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Wadi’e El-Safi (Saturday 20/7/2004)
Ever since he passed Radio Lebanon’s tough auditions and became recognized
as a “singer” in 1937, Wadi’e El-Safi, perhaps Lebanon’s greatest-ever
vocalist, has been one of the Arab World’s foremost “superstars.” The
conservatively-dressed Wadi’e, now in his mid-80s, learned songs
originally from his grandfather, beginning at age four in his home village
of Niha, in the Chouf region of Lebanon. When he came to Beirut, he had
singing lessons and was taught by great musicians, like Michel Khayyat and
Salim Helou. In the 1950s, he teamed up with the Rahabani Brothers, whose
music catapulted him up to the top in an unprecedented blend of music and
voice. |
