Granting more interviews, she spoke candidly about her rise from impoverishment and provided hope for the less-fortunate segment of Egypt's population. Kulthum's political activism increased following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. In the '40s, she became a member of the Listening Committee, which chose music for radio broadcasts, and, was elected president of the Egyptian musician's union. In addition to producing her own concerts, she chose her own accompanists for her performances, and actors and technicians for her films. Kulthum increasingly took control of all aspects of her career. She appeared on the radio as early as the first broadcasts of Egyptian National Radio in 1934, in films as early as 1935, and in television in 1964. Beginning in 1964, she collaborated with composer Muhammad al-Wahab.Ĭonsidered one of Cairo's top singers by 1928, Kulthum sought a variety of mediums to showcase her talents. During the '30s, she sang songs by Rami and composer Muhammed al-Qsabji, and, qasa'id by Ahmad Shawqi set to music by composer Riyad al-Sunbati. Although she initially sang songs that she learned from her father, she began to rely on compositions written for her by Egypt's finest songwriters. Kulthum's repertoire went through many changes during her career. Kulthum did much to change this impression of her, studying with numerous music teachers hired by her father and with poet Ahmad Rami, who taught her poetry and literary Arabic. While blessed with natural skills, Kulthum was looked down upon as an unschooled singer, lacking the vocal subtleties and melodic nuances necessary for Egyptian music. Famed composer and singer, Al-Shaykh Abu al-Ila Muhammed, became her chief mentor and teacher. In 1923, she came under the wing of a musical mashayaikh who assisted her in securing gigs and helping her to meet theatrical agents. Kulthum's obvious talents led her family to relocate to Cairo, the entertainment center of Egypt. Her father was so impressed that he began to include her in his singing. Overhearing her father teaching songs to her older brother, she memorized the tunes and sang them herself. Much of her love of music was inherited from her father, who supplemented his income as an imam at a local mosque by singing religious songs at weddings. In an article for Harvard Magazine, Virginia Danielson, author of The Voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth Century, wrote, "Imagine a singer with the virtuosity of Joan Sutherland or Ella Fitzgerald, the public persona of Eleanor Roosevelt and the audience of Elvis and you have Umm Kulthum, the most accomplished singer of her century in the Arab world".īorn in the rural village of Tammy al-Zahayrah, Kulthum was raised in very humble conditions.
This sign of affection and respect was the culmination of a career that had begun nearly six decades before. With the streets of Cairo lined by several million mourners, Kulthum's fans took her body from the shoulders of of the official pallbearers and passed her from person to person for the three-hour-long journey to the mosque of al-Sayyid Husayn. The reception accorded the death of Umm Kulthum showed how powerful and beloved the Egyptian vocalist had become.
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