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Umm KulthumUmm Kulthum (Arabic: أم كلثوم other English spellings include: Oum Kalsoum, Oum Kalthum, Omm Kolsoum, Umm Kolthoum) (c. 4 May 1904 - 3 February 1975) was an Egyptian singer and musician. One of the best known and most beloved of all singers in the Arab world, her albums still outsell many others in the Arabic language. Umm Kulthum was born in Tamay-az-Zahayra, Ad Daqahliyah; her exact date of birth is unknown, although it was likely the fourth of May. At a young age, she showed exceptional singing talents, so much so that when she was twelve years old, her father disguised her as a young boy and entered her in a small performing troupe that he directed. Four years later, she was noticed by a somewhat famous singer (Abou El Ala Mohamed) and by a famous lutist, Zakaria Ahmed, and was asked to accompany them to Cairo. She waited until she was 23 years old to respond to their invitation, while still performing as a boy in several small theatres. She carefully avoided all mondanity (society life) or a Bohemian lifestyle. Around that time, she had two very significant meetings. The first of these was with Ahmed Rami, a poet who would write 137 songs for Umm Kulthum, and would introduce her to the French literature he learned at the Sorbonne. The other meeting was with Mohamed El Kasabji, a lute virtuoso who introduced Umm Kulthum to the Arabian Theatre Palace, where she would make her first grand success. In 1932, she became famous enough to begin a large tour (in cities such as Damascus, Baghdad, Beirut, and Tripoli). This fame also allowed her, in 1948, to meet Gamal Abdel Nasser, the President of Egypt, who did not hide his admiration of her, and who would eventually bring all of Egypt to love her; this "love" was reciprocated, as Umm Kulthum was a very patriotic individual. In parallel to her singing career, she pursued an acting career, but quickly forsake it, because of the lack of personal and emotional contact with the audience. In 1953, Umm Kulthum married a man whom she respected and admired, Hassen El Hafnaoui, who had practised medicine for many years, taking care to include a clause that would allow her to effect a divorce. She continued her singing career, receiving a telegram from Charles de Gaulle (President of France) in 1967. However, she was diagnosed with a severe case of nephritis soon afterwards. Umm Kulthum gave her last concert at the Palace of the Nile, and tests indicated that her illness was inoperable. She moved to the United States, where she benefited for some time from the advanced medical technology, but in 1975, while re-entering her home country, her hospitalisation was necessitated due to her declining health. Even though the natives of the her hometown chanted all day, Umm Kulthum died at the hospital in Cairo on February 3. Records and Discography - Amal Hayati - Sono
- Enta Omri - Sono
- Fat el Mead - Sono Cairo
- Hagartek - EMI
- Retrospective - Artists Arabes Associes
- The Classics - CD, EMI Arabia, 2001
- La Diva - CD, EMI arabia, 1998
- La Diva II - CD, EMI Arabia, 1998
- La Diva III - CD, EMI Arabia, 1998
- La Diva IV - CD, EMI Arabia, 1998
- La Diva V - CD, EMI Arabia, 1998
Umm Kulthum Umm Kulthum
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