The “Golden Era” of Hindi music, to me, is the period roughly between mid-50s to mid-60s. This was the era when melody was king. While 40s and early 50s gave us many memorable songs, these songs were slow and had few accompanying musical instruments. You could think of songs from this period as the songs sung by artist sitting down to sing. In the 60s, the songs picked up tempo. The composers started experimenting with a blend of semi-classical and western melodies. The reason I consider this to be a golden era is because this is when some of the best artists came together. Never before nor since have so many great names in the music industry were active at the same time. Singers, such as Rafi, Lata and Mukesh reached their zenith in this era.
Here is my tribute to this ear. I have selected my favorite songs from this era in no particular order. Enjoy!
First two songs:
1: Aa Gale Lag Ja Mere Sapne
Film: April Fool (1964)
Music Director: Shankar Jaikishan
Artist: Mohd. Rafi
Lyricist: Shailendra
Duration: 03:47
Bitrate: 128 kbps
2.Meri Zindagi Tere Pyar Me Hum Kahan Kahan Gujar Gaye
Film: Jee Chahta Hai (1964)
Music Director: Kalyanji Anandji
Artist: Suman Kalyanpur,Mohd. Rafi
Duration: 03:25
Bitrate: 128 kbps