It has been some 47th years since the passing of the legendary Egyptian diva Umm Kulthum, who recorded powerful, political music over a 60-year career with a voice adored by many across the world today. The singer still lives on in people’s hearts and her mesmerizing voice still resonates in the ears of her fans.
"Umm Kulthum is one of the most important cultural icons of the 20th century, who could bring together Arabic speaking peoples from Baghdad to Casablanca beyond the existing political borders with her music and voice," Turkish academic Namık Sinan Turan said.
Known as the "Star of the East" and "Egypt’s fourth pyramid," Kulthum’s date of birth is uncertain, with some reports saying it was on Dec. 31, 1898, and others on May 4, 1904, in the village of Tamay ez-Zahayra, north of the capital Cairo in the Dakahlia governorate.
Kulthum dressed as a boy to avoid public disapproval and sang religious songs and recited the holy Quran to her neighbors and people living in nearby villages, especially on nights during the fasting month of Ramadan.
In 1923, Kulthum took voice training in Cairo and also lessons for poetry and Arabic from famous Egyptian poet Ahmed Rami. Then she sang around 137 songs written for her by Rami.
The Egyptian singer, who mixed in elite circles by performing at meetings in the homes of Egyptian aristocrats, at first sang on the birthday of Egyptian King Farouk. Famous Egyptian composers competed to compose songs for Kulthum, whose voice hovers between masculinity and femininity.
Kulthum skillfully used the cinema to reach large masses of people in Egypt and played the leading roles in six films that were also screened in the Middle East and Turkey at that time.
The legend reached the peak of her fame with her live concert programs on the first Friday of every month with Egyptian Radio in 1937.
The singer, who has fans over a wide geography, from Morocco to Turkey, performed concerts in Arab countries such as Morocco, Kuwait, Libya and Lebanon to help her country regain the prestige and financial strength that Egypt lost in the Arab-Israeli wars and donated all her wealth to the Egyptian government.
Kulthum passed away in Egypt on Feb. 3, 1975, and nearly 4.5 million people attended her funeral held in Cairo.
Star of East
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) on the occasion of the anniversary of Umm Kulthum’s passing, people across the Arab world expressed what her music means to them.
Egyptian Abdelrahman Shaltout said that Umm Kulthum had an iconic voice that shaped Eastern musical tastes in the second half of the 20th century.
"However, she is the voice that deserves to be the representative of the Eastern identity in the contribution to the human art. I love her voice," he said.
Palestinian Sabreen Taha from Jerusalem said: "I really admire Umm Kulthum and her voice and music. She introduced us a very unique type of music of which we can sit down and listen to for hours."
George Marrash from Syria said that Umm Kulthum is his mother’s favorite singer, noting she used to listen to her every day.
"Umm Kulthum reminds me of those old times when I used to go to school. Very nostalgic," Marrash added.
Maha Saeed from Saudi Arabia said: "She is ‘the Star of the East,’ and my only memories about her is me going to school with my dad listening to "El Hob Kollo’ ('All the Love'), and each day, I had been wondering how powerful her impact on others was through music."
"She had a talent and unique vocal ability which made her an unforgettable singer, and somehow Michael Jackson reminds me of her because they both were phenomenal in the music industry. Even after their deaths, their music still plays around the world," Saeed noted.
Motasem Safi from Jordan believes Umm Kulthum is an icon and her songs are not a thing that people listen to a few times and then move on, like with modern songs.
"No matter how old her songs are, they are still trending," Safi added.