Arts & Culture

Mohamed Abdo … Iconic Saudi Musician & The Artist of Arabs

Muhammad Abdo is a Saudi singer and songwriter who was born on June 12, 1949, in the Darb Governorate in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. He is regarded as one of the most well-known Arab artists of the past and present generations.

He is renowned as “The Arab Artist” and is well-liked in the art world. He sang at major Arab theatres in the Arab Gulf states, the Levant, and North Africa.

He performed in theatres all around the world, including at the Geneva Carnival, London, Washington, and Los Angeles. Muhammad Abdo is one of Saudi Arabia’s most well-known painters.

The Youngster Mohamed Abdo

He was young since his father died when he was six years old, and he went through a period of hardship and starvation until he was able to live in a charity bond with his brother thanks to a donation from King Faisal bin Abdulaziz.

Muhammad Abdo was able to enroll in the Industrial Institute and specialize in shipbuilding in an attempt to realize his childhood dream of becoming a sailor like his father, but he was more interested in art and singing, which led him to the sea of melody, which he was devoted to and which he found fascinating.

His origins in the arts

Muhammad Abdo began his artistic adventure in the early 1960s, while he was a student at the Industrial Institute in Jeddah, where he graduated in 1963 and was part of a Saudi mission traveling to Italy to build ships.

Abbas Faeq Ghazzawi was one of the discoverers of Muhammad Abdo’s voice when he sang on the radio on the “Baba Abbas” show in 1960, and this discovery was blessed by the well-known poet Taher Zamakhshari.

Muhammad Abdo traveled from Jeddah to Beirut with al-Ghazawi and Taher Zamakhshari, where he met Syrian composer Muhammad Mohsen, who took the words (I fought my eyes for years) from al-Zamakhshari to write a song for Muhammad Abdo after he sang many of his predecessors’ songs, including (They Said it in the Hara).

He met numerous poets, including Ibrahim Khafaji, who influenced Muhammad Abdo’s artistic life, and musician Tariq Abdul Hakim, who presented him with a lovely tune based on the lyrics of the well-known poet (Nasser bin Jurid) titled (Al-Tayhin railway), which Muhammad Abdo premiered in 1966.

Although his ability had been sharpened by the compositions of Tariq Abdel Hakim and Omar Kadars, Muhammad Abdo found himself in need of producing for himself, but he produced the song (Khalas daat Amanina) was born.

In 1967, he composed the poet (Al-Ghareeblyrics )’s for the song (Al Remsh Al Taweel). This record was distributed in thirty thousand copies at the time, and its artistic influence expanded throughout Saudi Arabia and the Arab globe.

The television theatre was the right place to present the new following the radio theatre when Muhammad Abdo teamed with Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal in their masterwork (Hala Yabo Sha’er Thayer) before television broadcasting began in 1965.

The 1970s

Many achievements were seen in the theatres of some nations during the 1970s, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Egypt, where Muhammad Abdo’s most notable achievement was his appointment as the Saudi song’s ambassador.

He was appointed as an ambassador for the Gulf Song and subsequently for the Arabian Peninsula as a whole.

Following his ways of singing songs from various parts of the Kingdom, the Arabian Gulf, and the Arabian Peninsula as a whole, he was dubbed Muhammad Abdo as (the Arabian Peninsula’s singer) or (the artist of the Arabian Peninsula).

He has Nabataean poems like (Oh dude, sure, travel and come back, and others), Muhammad Abdo entered with it other colors like Samaritan in very lovely rhythms, and these tough colors of words expanded everywhere after it spread inside the Arabian Peninsula.

Abdo is entitled as (The Arab Artist).

In Tunisia, a party was thrown, and the Tunisian president at the time, Habib Bourguiba, dubbed him (the Arab artist) through that celebration in the 1980s.

He worked with composer Dr. Abd al-Rab Idris, who gave Muhammad Abdo amazing works like (I need it, I come to you, my love), (I apologize), and (You look), in which the famous composer Abdu Rab Idris was influenced by the Arab artist Muhammad Abdo and his style.

Muhammad Abdo taught everyone a valuable lesson about the differences between good light tunes that rely on creative innovation and good songs about creativity.

At the same time, Mohamed Abdo issued an album called (Illusion, Al-Aqd, You Are With Me), on which he had a successful concert in Geneva, Switzerland, in the summer of 1988, in which he sang numerous songs, including those stated in the previous album.

They were a huge hit, and their audio cassette tapes were distributed in record quantities when they were released.

