Mohammed Fawzi

Mohamed Fawzi (also Mohamed Fawzi) (Arabic: محمد فوزي) was an Egyptian singer, composer, and film actor. Fawzi reigned supreme in Egyptian musical and revue films throughout the 1940s and 1950s. His artistic style was characterized by simplicity and joy, and he also possessed a talent for managing finances, business, and artistic production. Mohamed Fawzi composed the melody for the Algerian national anthem, "Qassaman", with lyrics by the Algerian revolutionary poet Mufdi Zakaria. Mohamed Fawzi was born in the village of Kafr Abu Gundi, in the Qutur district of Gharbia Governorate. He was the twenty-first of twenty-five children, including the singers Huda Sultan and Hind Allam. Fawzi received his primary education at Tanta School in 1931. He was drawn to music and singing from a young age, learning the fundamentals of music from Mohamed El-Kharbatli, a firefighter and friend of his father, who used to take him along to sing at religious festivals, celebrations, and weddings. Fawzi was influenced by the songs of Mohamed Abdel Wahab and Umm Kulthum, and he would perform their songs for people in the Montazah Gardens and at the city's celebrations of the Mawlid of Sayyid al-Badawi. After completing his preparatory education, he enrolled in the Fouad I Institute of Music in Cairo. He left his studies after two years to work at the nightclub owned by the sisters Ratiba and Insaf Rushdi. Later, Badia Masabni lured him to work at her establishment, where he met Farid al-Atrash, Mohamed Abdel-Mottaleb, and composer Mahmoud El-Sherif. He formed a close friendship with them, composing and performing sketches and revues, which later proved beneficial to his film career. At the age of twenty, Fawzi auditioned for the radio as both a singer and composer, following in the footsteps of FFarid al-Atrash, who had done so two years prior. Fawzi failed as a singer but succeeded as a composer, emulating the success of Mahmoud El-Sherif. After arriving in Cairo in 1938, Fawzi began working with Badia Masabni's troupe, then Fatima Rushdi's troupe, and finally the National Theatre Troupe. Singing was Mohamed Fawzi's passion, so he decided to revive the works of Sayed Darwish as a springboard to performing his own compositions. His opportunity arose when the Egyptian Acting and Music Troupe contracted him as an actor and singer in Sayed Darwish's play Scheherazade; his failure in the role left him disheartened, especially in front of an unforgiving audience.