Jency the forgotten singer of 70s

[S.Balaji]

Dear All,

Sharing with you about Jency which I took it from one of the professional hubbers :


In an arena where mere survival demands a Herculean effort, to shrug off a promising career nonchalantly, and to forgo a future of fame and fortune without even a tinge of regret is simply unimaginable. Jency did just that. She bid a cheerful adieu to tfm and settled to a contended life of marital bliss, raising two children over the years, while working as a music teacher in a small Government school in an obscure Kerala hamlet.

In a career that lasted a mere 4-5 years, the number of chart-toppers that Jency sang is something remarkable. Even while retaining S.Janaki as his mainstay, IR was experimenting with various young singers in those years- Sasirekha, Shailaja, Sujatha and Uma Ramanan, to name a few. Jency was among his pet protégés. And like a wishful windfall, many of IR’s exquisite compositions came her way.

A brief look at Jency’s songs:

1978:

1. vaanathu poongkiLi- thiripurasundari-with SJ- IR
2. adipeNNE- muLLum malarum- IR
3. alankara ponoonjalE - sonnathu nee thaana-with MV- IR (only humming by Jency)
4. en uyir nee thaanE- priya-with KJY- IR
5. aada chonnarE- vattathukkuL sathuram- IR

1979:

6. thamthana namthana- pudhiya vaarppugaL-with B Vasantha- IR
7. idhayam pOguthE- pudhiya vaarppugaL- IR
8. thOttam koNda rasavE- pagalil Or iravu-with IR- IR
9. mayilE mayilE- kadavuL amaitha mEdai-with SPB-IR
10. geetha sangeetha- anbE sangeetha-with JC- IR
11. iru paRavaigaL - niRam maaRaatha pookaL- IR
12. aayiram malargaLE- niRam maaRatha pookaL-with MV& SPS- IR
13. gnyaan gnyaan paadanam- poonthaLir- IR
14. hey masthana- azhagE unnai aaradhikkiREn-with SPB,VJ,JC- IR
15. akka oru rajaathi- mugathil mugam paarkalaam-with JC- IR

1980:

16. meen kodi thEril- karumbuvil- IR
17. deiveega raagam- ullasa paRavaigaL- IR
18. theertha karaithanilE- thaippongal- IR
19. en vaanilE - johny- IR
20. naan unnai thirumba thirumba- ellaam un kairasi-IR
21. kaathaadu aasai koothaaduthu- karadi-with MC Balu- GA?

1981:

22. vaadi en kappakkizhangE- alaigaL Oivathillai-with GA,IR- IR
23. kaadhal Oviyam- alaigaL Oivathillai - with IR- IR
24. poo malarndhida -tik tik tik- with KJY- IR
25. paniyum naanE malarum neeyE - panimalar- with SPB- SG

1982:

26. en gaanam indRu arangERum- eera vizhi kaaviyangaL-with IR- IR
27. kalyaNam ennai mudikka - metti-with Rajesh,Radhika- IR
28. poothu nikkuthu kaadu- echchil iravugaL- with MV- IR
29. aaththOram kaathaada - engEyO kEtta kural- IR

There is a song 'poochoodi pottum vechu' from the unreleased film ponni, MD-GA.

Much has been said about Jency’s voice, and some more, about her pronunciation. But it is an undisputable fact that many of her songs were (or for that matter, still are) oft-listened favourites. And it is a fact too that she was immensely popular in her time. I remember the days when her songs were aired on listeners’ requests repeatedly. And many of thamizh chEvai iRaNdu listeners used to enquire eagerly about Jency, the person behind the voice. But Jency preferred to remain an elusive enigma, shying from publicity. I saw a picture of hers for the first time a year back in a magazine interview, where she spoke about her career, expressing her gratitude to IR.

And for me, Jency will always remain an integral part of cherished remembrances …my earliest memories of radio and becoming smitten with tfm are inter-linked with reminiscences of Jency, among others. Those were the days when Jency was riding an incredible high and her hits were hard to miss.