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Farid al-Atrash (; October 19, 1910 – December 26, 1974), also spelled Farid El-Atrache, was a Syrian-Egyptian singer, , composer, and actor. Newspaper Article by Abdel-Fadil Taha, 2008-05-23, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, "وحصلت الأسرة علي الجنسية المصرية، وظلت تنعم بها ومنهم اسمهان بالطبع" Although born in Syria, he immigrated to Egypt at the age of nine with his mother and siblings, where he eventually became one of the most noted figures in 20th-century Arabic music.World music: the rough guide. Africa, Europe and the Middle East 1999, p. 330 ed. Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham, Richard Trillo "The late Farid Elattrache and Asmahan – a brother and sister team – are claimed by the Syrians and Lebanese"
Al-Atrash embarked on a highly successful career spanning more than four decades, recording 500 songs and starring in 31 movies. He is also widely regarded for his virtuosity on the Arabic oud, and has sometimes been given the epithet "King of the Oud" ("Malek al-Oud").
As a young child, al-Atrash 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.
As a child and young adult, al-Atrash sang within school events. He studied at Egypt's music conservatory and became an apprentice of the famous Egyptian composer Riad Al Sunbati. In the 1930s, al-Atrash began his professional singing career by working for privately owned Egyptian radio stations. Eventually, he was hired as an oud player for the national radio station and later as a singer. His sister, Asmahan, was also a talented singer, and for a while they worked together. In 1941, they starred in their first successful movie Intisar a l-Shabab (انتصار الشباب – The Triumph of Youth, 1941), in which Farid himself composed all the music.Mustafa Darwish Dream makers on the Nile: a portrait of Egyptian cinema 1998
One of al-Atrash's most unusual and distinguishable traits was his voice. High and mellow at the start of his career, it evolved into a wider, deeper sound.
In many of his songs, and nearly all of his concerts, al-Atrash would sing a Mawwal, which is a local folk Egyptian slow voice improvisation of a few poetic lines. These improvisations sometimes lasted up to 15 minutes. The mawal was a favorite of his fans. Some of the most famous songs include "Rabeeh" (Spring), "Awal Hamsa" (first whisper), "Hekayat Gharami" (story of my love), "Albi Wa Mouftaho" (my heart and its key), "Gamil Gamal", "Wayak", " Ya Zahratan Fi Khayali" (يا زهرة في خيالي – "Flower of my imagination), "Bisat Ir Rih" (flying carpet), "Ya Gamil Ya Gamil", "Ya Habaybi Ya Ghaybeen", "Eish Anta", and "sa3a bi 2orb el habib" (an hour in company of the beloved).
Al-Atrash sacrificed getting married for his devotion to his art. In his films, the audience remembered his leading ladies and his beautiful songs more than the story lines. Prior to the 1952 military coup d'état against King Farouk I, al-Atrash became friends with Farouk's consort, Narriman Sadek, a relationship that continued after the Queen's divorce and the coup that cost Farouk his throne. The former queen's family did not accept al-Atrash, and the separation from Nariman sent the singer into a long depression, the start of health problems that worsened from that point on until his death.
As al-Atrash became older, he reconsidered his opinion of marriage and proposed to Egyptian singer named Shadia, but at the last minute he backed out. By now his health was poor, and he feared that he would leave her a young widow. He often played out that scenario and sang about it in his romance movies. He was also engaged to marry Salwa al-Qudsi at the end of his life.Zuhur, field notes, 1993
Others stated: "He remained a bachelor throughout his life" but he possibly had a brief 'urfi marriage.Turshan family members in interview with Sherifa Zuhur, 1993 from field notes. and another Moroccan-born singer Maya Casabianca called him the "love of her life" (though they didn't marry). Famed Moroccan-born Jewish Singer and Farid Al Atrash’s lover Maya Casabianca He characterized himself in a fairly idealized version of a modern artist. "Tales of his love affairs were wildly popular during his lifetime and were seemingly merged with the lyrics of his love songs." (Zuhur in Ouzgane 2003)
On December 24, 1974 the doctors told al-Atrash that after two days he could go home. This was because they noticed that Farid did not like the hospital, or the drugs and the food that the hospital provided for him. On December 26, 1974, al-Atrash died in Beirut, Lebanon at Al Hayek hospital, shortly after arriving from London. Al-Atrash is buried in Cairo, Egypt alongside his sister and brother.Archived at Ghostarchive and the
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His musical pieces was produced by Voice of Lebanon label which was founded by Robert Khayatt. the entire catalogue was acquired by Mazzika Group in the early 2000s.
One of his songs could have been heard on the radio in 2005 video game .
On October 19, 2020, Google celebrated his 110th birthday with a Google Doodle.
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