Talat Mahmood the eminent gazal & Bollywood singer was born on February 24th, 1924, in Lucknow, India. He started his career in 1939 on All India Radio as a gazal singer at the tender age of 16 years. The individuality of his voice blended with the serene, melancholic, soulful, ultra-soft, romantic, majestic, hypnotic, poetic versatile tone of the music.
The first recorder song he recorded for HMV was “Sab din ek samaan nahin tha. Ban jaoonga kya se kya main, iska to kuch dhyan nahin tha.” He later moved to Calcutta. He sang classical songs in films Shikast, Chaandi Ki Deewar, and “Tasveer teri dil mere behela na sake.
Ae Dil Mujhe Aisi Jagha Le Chal Jahan Koi Na Ho was one of his biggest hits as a singer for the Hindi film industry. Anil Biswas composed it for the film Arzoo in 1950. He sang over 800 songs for the Hindi film industry over four decades. He recorded about 200 non-film songs.
In discovering Talat Mahmood, the music directors found the perfect voice for ghazals. His diction, intonation, expressive style, and emotional nuance set him apart from the other ghazal singers. This was a voice that was completely new, it was a voice that was fresh! He was unanimously hailed as “The King Of Ghazals”, consolidating this title over time.
Mahamood’s over four-decade-long career ran parallel with legends like Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi and Manna Dey, who knew how to interpret semi-classical songs. Padma Bhushan has also taken on acting, with some success.
The god-gifted voice-owned singer never looks back during his career span. Talat Mahmood performed at the world-famous Royal Albert Hall, London, the venue was full weeks before the D-day. He was the second playback singer after Lata Mangeshkar who performed at this historical venue. The concert was a grand success.
