Helmi Bakr

An Egyptian composer, born in the Hadayek al-Qubba neighborhood in Cairo on December 6, 1937, to a father who loved music, which angered his family. Bakr graduated from the Higher Institute of Arab Music, and worked as a music teacher after graduating from a government school. At that time, he joined the Egyptian Armed Forces to perform military service. It so happened that the late singer (Warda) came to perform at one of the Armed Forces concerts. She heard some of his melodies, liked them, and decided to present them to (Mohamed Hassan Al-Shujaei), the director of the Egyptian Radio at that time. His first songs as a composer were (Happy New Year) by the singer (Abdul Latif Al-Tilbani), after Bakr’s melody, his compositions were continued by: (Maher Al-Attar, Najat Al-Saghira, Muhammad Al-Helou, Ali Al-Hajjar, Medhat Saleh,...and others). Bakr also composed about 48 musical plays, the most famous of which are: (My Beautiful Lady, Hawadit, Music in the Eastern Neighborhood). Helmy Bakr received a number of awards and honours, the most important of which are: the best Arab composer from the former Prime Minister (Fouad Mohieldin) in 1975, and the Excellence Award from the former Minister of Information (Safwat Al-Sherif). Helmy was married about 9 times, and among his most famous marriages were: the artist (Suheir Ramzi), the Tunisian singer (Alia), and Randa, the cousin of the Syrian artist (Asala).