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A singer renowned for his sweet, almost otherworldly timbre, Mukesh is one of the greats of the classic Bollywood period. Early work with the composer Naushad on the soundtracks to Mela (1948) and Andaaz (1949) and with Shankar Jaikishan on the unforgettable Barsaat helped launch his career. He quickly established himself as the voice of actor Raj Kapoor, a fruitful partnership that ran from the late-1940s until the '70s. He was known for years as the "tragedy king" because of his deeply emotive vocal work on sad songs. An ill-advised bid for acting roles in the mid-'50s led to a decline in his fortunes, but Mukesh rebounded later in the decade, returning to singing and remaining in the spotlight until his 1976 death in Detroit.

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The king of ghazal collects his favorite classic film songs and gives them the tranquil treatment. Favoring smooth string-heavy arrangements, Singh brings his powerful sense of calm to bear on songs originally sung by Mukesh, Geeta Dutt, Talat Mahmoud and others. As gentle as spring rain on a 1950s movie set.

This 1976 film broke Amitabh Bachchan out of his bad-boy image, casting him as a sensitive young poet. The movie was a breakaway hit, and Khayyam's soundtrack is a gentle masterpiece featuring Lata, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar. Lata's at her best on the relaxed title track; other great tracks include the lullaby "Mere Gar Aayi Ek" and "Main Pal Do Pal Ka."

Nargis's last film under Raj Kapoor's direction, this 1955 classic was a great tale of temptation, seduction and redemption in the big city. Shankar-Jaikishan's score includes one of Asha Bhosle's early, saucy hits ("Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh") and features the under-utilized Manna Dey, although S-J fave Mukesh gives several great performances on the folk-influenced soundtrack.

By some estimates, Mohammed Rafi has sung upwards of 26,000 songs, surpassed only by the great Lata Mangeshkar, with whom he shared the world record for many years. Born on December 24, 1924, in what is now Pakistani Punjab, legend has it that the young Rafi was entranced by a local fakir, or holy man, and learned to sing at his knee against his father's wishes. It is known that by the age of seven, Rafi was learning Hindustani classical music with Ustad Bade Gulam Ali Khan and Vahida Khan. When he was 17, he sang his first playback song in the Punjabi film Gul Baloch and moved to Bombay not long after to try his hand in Hindi films. Rafi was illiterate and had to memorize the lyrics to a song before he could record it. It is said, however, that he remembered a melody after hearing it only once and could immediately suggest improvements. While Rafi's early years were scrappy as he vied for attention with singers and actors like Hemant Kumar, Mukesh, Talat Mahmoud, and Manna Dey, he quickly rose to the top of the heap, rivaled only by Kishore Kumar. Movies such as Baiju Bawra and Dulari were watershed events for Rafi, and they initiated the long and fruitful partnerships he enjoyed with composers like Naushad. Unlike Kishore Kumar, Rafi rarely appeared in films himself. He was the voice for all of the cinema greats, including Shammi Kapoor and Sunil Dutt, and he is revered to this day as a singer of uncommon depth and ability. Rafi died in 1980 of a heart attack.