Retirement

It wasn’t a true retirement because he didn’t perform in concerts for eight years (1989-1997), but he did so for a variety of reasons, including the death of his mother and a review of what he had done and what he would present.

Despite his retirement, he performed (The Rain), a piece in which he channeled all of his melodic forces into the lines of poet Badr Shaker Al-Sayyab, as well as other works (The Frame).

He also presented many taped sessions, which he later released as albums under the moniker (Shaabiat).

He gave out patriotic albums with his photo in military uniform on them, and he attended the Janadriyah Festival every year. He also wrote many Janadriyah operettas during the period, such as:

Ard Al Resalat w Al btolat (Words: Ghazi Algosaibi).

Arayes Al-Mamlaka (; Words: Ibrahim Khafaji).

Faris Al-Tawheed (; Words: Badr bin Abdul Mohsen).

A chant of Arabism (; Lyrics: Ghazi Al-Gosaibi).

His development of the Saudi song

Many members of the creative community believe that Muhammad Abdo and Talal Maddah were among the most influential artists in spreading Gulf music beyond the Arab world.

Mohamed Abdo’s national song

Muhammad Abdo is regarded as one of the most patriotic musicians in the world. His patriotic songs have surpassed many others, and among them are:

God is one, above the clouds, a message, oh Saudi hero, yes we are the Hijaz and we find, kindle the fire, talk to us, Awafi, and many more.

Personal life of Muhammad Abdo

Muhammad Abdo has always kept his personal life private, but his 26-year marriage to his wife was revealed. Nora, Wad, Haifa, Reem, Dalal, Abdel Rahman, and Badr are his children.

The press and the media have always sought to meddle in his personal life, particularly after reports of his marriage to one of his fans, but he compelled him to deny it when the media broke his red lines and the rumors grew.

Rumors about his marriage persisted, and it is now said that he is married to a Tunisian woman of Algerian descent. His daughter, Haifa, who is close to him, initially disputed the rumors, but Noura and Badr later confirmed the news.

Muhammad Abdo was born into a Sunni Muslim family, which explains his religion, views, and original sect.

Mohamed Abdo facts in a nutshell

Following a performance in Tunisia in the 1980s, he was named the Arab artist by Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba.

Between 1989 to 1997, he took a break from art, but not in the traditional sense; instead, he ceased giving concerts, possibly for a variety of reasons, including the death of his mother and the need to reflect on his artistic past and plan for the future.

In 1982, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques awarded Muhammad Abdo the Second Class Medal of Merit, as well as the Bourguiba Medal for Second Apostasy Culture.

Badr Shaker Al-Sayyab, Abdullah Al-Faisal, Talal Al-Rasheed, Ibrahim Al-Khafaji, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Abdul Rahman bin Musaed, and the poet Khaled Al-Tuwaijri are just a few of the poets with whom he cooperated.

Muhammad Abdo & Asala

Asala, a Syrian actress, considers Muhammad Abdo to be one of the best Arab vocalists who has been on the cultural scene since his debut till now.

Asala was excited to have the Arab musician on her popular show “Sola,” and she sang a number of his songs with him, allowing the audience to marvel at this great and unique duet.

The duo represented the YouTube hit “Tarqana Al-Sunna,” which has received a lot of attention in the Arab world.

Mohammed Abdo & Amal Maher

Amal Maher, an Egyptian singer who had a good opportunity to perform a duet with Mohamed Abdo in the song “Details of Beauty,” is one of the singers Mohamed Abdo deems to have a remarkable and distinctive voice.

Then, in 2015, this amazing duet returned to Kuwait to perform the song “Azaz Man” together, which was well received by the audience.

Mohamed Abdo’s marriage

Despite his aversion to discussing his personal life, the rumor of his third marriage forced him to break his silence and discuss his first and second marriages in detail after years of keeping the public at bay.

The Arab artist spoke about his first wife, Nora, with whom he had seven children, and indicated that his first marriage was not happy at all.

He added that his first marriage was full of differences and conflicts, which made him very unhappy, and after much thinking, he chose to divorce her. Abdo stated that the decision to divorce was the most appropriate, but it was too late.

He met a French woman of Algerian ancestry while traveling for treatment, and they fell in love and married, and he bore her three boys, Khaled, Alia, and Al-Anoud.

 Al-Anoud is the youngest of her siblings, having been born in 2018, at the age of three, and he claims that his second marriage has made his life happier and more interesting.

He claims that his wife cares for their ten children without prejudice and that she assists him greatly in his artistic endeavors. He also claims that his wife is French.

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