February 3 marks 47th death anniversary of “Planet of the East” Umm Kulthum

CAIRO – 3 February 2022: February 3, 2022 marks the 47th death anniversary of the legendary singer Umm Kulthum; she passed away in 1975.

“Planet of the East” Umm Kulthum, remains the icon of singing in Egypt and the Arab world, despite her death for decades.

She was born on December 31, 1898, in Sinbillawain.  Over the years she has achieved what no other in the Arab world has achieved in music and singing.

Umm Kulthum's career with singing started at a very early age.  She began singing as a little girl with her father in birthdays and weddings.

In 1922, she moved to Cairo and built her first musical instrument in 1926. Her starting point was when she got to know the poet Ahmed Rami then the composer Mohammad al-Qasabji.

In 1928 she released her first monologue which made her very famous, which was a gateway for her to enter the film industry through her voice in the movie “Awlad el-Zawat” in 1932.

She then joined the Egyptian Radio upon its inception in 1934, and was the first artist to join the station.

Umm Kulthum participated in several films, however, she decided to devote herself to singing completely.

She sang many patriotic songs and had numerous famous political stances.

In the seventies, she suffered from kidney inflammation and traveled to London for treatment.

The late legendary singer, dubbed "The Planet of the East", visited many countries around the world. Among those countries is the Kingdom of Morocco, for which Umm Kulthum held immense admiration.

During a videotaped interview during her visit to Morocco in 1968 to perform three concerts, Umm Kulthum praised the Moroccan audience, stressing that their “artistic sense is exceptional.”

She added that the national customs and traditions of the Moroccan people aroused her admiration and interest, stressing that she liked many of those customs and traditions, such as the way of eating, where a bowl is placed for washing hands before eating in addition to eating with only 3 fingers and not with both hands.

Umm Kulthum indicated that among the things she also liked about Morocco was the bridal ceremony, in addition to the shape and design of Moroccan minarets, as they are "square" and not round as the usual minarets.

She passed away on February 3, 1975.