In 1958, Abu Bakr left to Beirut with the aim of finding more opportunities as Beirut was known at that time for having a well established regional music hub through its plethora of performance venues, radio stations, and well-designed recording studios. Abu Bakr did reach his aim when he released a series of popular singles such as 24 Saa’a (24 hours). The song sold more than 1 million copies and became a hit in the Arab world in a relatively short time. It is still considered one of the classics of the Arabic music Tarab genre. Abu Bakr fled Beirut when the Lebanese civil war broke out in 1975