Umm Kulthum

This article is about the Egyptian singer. For other uses, see Umm Kulthum (name).

Umm Kulthum
أم كلثوم
Background information
Birth nameFatima Ibrahim as-Sayed El-Beltagi
فاطمه إبراهيم السيد البلتاجى
Born(1904-05-04)4 May 1904
Tamay Ez-Zahayra, El Senbellawein, El Dakahlia, Khedivate of Egypt
Died3 February 1975(1975-02-03) (aged 70)
Cairo, Egypt
GenresEgyptian music, classical
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actress
Years active1923–1973
LabelsOdeon
His Master's Voice
Cairophon
Sono Cairo
Mazzika
EMI Classics
EAC Records

Umm Kulthum[a] (Arabic: أم كلثوم; 4 May 1904 [3][4] – 3 February 1975) was an Egyptian singer, songwriter, and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She was given the honorific title Kawkab el-Sharq (Arabic: كوكب الشرق, lit. 'Star of the Orient').[5] Immensely popular throughout the Arab World, Kulthum is a national icon in her native Egypt; she has been dubbed "The Voice of Egypt"[6][7] and "Egypt's Fourth Pyramid".[8][9] In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Kulthum at number 61 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.[10][11]

Her funeral in 1975 drew a crowd of over 4 million people, the largest human gathering in Egypt's history, even surpassing that of president Nasser.[12][13]

  1. ^ "Umm Kulthum Ibrahim". Harvard Magazine. 1 July 1997.
  2. ^ "Umm Kulthum: An Outline of her Life". almashriq.hiof.no.
  3. ^ "Umm Kulthūm". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2012.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Egypt's Umm Kulthum hologram concerts to take place at the Abdeen Palace on November 20,21". Egypt Today. 14 November 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  6. ^ Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt. 22 May 2007.
  7. ^ Danielson, Virginia (1996). "Listening to Umm Kulthūm". Middle East Studies Association Bulletin. 30 (2): 170–173. doi:10.1017/S0026318400033976. ISSN 0026-3184. JSTOR 23061883. S2CID 152080002.
  8. ^ "Umm Kulthoum, the fourth pyramid". 2008.
  9. ^ Umm Kulthum, homage to Egypt's fourth pyramid, September 2008
  10. ^ Rolling Stone Magazine named iconic singer Umm Kulthum among the greatest 200 singers of all time., 8 January 2023
  11. ^ "The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time". Rolling Stone. 1 January 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference economist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference VD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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