ThE FamouS LebanesE / WeeK

[lady.d]

Fayrouz was born on Thursday 21st November 1935
Today is Monday 18th July 2005
Fayrouz is 69 years, 7 months, 28 days Old

Fayrouz was born as Nuhad Haddad, first born to Wadi' Haddad and Liza Alboustani on the 21st of November 1935. The Haddad family lived in a humble house consisting of a single room on a cobblestone alley called zuqaq al-blat, an old neighborhood in Beirut where the poor of all denominations had for generations found company and shelter.

They were poor as Fayrouz remembers but still insists that their lives were happy and they were never needy. Her family could not afford to own a radio, the magical commodity possessed by a fortunate few; it was a vehicle for dreams that, in the houses of the poor, provided solace and a vague feeling of belonging to whatever was throbbing out there beyond their reach. She used to sit on the window ledge to listen to the songs that fascinated her from the neighbor's radio. Some of the songs that she loved to sing over and over again in those early days were those by Laila Murad and Asmahan, two Egyptian female singers famous at that time.

Nuhad was well known by all for her great love for flowers. She spent much of her time gathering wild flowers and arranging them into bouquets to decorate their home with. She loved flowers so much that her mother used to tease her that she will marry her off only to a gardener. She was a shy girl who shied away from others and even from friends. At the same time, she was serious and responsible in her ways.

At a school party one day in 1946, a teacher from the Lebanese Conservatory heard her and was struck by a certain intimation that he had just made a discovery. This man, Muhammad Fleifel, was looking for new talents at that time among school children to sing national hymns for airing on the newly established Lebanese Radio Station. Nouhad’s conservative father was bothered by the idea that his daughter will sing in public and refused to grant his permission to Fleifel in the beginning. He also wanted Nouhad to continue with her school education. But Fleifel eventually convinced Mr. Haddad by assuring him that Nouhad will only participate in singing patriotic songs and that he, Fleifel, will pay for all the expenses of her education at the national conservatoire. After agreeing, Nouhad’s father also demanded that her brother Joseph accompany her. This was a period of practice and observation for Fayrouz. She closely studied the style of delivery of each singer in the chorus, and it often happened that she substituted for another singer who was delayed or failed to appear.

Her first solo song was composed by Halim al-Rumi, with words by Michael Awadh, called Tarakt qalbi w tawa’t hubbak which went: I left my heart to follow you/but ended up burning/far away from your love.
The first song she sang for Assi was Lama wa Lamyaa, a duet she sang with a singer called Hanan. The first solo song Assi composed for Fayrouz was Ghuroub by the poet Qeblan Mkarzal, followed by Maroushka. This was followed by the watershed song, that launched their career, a melancholic song called 'Itab (Blame) that began: You keep blaming me and I/of blame have had enough/my body has withered away/under the burden/and you say/you want to go away/please do/my heart is used to pain.

One day Fayrouz, in passing, told 'Assi that she did not like the way he paid attention to a certain girl at the station. This innocent remark did not go unnoticed. She still kept to herself and persisted in her obstinate rejection of the idea of marriage. But on a certain spring day in 1954, while they were practicing together at the edge of the same pond, under the same tree, 'Assi repeated an earlier offer of marriage. This time Fayrouz said yes.
They got married in January, 1955. At their wedding, large crowds of Beirutis gathered in that Sunday afternoon to witness the ceremonies. To the Lebanese, Hotel Masabki in Shtura, surrounded by aloe trees, is a dream place that lies in the heart of Lebanon's mountains; there, right after the wedding, the bride and groom went to spend their honeymoon.

With songs like Itab, Fayrouz and the Rahbany brothers were starting to become famous in many countries around the Arab world. Fayrouz and the Rahbanys returned to Beirut six months later, and on the first day of 1956 she gave birth to her first son Ziad. In the summer of 1957, she faced an audience in the open for the first time, standing at the base of one of the six columns that comprise the temple of Jupiter in Baalbeck.

Fayrouz's and the Rahbanis' relationship with Damascus calls for a special mention at this point. Damascus was where their art found its widest acceptance even at the time when it was being fought and criticized in their own homeland. No other stage hosted them as much and as enthusiastically as the stage of the Damascus International Festival where they presented their plays in addition to their specially prepared variety shows.

