Umm Kulthūm
Subtitle: artistic agency and the shaping of an Arab legend, 1967-2007
By: Laura Lohman
Series: Music/culture
Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Middletown, CT
Language: eng
Number of pages: 229
ISBN-13: 9780819570710
Description: In 1967 Egypt and the Arab world suffered a devastating defeat by Israel in the Six Day War. Though long past the age at which most singers would have retired, the sexagenarian Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum launched a multifaceted response to the defeat that not only sustained her career but also expanded her international fame and shaped her legacy. By examining biographies, dramas, monuments, radio programs, and recent recordings, Laura Lohman delves into the diva's role in refashioning her popular image during this tumultuous time in Arab history and the conflicting ways that she has been interpreted since her death in 1975. Instiutions like the Umm Kulthum museum in Cairo have tried to resolve the tensions arising from the nontraditional aspects of the singer's lifestyle in Egypt and to memorialize her as a patriotic, conservative Muslim for younger audiences. At the same time, the icon's sound and image have been remixed and recontextualized by club DJs and visual artists in urban centers in the Middle East, and her intensely emotional singing style has been emulated by contestants on the American Idol-style show Star Academy. Whether in music videos, via satellite TV, or over the Internet, Umm Kulthum has managed to stay relevant for a surprisingly diverse range of audiences and political agendas in Egypt, the broader Arab world, Israel, and the United States. -- Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.