Farid al-Atrash (Arabic: فريد الأطرش; born: October 19, 1915 in
Suwayda,
Syria; died: December 26, 1974 in
Beirut,
Lebanon) was a
Syrian-
Egyptian[Prominent Egyptians - Egyptian Government State Information Service][Newspaper Article by Abdel-Fadil Taha 2008-05-23 [[Al-Quds Al-Arabi], "وحصلت الأسرة علي الجنسية المصرية وظلت تنعم بها ومنهم اسمهان بالطبع"]] composer,
singer,
virtuoso oud player, and
actor. Having immigrated to Egypt in childhood, Farid embarked on a highly successful career spanning more than four decades - recording 350 songs and starring in 31 movies. Sometimes referred to as
King of the Oud, he is one of the most important figures of 20th Century Arab music.
Early life
Farid was born in
Syria to the
Druze Atrash family who fought the
French Colonial armies.
His father was Syrian and mother Lebanese.
[Images of enchantment, p, 81 books.google.com/books?id=Sd5g1ohkocAC&pg=PA81&dq=asmahan+Hasbaya#v=onepage&q=asmahan%20Hasbaya&f=false] According to Author, Mohamed al-Taba'i, al-Atrash family was not princely, "there was not a single prince or princess in al-Atrash family." The truth of the matter was that Hassan al-Atrash was the mayor of Jabal al-Druze. The French word for mayor,
Le Maire, was deliberately manipulated to the Arabic word,
al-Amir, or Prince, but his true title was Le Maire Hassan al-Atrash, not al-Amir Hassan al-Atrash.
[Al-Taba'i, Mohamed (2008), "Asmahan Tells Her Story." Dar al-Shorouq Press, First Edition. pp. 40-41.] As a child, Farid emigrated with his mother and siblings to
Egypt, escaping the French occupation. Later, they were naturalized by the Egyptian government as citizens. Farid’s mother sang and played the
oud, which spurred his musical interest at an early age.
