Mohammed Abdel Wahab (), ; 13 March 1902 – 4 May 1991), was an Egyptian singer and actor best known for his romantic and Egyptian patriotic songs.

He was known for his Egyptian nationalist and Arab nationalist and revolutionary songs like "O Egypt, Happiness Is Here", "The Call of Duty", "The Greatest Homeland", "The Rising Generation", "Egypt Called Us and We Have Answered", "Tell Egypt", "Patriotism Is My Obligation", "Voice of the Masses", "O Breeze of Freedom", and "Arms from My Country". He also composed the national anthem of Libya, which was adopted from 1951 to 1969, and again since 2011. in a neighborhood called Bab El-Sheriyah, where there is now a statue of him. He began his singing career at an early age and made his first public performances at age seven at local productions. He was 13 when he made his first recording. Mohamed Abdel Wahab was a very close friend to compatriot singer Abdel Halim Hafez.

Film career

thumb|Publicity still for the Egyptian film Mamnou'a el hub (1942).

In 1933, Abdel Wahab began composing his own style of Egyptian film musical after visiting Paris and familiarizing himself with French musical film. He introduced a lighthearted genre of musical film to Egyptian culture eventually composing eight musical comedies between 1933 and 1949. His films portrayed Western social elite and included music that veered off from the traditional Egyptian tune. He starred in his 1933 film The White Rose which broke records in attendance and still plays frequently in Egyptian theaters. In 1950 Abdel Wahab left film to focus on being a more profound singer.

Contribution to Egyptian and Arabic music

Abdel Wahab composed more than 1820 songs.

Abdel Wahab also composed songs for the Lebanese icon Fairuz whom he famously called "Our Ambassador to the Stars" and stated in 1958 that he was the leader of her fan club in Cairo.

Death

Mohamed Abdel Wahab died in his hometown Cairo, Egypt of a stroke on May 4, 1991.

Tribute

On March 13, 2012, Google celebrated his 110th birthday with a Google Doodle.

Filmography

;As actor

  • The White Rose (1933)
  • Doumou' el Hub (Love's Tears) (1936)
  • Yahya el hub (Long Live Love) (1938)
  • Yawm Sa'id (Happy Day) (1939)
  • Mamnou'a el Hub (Love Is Forbidden) (1942)
  • Rossassa Fel Qalb (A Bullet in the Heart) (1944)
  • Lastu Mallakan (I'm No Angel) (1947)
  • Ghazal Al Banat (The Flirtation of Girls) (1949)

Honours

Egyptian national honours

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"

|-

! style="width:80px;"| Ribbon bar !! Honour

|-

| EGY Order of the Nile – Grand Cordon BAR|70px

| Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile

|-

| 70px

| Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Egypt)

|-

| 70px

| Commander of the Order of the Arab Republic of Egypt

|}

Foreign honours

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"

|-

! style="width:80px;"| Ribbon bar !! Country !! Honour

|-

| 70px || || Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance

|-

| 70px || || Commander of the National Order of the Cedar

|-

| Order of the Grand Conqueror (Libya)|70px || || Collar of the National Order of Libya

|-

| Order of Lifesaving (Morocco)|70px || || Commander of the Order of Intellectual Merit

|-

| 70px || || First Class of the Order of Oman

|-

| SYR Order Merit 1kl rib|70px || || Grand Cordon of Order of Civil Merit of the Syrian Arab Republic

|-

| 70px || || Grand Cordon of the Order of the Republic of Tunisia

|}

References

  • Biography

Selected Mohammed 'Abd al-Wahhab compositions from YouTube Web site: