Lata Mangeshkar, R. D. Burman

Any account of Indian playback music must start with Lata Mangeshkar. Among numerous other important playback singers ("playback" meaning she pre-recorded the songs to which the films' leading ladies lip-synced), Lata Mangeshkar stands out because of her supreme stature and merits detailed attention. Born September 28, 1929 in Indore, India, Lata was active in all walks of Indian popular and light classical music, singing ghazals, bhajans, and pop music. She was the supreme voice of popular Indian music, and an Indian institution. Her importance rests not only with her prodigi...