear Fund Scholarship on the recommendation of Sir. Cliff Richard to study Music, Communication and Radio Broadcasting at Cambridge University, U.K. While in London Val worked with the BBC and also got initiated in the Asian Underground Music Scene. He has traveled all across Europe and played with various Pop, Rock, Ethnic, Folk and Jazz outfits.

On his return to India, Val worked with the likes of Mr. Louis Banks and Astaad Deboo and with Grammy Award winner Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and also played with India’s No.1 Rock Band - Parikrama. He has played a lot of live concerts across India and abroad including duo performances with Roshan Abbas of the Mastercard Family Fortunes, Public Demand and Breakfast with Zee fame. He has composed, produced, directed and recorded music for the first highly successful original Indian musical “Graffiti” – Postcards from School directed and produced by Roshan Abbas and choreographed by Shiamak Davar.

Val is also the founder member of the now famous “Friends of Music”. The only music club of its kind in this country to provide a platform to young artists for the promotion of original music and bringing together performers from various genre of music on a common platform.

.

Val has also composed music and background scores for numerous radio and television productions in the form of jingles and title tracks for Mobilink, Coke, Nescafe, Mescos, Dabur, Amazer Tyres,Gillette etc. He has played live concerts as a solo artist and with his band for Cosmopolitan, India Today , BBC (live) in Birmingham and Sunrise Radio London. He has also scored music for various documentaries too.
Apart from his fire brand stage presence and his style of guitar playing, Val is a major player in the Northern Indian music recording industry.

Val released his debut Instrumental album called “SHARARAT” on Times Music featuring hit songs form classic Hindi Movies played for the first time on Acoustic, Nylon and Slide Guitar. It is the No. 1 selling Album in India in the Instrumental Category. It has some amazing fluid Guitar playing in Val’s inimitable style and his interpretation of these classics evergreen tunes from Bollywood. SHARARAT 2 in the same series has just been released in 2006.

Val also released his instrumental album called ‘Memorable Ghazals of Jagjit Singh by Valentine Shipley’ on Times Music label. He has played all the hit classics of Jagjit Singh on Guitar. It is the first album of this kind in the world and has been really appreciated globally by various audiences and also by Mr. Jagjit Singh himself.

Val’s debut singing album ‘The Wandering Mystic’ released in 2005 on Times Music.
It features his fluid, bluesy style of guitar playing and open singing featuring folk songs from Himachal, Saint Sufi Poet Kabir and couple of Latin music influenced Guitar instrumentals….. The album clearly reflects his love and passion for music specially Guitar…

Val has also played and toured with India’s leading band “Silk Route” winner of 3 Channel [V] awards. He is also presenting live music on Subah Savere the breakfast show on DD1 while being the in-house music director for Riverbank Studios headed by Mr. Mike Pandey – winner of the Green Oscar for his wildlife film “The Last Migration”. Val also co-anchored “Cool Talk Café” on DD News a DD International.

Val also teaches students music at his Academy called Valentine Shipley Academy of Music & Performing Arts in New Delhi and is also started a successful Music Academy in Nagpur @ Bishop Cotton School teaching Guitar/Drums/Keyboards/Vocals etc...

Val is proficient in playing various instruments like 6 and 12 string Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards, Mandolin, Drums, Slide Guitar, Bass Guitar, Tabla, Piano, Electric Lead Guitar and Banjo, apart from having a very expressive and powerful stage and vocal presence and his inimitable style of Guitar playing.

Val is also the first Indian to be premiered on the Internet on the Eve of India’s 50th years of Independence. His style of music ranges from Rock & Roll, Jazz, Funk, Blues, and Live remixes Jazz-Rock and contemporary Indian music. What sets him apart from other musicians in his ability to connect with audience and his showmanship. This ability enables him to provide a sense of familiarity to the audiences while providing the crowd
with an entertaining experience. The musicians in Val’s band are all top of the line studio and stage folks with loads of experience

Val is also associated with various Charities,NGO’s and Foundations to work for issues he deeply feels about like Environment, AIDS awareness, Social Responsibility, Autism besides being a very avid Photographer

For Concerts, Recording & Information:

Add: 260, Tagore Park,
Model Town,
New Delhi- 110009.
India.
Tel: 011 2713 4370
Mob: +91 98912 69389
E Mail: valshipley@rediffmail.com
valentineshipley@yahoo.com

dear sir,
p/l forward me list of lp and ep of van shipley.
arun kumar

Sorry, Arun, can't help you. But maybe Val can at the contact info above.

