The Masters: Van Shipley

When I first began this series a year and a half ago (with Hrishikesh Mukherjee) I wrote: "...this series is an attempt to throw some light on the men and women behind the screen."  I began with a director and a music director, and went on to two lyricists. These are people who are still known to some extent because when you hear a song over the radio, they do announce the music director's and lyricist's name. When you see a film, you do know who the director is. It is very rarely that you know about the individual musicians who form the orchestra for film-music;  the subject of this post, however, is a man who was very well-known by his generation for his virtuosity with the Hawaiian guitar, the electric guitar, and the violin. But Internet searches had thrown up very little information about the man, or his music.

30.08.1927 - 08.03.2008

My introduction to Mr Van Shipley was the result of a very funny incident. I must confess that I had no idea who Mr Van Shipley was, until after I was married. My brother-in-law's best friend was getting married, and I had been introduced to his fiancée by her nickname. My father, who had accompanied me to Bombay for the wedding reception there, was a bit taken aback - what sort of a name was that? So my brother-in-law explained that her real name was Audrey Van Shipley. He also threw in, quite off-handedly, that Audrey's father was 'some sort of a musician; he used to play in Hindi films.' 

It was like someone had lit a stick of dynamite under my father. "Van Shipley?", he almost stuttered. "You mean, the man who played the guitar for Raj Kapoor? He is your friend's father? Do you think you could take me to meet him?" I had never seen my father so excited. He was like a child in a toyshop. So, my brother-in-law reluctantly herded us all to Audrey's house; Mr Van Shipley was recovering from a stroke at the time, but he and auntie were warm and welcoming to someone who was such a fan and had come exclusively to meet him. My father, having met someone he had long admired, was beyond happy. He lectured me all the way home on just why Van Shipley was such a great musician.

About six months ago, Dustedoff wrote a tribute to her uncle, and I remarked that it was such an important task that she had undertaken - to add to our knowledge of who her uncle was, and the music that he was associated with. In reply, she encouraged me to write about Van Shipley. It was just the impetus I needed to write to Van Shipley's eldest daughter, Ingrid Van Shipley, introduce myself, and ask her if she would help me with the task I had set myself.  

 

It was more than a pleasant surprise when Ingrid responded, telling me that she had been following my blog for more than a year, and would be more than happy to let me have her father's scrapbook and any other information she had on him. (Thank you, Dustedoff.)

So, today, on Mr Van Shipley's 5th death anniversary, my humble tribute to a great musician and a wonderful human being.

Van Shipley was born Valentine Van Shipley in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Born to parents who were music lovers themselves (his mother was a wonderful sitarist, and a student of Ustad Yusuf Ali Khan), young Van Shipley learnt to play the tabla, the violin and the guitar. His first violin lessons were from Gagan Chatterjee, an Allahabad-based violinist. Ustad Vilayat Khan was his schoolmate and friend, and even at that age, Van Shipley gave sangat on the violin to both Ustad Bande Hasan Khan and his son Ustad Zinde Hasan Khan, from whom he would further his knowledge of the violin. He became friends with sitar maestro Ravi Shankar in Lucknow in 1941, a friendship that was to last until his death. 

It was while studying at Aligarh University that Talat Mahmood, a classmate, invited him to join All India Radio, Lucknow. While there, he took lessons from Ustad Allaudin Khan on the violin and also from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. 

With Meena Kapoor, Geeta Roy (Dutt) and Talat Mahmood

Van Shipley's film career took off with Chand, where he assisted music directors Husnlal-Bhagatram. While in Pune, he shared quarters with Dev Anand and Guru Dutt, and formed a close friendship with Rehman and Sapru. When Prabhat films split into two, he joined producer Baburao Pai in Bombay. His earliest films were Nargis (1946), Anmol Ghadi (1946) and Mera Suhag (1947). He was soon working with music directors like Khemchand Prakash, C Ramchandra, Anil Biswas and Ghulam Haider.

Soon, Van Shipley began making waves as a soloist, and was in great demand. The melodious strains of his guitar can be heard in SD Burman's composition for Geeta Dutt in Do Bhai.

Here, he switches instruments and his violin can be heard in this famous song from Pehli Nazar (1948). 

Recorded under Anil Biswas' baton, this was one of Mukesh' earliest successes.