In the late 70’s however, Fayrouz’s relationship with Assy and Mansour deteriorated and their work bond was broken. She continued singing the Rahbany songs as well as her son’s Ziad ceative and mainly jazz influenced songs. She also got to work with Zaki Nassif and recently with Mohamed Mohsen after many decades of their last co-operation together.

Of her most notable works of late were the two concerts she held in cooperation with her son Ziad at the Beiteddine Palace in the years 2000 and 2001. These two concerts heralded a new era in the life and works of Fayrouz and made clear her choice and preference to Ziad’s compositions. Her latest album Wala Keef, also in cooperation with Ziad, put the final seal on the exclusivity of Ziad in any works to come in the future.

[lady.d]

Awards and Honors

Here are some of the Awards and Honors that were given to Fayrouz

*Al-istehkak al-Loubnani Honor awarded her at the time of President Kameel Shamo’un (1957)

*Al-Arz Honor of the knight rank awarded her by president Charl Helow (Lebanon 1962)

*Medal of Honor awarded by King Hussein (Jordan 1963) The first medal ever awarded by King Hussein of Jordan.

*Al-istehkak alSouri Honor (Syria 1967)

*Honor of the officer rank (Lebanon 1970)

*His Majesty’s Gold Medal awarded by King Hussein (Jordan 1975)

*"Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" award (The French ministry of culture 1988)

*"Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur" award (French
president Jacques Chirac 1997)

*Jerusalem award ( By the Palestinian Authority 1997)

*Medal of “exceptional contribution” first class (Jordan 1998) The last Medal awarded by King Hussein of Jordan before his demise.

*Althaqafa alrafie’ Honor (Tunisia 1998)

[lady.d]

Fayrouz, une femme très précieuse!
c'est vraiment le diamant "Fayrouzz"
Nous aurons pas la chance de revoir une autre Fayrouz au Liban!
Je ne pense pas que quelqu'un peut la remplacer!
Fayrouz, une personne Extra-Ordinaire

[Comrade Bassam]

And don't forget the late doctorate of honor in humanities from the Amercian University of Beirut.


Comrade Bassam

[Moorani]

This post is very informative, thanks to all who contributed

[lady.d]

Did you know???

That Fayrouz’s ambition was to become a school teacher?

That Fayrouz hated mathematics with passion at school and still has no mastery over the multiplication table till this day?

That her first salary at the Lebanese radio station as a chorus girl was 100 Lebanese Liras (before tax)?

That Fayrouz sang a duet with Halim Al Rumi called “A’asheq al ward” in 1950?

That when Assi Rahbany was introduced to Fayrouz by Halim Al Rumi, he had reservations about Fayrouz’s voice? He was of the opinion that it was not suitable for western music. He was soon to discover the unusual capabilities in her voice though.

That Mansour Rahbani, in the beginning, did not think that Fayrouz was the right voice for the Rahbany Brothers’ new musical style? He later admitted that he was dead wrong and that he did not have Assi’s foresight in the matter.

That the first song Assi composed for Fayrouz was “Habbatha ya ghurobe” of Qublan Moukarzel’s words? That was in the early 50’s.

That contrary to the general belief, Fayrouz and Assi were not married in 1954. They were married on the 23rd of January 1955.

That Fayrouz deliberately missed her flight home from Los Angeles once in order to buy her disabled son, Hali, an electric wheelchair when she saw a lady at the airport driving such one?

That Fayrouz’s mother passed away suddenly on the same day Fayrouz recorded the song “Ya jarat alwadi”?

That little Rima in the film “Bint Elhares” is none other that Rima, Fayrouz’s youngest daughter?

That on her trips abroad, Fayrouz rarely leaves her hotel room out of fear of falling ill and having to disappoint her fans?

[lady.d]

Higlights of Fayrouz’s life and career

November 21, 1935: Nuhad Haddad, later to be named Fayrouz, was born

December 1946: Nuhad joins the conservatoire under the care of Muhammed Fleifel

1949: Nuhad is hired as a chorus girl at the Lebanese Radio Station

1950: Nuhad sings her first solo song “Tarakt qalbi w tawee’t hubbak” composed by Halim Al Rumi.

1950: Fayrouz meets Assi Rahbani for the first time. The meeting was arranged by Halim Al Rumi

1952: “Itab” establishes Fayrouz as a major singer in the Arab world.

1955: Fayrouz and Assi get married on January 23rd.

1955: Fayrouz sings “Rajioun” as a gift to Palestine and its people.

