Lebanese singer and actress Najah Salam passes away at 92

Gulf Today REeport

Lebanese singer and actress Najah Salam, who was known for performing patriotic songs, passed away at the age of 92, as she is considered the most famous artist who sang “O Egypt” and a number of poems.

Her daughter, Samar Salman Al Otaifi, wrote on Facebook: “The journey has ended, Najah Mama is in God’s arms.”

Her songs became famous in most Arab countries, and she won an Oscar from the Society Honoring Giants of Arab Art in the United States in 1995.

Najah Salam was born on March 13, 1931, in Beirut. Her father is the artist and writer Muhyiddin Salam, one of the most prominent composers and oud players in Lebanon and the Arab world.

She learned the basics of singing from her father, whose house was like an art institute. She started singing at school concerts that were held at the end of each school year.

In 1948, her father accompanied her to Cairo, where he introduced her to great artists such as Umm Kulthum, musician Farid Al-Atrash, and his sister, singer Asmahan. In 1949, she became a professional singer, singing in Aleppo, Damascus, and Baghdad.

She returned to Lebanon to record some songs for the Lebanese radio, and the first of these songs was “On Your Stage, O World.” Her cinematic debut was with her first film, “How Are You” with Laila Fawzi.

In 1956 AD, she sang her patriotic songs, such as “O Most Precious Name in Existence,” then the poem “I am the Nile, a Cemetery for Invaders” by the poet Mahmoud Hassan Ismail.

In the movie “Al-Saad is a Promise,” the director disagreed with the hero Shukri Sarhan, so Najah Salam’s father nominated the Lebanese singer Muhammad Salman to play the starring role opposite his daughter, so that the film would be the reason for their marriage, which resulted in two beautiful daughters, Samar and Reem.

Then she sang in Algeria and Tunisia, and went to Cannes. She then headed to Cairo to star in the movie “The Secret of the Fugitive” with stars Souad Hosni and Kamal Al Shenawy, then the movie “The Devil” with Farid Shawqi and Shams Al Baroudi, while continuing to perform concerts in Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.

In 1971, she traveled to Jordan at the invitation of the Ministry of Information and presented her songs to Jordanian Radio, she went to Iraq at the invitation of the Ministry of Information.

In 1972, she traveled to Cairo, where she participated in a film with Koka and Farid Shawqi, and in 1973 she traveled to Syria and sang the song “Syria, My Love,” in participation with Muhammad Salman and the singer Muhammad Jamal.