Luminous Egyptian Icons: Musician of Generations Mohammed Abdel Wahab

CAIRO – 27 April 2022: Mohammed Abdel Wahab was a beloved Egyptian singer and composer.

Abdel Wahab was dubbed the "Musician of Generations” and was and still is considered one of the greatest musicians in Arab history.

Mohammed Abdel Wahab was born in 1902 in Cairo, Egypt, in Bab El-Sheriyah neighborhood, where there is now a statue of him.

Abdel Wahab is one of the most remarkable musicians in the Arab music world whose known for his outstanding vocals and composing skills.

Composing numerous poems for different Arab poets, Abdel Wahab is most known for composing many of prominent poet Ahmed Shawky’s poems.

Many of Umm Kulthum’s popular songs were composed by Abdel Wahab as well, such as “Shall We Meet Tomorrow?” and “You Are My Life” among ten other songs.

He has also composed most of Nagat El Saghira’s significant hits, including four poems by the prominent poet Nizar Qabbani.

Despite composing many remarkable music pieces that go under the classic umbrella, Abdel Wahab always had his own Western music grasp.

Through playing the oud distinctively, he is considered to be a pioneer who introduced Arab poems and pieces to Western rhythms.

A model that successfully portrays Abdel Wahab’s magnificent fusion between Arabic words and western rhythms would be Abdel Halim Hafez's song "Ya Albi Ya Khali" (Oh My Empty Heart) in which he added a Rock and Roll rhythm. Abdel Wahab repertoire include a lot of immortal songs such as “Egypt, O Mother of the World”, “And We Knew Love”, and “The Beloved Lady”.
 

Abdel Wahab has also collaborated with many remarkable singers such as Talal Maddah, Asmahan and Laila Mourad among others. Although it has been 120 years since his birth, his patriotic songs are still widely played in Egypt and in the whole Arab world, especially on national occasions.
 

Abdel Wahab composed the national anthem of Libya used by the Kingdom of Libya from 1951 to 1969 entitled "Ya Beladi" also known as "Libya, Libya, Libya".

The legendary musician also composed the national anthem of Tunisia, "Humat al-Hima" as well as the United Arab Emirates national anthem "Ishy Bilady" and many Egyptian nationalist songs like "Ya Masr Tam El-Hanna", "Hay Ala El-Falah", "Masr Nadetna fa Labena el-Nedaa", "Oulo le Masr", "Hob el-Watan Fard Alya", "Sout el-Gamaheer", "Ya Nessmet el-Horria", and "Sawae'd men Beladi".