1956: Fayrouz gives birth to her first son, Ziad, on the first day of the year.

1957: Fayrouz holds her first concert. It was in Damascus where she sang “Barada” of Bshara Alkhouri’s words.

1957: Al-istehkak al-Loubnani Honor awarded her at the time of President Kameel Shamo’un (The highest honor ever awarded a Lebanese artist)

1958: Fayrouz gives birth to her second son, Hali.

1960: Fayrouz gives birth to her first daughter, Layal.

1964: Mohammad Abdelwahab attends her Al-Arz concert to hear the song he composed for her “Sakana Allayl”

1965: Fayrouz gives birth to her youngest daughter, Rima.

1965: “Biyyaa’ Elkhawatem”, Fayrouz’s first movie was filmed.

1972: Fayrouz sings at the Carnegie Hall, New-York.

1975: Commemorable stamps with Fayrouz’s image on them were released in Lebanon.

1979: The last concert seen of Assi & Fayrouz together (Olympia-Paris)

1979: “Wahdoun” her first album for Ziad was released.

1987: Fayrouz holds the largest concert ever in the Gulf Region in Bahrain.

1988: Fayrouz holds the biggest concert ever held by an Arab singer abroad in Bercy-France. It was attended by 15,000 people.

1997: Fayrouz receives a medal of arts for the second time from France.

August 1998: Fayrouz returns to Baalbak after 24 years of absence for a 3-night performance of selected parts of 4 of her plays in collaboration with Mansour and Elias Rahbany.

1999: The International Red Cross chooses Fayrouz as the Arab Ambassador to the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Convention. She sang “Alardhu lakum” there instead of giving a speech.

1999: Fayrouz sings for an audience of 15,000 in Las Vegas.

2000: Fayrouz holds a 3-night concert at Beiteddine with her son Ziad. The third night was described as a night of a life-time.

April 2002: Fayrouz holds a concert in Dubai dedicating it to the Palestinian cause in light of the recent happenings in the West Bank. The proceeds of the concert were channeled for the establishment of a center for the autistic children of Dubai.

[lady.d]

Fayrouz’s Likes and dislikes

Likes:

Songs:
Ya dirati of Asmahan
Ya zahratan fi khayali of Fareed Elatrash
Places:
Lebanon: “My greatest love”.
Things:
Dolls and stuffed animals: as witnessed by a personal friend of hers (published in Alhawadeth in 1988) who found Fayrouz’s bed occupied by a collection of stuffed animals (Giraffe, cat, mouse, elephant, Mickey Mouse and a clown)

Dislikes:

Songs:
“Amara ya amara” as reported by Ziad.
“Mish Kayen hayk tkoon” as proved by her refusal to sing it in public appearances.
Things:
The telephone: “The telephone is a big problem. Many people have nothing better to do. I broke it twice, and no one bothered to change the number for me” (from an interview published in Alshabaka in 1990).
Arithmetics: She still doesn’t know the multiplication table by heart (Fayrouz, Almutriba walmishwar by Riadh Jarkas).
Press interviews: “I rarely give interviews to the press because you can not always trust the one you are talking with.

[Mey]

Lady D, thank you so so much for this informative article, and its in English !!!!! I enjoyed it so much as I am crazy about Feyrouz, she is an angel.

[lady.d]

The Rahbany Brothers

The beginning was in Antelias, Lebanon, where Assi was born in 1923, followed two years later by his younger brother Mansour in 1925.
Their father was Hanna Elias Rahbany, a well known “heavy” condemned to death by the Ottomans. He was able to escape and settled in Antelias, north of Beirut, where he opened a café-restaurant in an area called “Alfawwar” at the edge of town. The place was known for its natural beauty, clear waters and cool weather which made it very popular for those interested in a quiet and pleasant setting. Hanna was strict in his conservative ways, separating family tables from others with hanging sheets and forbidding even holding of hands in his restaurant.

Assi and Mansour used to spend six months in school each year. After which, their father would take them out in order to help him at the restaurant in the spring, convincing their mother that they had “had enough” that year.

The boys grew up in this atmosphere: Strict codes of ethics and behavior on one side, music and art on another, and a rural climate with clear running waters during summer and rain and thunderous storms in winter on the third.

As Mansour tells it, Assi’s cleverness was noticed at an early age and he was expected to grow up to become a poet or an artist. Mansour himself, however, was expected to grow up to become a thug at best.