Umm Kalthoum--Legendary Voice of the Arab World

Virtually every culture has its divas. The Arab world has Umm Kalthoum. With a devoted audience stretching from North Africa to the Levant and hailing from all parts of Arab society, this Egyptian born singer is regarded as the most gifted female voice of the twentieth century. Over twenty years after her death, Umm Kalthoums popularity is as phenomenal as the voice she was blessed with. Her expressive voice, her cries of despair, and her ability to convey the meaning and mood of her lyrics still manages to profoundly effect her audience. Whether they are national songs, religious chants, or love ballads, Umm Kalthoums voice touches the Arab soul.

Yet Umm Kalthoums popularity is without boundaries in time or geography. For decades she performed live not only in her native country, but throughtout the Arab world, as well as Europe. Having reached world renown status, her albums can be found today at most American music distributors as well; something unique to only a few Arab performers. What is most amazing about Umm Kalthoum, however, is that it is not necessary to understand Arabic well or to have lived in the Middle East to appreciate the feeling behind the words. Some of her most avid admirers are young Arab-Americans who grew up in a completely different time and place than the Arab audience of the 1930's to 1960's. Celebrating the miracle of Arabs and the Muslim faith through song, she has come to represent everything Arab. Not surprisingly, she has been given the honorable titles of "Star of the East", "Empress of Arab Tunes", "Ambassadress of Arabic Arts" and the "Voice of Egypt."

By most accounts, Umm Kalthoums date of birth is 1904. She was born to a poor family in a small village, east of the Nile Delta in Egypt. She was the youngest of three children, with a sister about ten years her senior and an older brother a year older. As a young girl, she was taught songs about religion from her father, an imam at the local mosque. Her keen memorization and strong voice was apparent at a young age. In 1923, her family moved to Cairo with the hopes that she could establish herself as a commercial singer. In order to improve her skills, her father hired a number of music teacher and she was eventually introduced to poet Ahmed Rami who taught her poetry and helped her build on her skills in literary Arabic. With some musical training, she had become, by 1928, one of the top singers in Cairo. Between the 1930's and 1940's Umm Kalthoum had completed six motion pictures and worked with a number of Egyptian composers.

In the 1950's, Umm Kalthoum became friends with Gamal Abdel Nasser, and after the Egyptian coup of 1952, she produced a number of songs in support of the new republic. Although she had reached the status that heads of states enjoy and even served as the unofficial ambassador of the Egyptian government, Umm Kalthoum never forgot the humble beginnings from which she came. She continuosly assisted the poor monetarily. This it seems, endeared her even more to the masses. They saw her as one of them; singing their own hopes and pains.

At Umm Kalthoums passing in 1975, Egypt and the entire Arab world was in mourning. Her funeral was attended by 4 million people, and was the second largest funeral in Egyptian history after that of President Gamal Abdel Nasser. However, Umm Kalthoums presence in the Arab world and beyond has never faded. She continues to sell more albums than any other female Arab singer, and has secured her place in history as one of the most legendary singers of the Arab world.

For picutres of Umm Kalthoum see Umm Kulthum pictures

For access to her songs and lyrics, see Umm Kalthoum Songs

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Biographical information from:

Danielson, V. (1997). "The Voice of Egypt": Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth Century. University of Chicago Press.

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