Performing at a show held at St Xavier's College, Bombay, he impressed Raj Kapoor, who had just released his film Aag the year before. Raj Kapoor was ready to film his second film Barsaat (1949), where his character played the violin. 

Van Shipley did the violin playback for the entire film. The hugely successful film skyrocketed not only the careers of Lata Mangeshkar and Shankar Jaikishen, but also ensured that Van Shipley became a name to be reckoned with. 

With Raj Kapoor (07.01.1951)

He became an integral part of Raj Kapoor's team of musicians. In 1952's Awara, he added his electric guitar to the famous dream sequence. This one song is enough to forever enshrine his name in the pantheon of the greats.

Van Shipley had designed his own electric guitar in the 1940s. It was an unique eight-string guitar that was designed to give him the drone sound that was common to Indian classical music. He is considered the first electric guitarist in India, and was the first to record instrumental versions of film songs, beginning some time in the early 50s when the success of Barsaat brought him to the notice of recording company, HMV. Here is one of his instrumental pieces, the immortal Zindagi kaisi hai paheli haaye.

1953 saw him play the guitar in Raj Kapoor's Aah. Listen to Ye shaam ki tanhaaiyaan - Van Shipley's begins a guitar interlude at mark 1.04. Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai (1962), the only film that Shankar-Jaikishen did for Nasir Hussain, would see Van Shipley play the guitar from the time the credits roll - the instrumental version of Jiya ho, jiya ho jiya kuch bol do. He was a prolific musician and worked in more than 1500 films, and was one of the few individual musicians who was mentioned in film credits.

Van Shipley also designed an electric violin, which he called the Gypsy Violin and which he used on almost all his later records. His first independent record was released in 1962. It was named The Man with the Golden Guitar, a description that would stick to him for the rest of his career. (From then on, he would release an album every year until 1982.)

It was in 1955 that he teamed up with Enoch Daniels, the accordion player whom he met while at Prabhat Studios, Pune. It was a partnership that would last many, many years. In 1956, along with Talat Mahmood and CH Atma, Van Shipley and Enoch Daniels would tour British East Africa - they pioneered live stage shows by Indian performers.

With Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, Prime Minister of Mauritus, 

Talat Mahmood and Enoch Daniel on their tour of Mauritius

Van Shipley had first gone on a six-month tour of South America, the Hawaiian Islands, and South Africa in 1947, to study the music of those countries. He would continue to tour the world on live shows, prompting his other nickname, 'The Restless Globetrotter'. He performed for heads of state, including names like Jawaharlal Nehru, Zhou En-Lai, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Alexei Kosygin, the Aga Khan, Mrs Indira Gandhi and VV Giri amongst others.

Clockwise from top: Van Shipley with 1) Sheikh Abdullah 2) Rashedean of Iran 

 3) President Zakir Hussain 4) Chandulal Shah and ARKadar  

5) Prime Minister Morarji Desai 6) Princess Niloufer of Iran 

7) Prime Minister of Afghanistan

Van Shipley spoke impeccable Urdu, and had his own calligraphy set so he could write the language. He was also a fine painter, and a keen photographer. According to Ingrid, every time her father was home, he would pull out his camera, and make them pose. Friends and family are in possession of his paintings, which he gave away almost as soon as he painted them.

A landscape by Van Shipley. (Any loss of clarity is a result of 

this being a reproduction of a reproduction.)

A little known fact about Van Shipley is that he also acted in a few films, beginning with guest appearances in Fareb (1953), Dharampatni and Carnival Queen (1955). He aos composed the background music of for Fareb (1953) You can see him in the background of this dance number from Cha Cha Cha  (1964).

Van Shipley also acted as the hero in a couple of movies, which, according to his own notes, did not prove to be successful. But his musical legacy lives on, and even today, music aficionados from all over the world, trawl the 'Net for his music. 

This post is just the tip of the iceberg. Van Shipley's scrapbook, which Ingrid trusted me with, is a treasure trove of newspaper clippings and photographs, with uncle's notes scribbled all around the edges. (Thank you, Ingrid!) I hope to be able to do something more with them than just this post, but it will take time. In the meantime, this post is a personal, and heartfelt tribute to the gracious and gentle man who made absolute strangers welcome in his home. 

May his soul rest in peace.