Popular music emerged during the 1940s in Kabul following the establishment of Kabul Radio (1925) and its Radio Orchestra, which commissioned and performed many new songs. By the 1960s the use of more powerful radio transmitters brought Iranian and Indian popular music to the attention of Afghan audiences, exerting an important influence on the development of local popular music styles. This trend was intensified during the 1970s when the number of battery-operated radios and cassette tape recorders grew and popular and traditional music were played everywhere. Throughout this period the radio gave Afghan music of all kinds some respectability.

At this time Ahmed Zahir, son of a former Prime Minister, was the most famous singer in the country and his cassettes can still be bought in shops today. Another popular singer of the time was Mahwash, now living abroad, who received the title of Ustaad or master musician despite the fact that she was female. Her most famous work was ‘Oh Boy’ (1977), each verse of which was sung in a different regional style. Traditionally women could play the tambourine-style daireh but rarely any other instrument in public.