Queens of Hearts

Fairuz (1935- ) is the most famous and most important living Arabic singer, male or female. She is considered the reining queen of Arabic music and is often called “Ambassador to the Stars.” Fairuz was born Nihad Haddad. She later changed her name to Fairuz, which is the Arabic word for a type of precious stone.

She was born in 1935 in Jabal al-Arz, Lebanon, to a Syrian-Catholic family. She later moved with her family to Beirut, where she has been based ever since. Fairuz first sang to the music of her husband, Asi al-Rahbani, and his brother, Mansur, and later mostly to the music of her son, the famous playwright Ziad al-Rahbani. Plays are one of the main media through which her voice can be heard. These plays travel readily throughout the Arab world and have never been banned anywhere.

Umm Kalthum (1904-1975) is referred to as Kawkab al-Sharq and Sayyidat al-Ghina al-Arabi in the Arab world. The first means “The Star of the East” and the second, “The Mistress of Arabic Song.” No other man or woman has yet reached her fame and status within the Arabic music world.

Umm Kalthum was born in the Egyptian countryside in 1904, later moving to Cairo, where she started her career as a professional singer and actress. She was a skilled businesswoman who assembled and managed her own band. She sang both famous lyrics of the past and exceptional material she wrote herself. Writers fell in love with her, drafting songs that she sang to immortality. Her scores were written by the most notable musical artists of the time. Bought by the millions, most of her records are live, and a typical Umm Kalthum recording will last 40 to 50 minutes! Her songs start with long musical introductions that are considered gems of 20th century Arabic music. Today, you will still hear her voice throughout the Arab world. She died in 1975, and millions attended her funeral.

Asmahan (1918-1944) was born Amal al-Atrash, a relative of Sultan Basha al-Atrash, the leader of the Grand Syrian Revolution (1925-27). When the French bombed Asmahan’s home in Jabal al-Arab in southern Syria, young Amal escaped to Cairo with her mother and two brothers. One of these brothers, Farid al-Atrash, was also a legendary singer and musician. In Cairo, the family changed their name to avoid being recognized. The young Amal attended music school where she studied voice. At 16 she was singing at Cairo’s opera, and posing the first real threat to Umm Kalthum’s throne. By this time, she signed a record contract with Columbia and changed her name to Asmahan, after a famed Persian singer. She became very famous and returned to Syria to marry a prince from the al-Atrash family. She later divorced him to marry an Egyptian film director, whom she divorced to remarry the prince, only to divorce him a second time to marry another film director, whom she also eventually divorced.

Romance (or a lack thereof) was not the only point of intrigue in Asmahan’s life. During World War II, she assumed several roles that ended with her dying in a suspicious accident in Egypt in 1944. She was 26 years old. Some blamed the Nazis, while others blamed the British, as it is believed she was working with the intelligence services of both sides.