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Abdel Halim Hafez: The Story of Egypt’s ‘Dark-Skinned Nightingale’

April 3, 2022

A tender voice that sang sweet and soft melodies, a musical giant loved by all, and a bequest of national pride: Abdel Halim Hafez is an Egyptian icon. Born as Abdel Halim Ali Shabana in El Sharqiya in 1929, the young boy was orphaned at an early age of five years old. He was raised, alongside his three siblings, by his maternal uncle. His love for music was nurtured by his older brother, Ismail, who was a public school music teacher. In 1943, he entered the High Arab Music Institute in Cairo, where he learned to play different musical instruments such as the piano, oud, clarinet, guitar, and oboe. He later became a school music teacher until 1950 when he was discovered by a radio executive, and got his first opportunity to shine at the Egyptian National Radio Station, playing the oboe. From this point forward, the name of Shabana was left behind, and Hafez, his stage name, was born. From his debut in the early 1950s, Abdel Halim’s concerts were an immediate success. He had a special connection with his audience – where simplicity and warmth reigned. In his…


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