Weekly Report 3

The Life of Umm Kulthum

Umm Kulthum is known as one of the greatest female vocalists in Arab history. She was born sometime around 1904 (exact birth records are not available) in a small village in the Nile Delta of Egypt, to a poor family. Her father was the leader of the village mosque and her mother stayed at home raising her siblings. Due to cultural practices, it was forbidden for women to publicly recite or sing verses from the Quran. So her father dressed her as a boy when she performed publicly. She was gifted from a young age and sang in front of the wealthy local leader who took a liking to her and tipped her generously. Before long she became famous throughout the entire Delta and was called on to perform at holidays like birthdays and festivals. In the 1920’s she moved to Cairo to pursue a professional music career, often with private tutors since many public musical schools were male-only. When Kulthum began her career in earnest, performing for the wealthy citizens of Cairo, she still retained some of her rural past, dressing in simple men’s clothes. She became known as “the Bedouin.” Her songs consisted of religious melodies and more modern long songs and poetry. In 1926 she signed a contract with Gramophone records. She changed her look, wearing women’s clothes and no longer covering her hair. Additionally, she hired a new group of musicians to work with her, instead of her family which had previously been singing with her. She produced and acted in various films in the 1903’s, which included romance and action. Sallama and Fatma were her most celebrated films. She would have monthly Thursday night concerts over the radio. In the 1960’s her health began to decline. The newspapers wrote daily updates are her condition until she finally passed in 1975, leaving behind her great legacy as “the voice of Egypt.”