Though he started his career by singing a few compositions of his late father Ali Baksh Khan and uncle Kale Khan, Bade Ghulam amalgamated the best of three traditions into his own
Kasur Patiala Gharana style: • The Behram Khani elements of
Dhrupad • The gyrations of
Jaipur and • The
behlavas (embellishments) of
Gwalior. Many of his raga expositions were brief, contrary to convention, and, while he agreed that the beauty of classical music lay in leisurely improvisation, he believed that the audience would not appreciate long
alaps, particularly considering his tendency towards singing for the masses. He, therefore, changed the music to what the audience wanted. He excelled at more light-hearted
ragas such as: • Adana • Bhupali • Hameer • Jaijaiwanti and • Jaunpuri. Under the pen name of
Sabrang, he created many new
compositions. Unlike his younger son,
Munawar Ali Khan, who had an open-throated voice, Khan Sahib's voice was slurred. Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's notable live performances were in Calcutta in 1938 and then at 'All India Music Conference' in Bombay in 1944. he once stated: For a long time, he stayed away from singing in films, despite requests and persuasion from well-known producers and music directors. Finally, after much coaxing, he was convinced by the film producer,
K Asif, to sing two songs based on the ragas Sohni and Rageshri for the 1960 film
Mughal-e-Azam, with music directed by
Naushad. He demanded and received an extremely high price, reportedly ₹ 25,000 per song, at a time when the rates of popular and star playback singers such as
Lata Mangeshkar and
Mohammed Rafi were below ₹ 500 per song. Prem Jogan Ban Ke & Shubh Din Aayo Raj Dulara from film
Mughal-e-Azam are his only two songs in film playback singing career. Some more songs of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan - • Yaad Piya Ki Aaye • Aaye Na Balam • Naina More Taras Gaye • Saiyan Bolo • Prem Agan Jiyara ==Awards and recognition==