Umm Kulthum: ‘Star of the East’

Thursday marks the 47th anniversary of the death of renowned Egyptian singer, Umm Kulthum, who lives on in people’s hearts, her mesmerising voice still resonating in their ears even decades after her departure.

“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,” said Turkish academic, Namik Sinan Turan.

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 31 December, 1898, and others on May 4, 1904, in the village of Tamay ez-Zahayra, north of the capital, Cairo, in the Dakahlia governorate.

The revered Arab singer received her first voice training from her father, Sheik Ibrahim Al-Sayyid Al-Baltagi, the Imam of a local mosque, and learned to recite the Qur’an, the Muslim holy book, at the age of five.

Kulthum dressed as a boy to avoid public disapproval and sang religious songs and recited the holy Qur’an to her neighbours and people living in nearby villages, especially on nights during the fasting month of Ramadan.

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In 1923, Kulthum took voice training in Cairo and also lessons in 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 skilfully 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 Turkiye 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 Turkiye, gave concerts in Arab countries such as Morocco, Kuwait, Libya and Lebanon for the benefit of her country in order to regain the prestige and financial damage that Egypt lost in the Arab-Israeli wars and donated all her wealth to the Egyptian government.

Kulthum passed away in Egypt on 3 February, 1975 and nearly 4.5 million people attended her funeral held in Cairo.

 ‘Iconic voice that shaped Eastern music taste’

Speaking to Anadolu Agency 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.

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Palestinian Sabreen Taha from Jerusalem said: “I really admire Umm Kulthum and her voice and music. She introduced to us a very unique type of music of which we can sit down and listen to for hours.”

“Unlike how fast the world has become these days, Umm Kulthum’s voice and the musicians with her give us a chance to breathe and slow down and remember that life can be enjoyed if we take the time to sit and enjoy the music Umm Kulthum and others like her have left us,” Taha added.

George Marrash from Syria said that Umm Kulthum is his mother’s favourite 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 are of 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.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.