This is one of those resurrection threads that seems to resurface every couple of months, and I love it for precisely that reason. Phil’s Death Metal one is another, though posters here seem a far less surly lot than those over there.

just to drag this thread into 2007... thought i'd let you know i recently posted 2 tracks from a van shipley trio 78 i have on my blog. so take a listen - http://inbetweennoise.blogspot.com

Hi everyone..

i m sumit grover. i know val from last two years.i did the programming parts in his album "shararat 2" n "shararat 3". n believe me guys he is a great man. very artistic n vivd.it ws really fun wrking with him day n night. i still remember wen he used to record his guitar parts in jst one take.

god bless u !! keep rocking

Sumit!!

sumitgrover_in@yahoo.com

BHORE SOHAANI CHANCHAL BAALK LARKAEEN DIKHLAEY-------THIS WAS OUR THEME --SIXTY-FIVE YEAR HAVE PASSED SINCE. WHATEVER I WILL SAY NOW TO JOG YOUR MEMORY IT WILL BE ATLEAST THIRTY YEARS OLD. MY GOD. WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT THAT I AM STILL ALIVE. THANK GOD FOR THAT. MY WIFE KISHWAR --IF YOU REMEMBER HER. SHE REMEMBERS YOU TOO. AND ,YEARS BACK YOU CAME TO CANADA WITH TALAT MAHMOOD, MY DAUGHTER NAVED TELLS ME ABOUT THE PERFORMACE IN TORONTO. SHE WENT IN TO SEE YOU IN THE GREEN ROOM. YOU TOUCHED HER HEAD IN PIYAR WHEN SHE SAID SHE WAS MY DAUGHTER. I ALSO HAD A BRIEF WOULD-BE CONTACT WITH YOU BY SENDING YOU A LETTER FROM SAUDI----I WAS THERE FOR A FEW YEARS----------VAN I WISH YOU BEST OF HEALTH. I REMEMBER YOR=UR MOTHER VERY WELL. SHE WAS VERY KIND TO ME. YOUR MAMOON WAS THERE TOO AMD MANY OTHERS. I DO NOT EXPECT ANYONE WOULD REMEMBER ME

I love his music and I'd like to have a complete collection of all his records.

i'm a big fan of Van Shipley. I'm curious to know more about his family as i too am from lucknow.

hi derek, do you know what you've started! thanx to your article a few years ago, there's been a tremendous resurgence for my father's (Van Shipley)records. in fact, i've started collecting them myself. so for all the wonderful fans out there, if you are willing to share Van Shipley's music please feel free to contact me. i'm also looking for private concert tapes audio and video and photos from wherever. keep the faith - vinyl is not dead! regards- ingrid.

Can the person who has some Van Shipley music in any form please contact me. I had an LP which disappeared many years ago. I love his music. Over the years, I tried to replace it...but with no success. Please help.

as a old freind of yours i still remember when i first wrote you a letter in 1955 requesting

hawaian guitar notes and you had sent me within few days from that learnt how to play and i still remember when i first met you in bombay at talat mehmoods house with nandi duggal ,nest day i came to your home at palli hill bandra where i met your lovely wife and children you played me tu pyar ka nagma hai tune on your violin backed by one of your sons on rythym guitar i think glen i olso remember you came to see me off at bombay airport
regards to every one keep in touch NITIN

I have all the LP recrds of Van Shipley
I want to sell them

I am extremely sorry to inform all of Mr.Van Shipleys fans, followers and admirers that The Man With the Golden Guitar expired on the morning of the 8th of March 2008 in his home. He expired tdue to a cardiac arrest but did not suffer. For more details please feel free to mail me on shlokee@hotmail.com. With the highest regards and respect for the great legend we bid him farewell. He will be missed but never forgotten.

Sad, sad news & likely the death knell for one of my favorite rejuvenating Bags threads. Here's to Shipley and all the musical goodness he left behind.

hi derek, thank you for your comments regarding my father. my family and i appreciate the sentiments. my father has passed on but he won't be forgotten. i have to thank all his fans for keeping his music alive.
regards,
ingrid
7182961281
email:creativiti45@hotmail.com