Baligh Hamdi


Baligh Hamdi was an Egyptian composer who created hit songs for many prominent Arabic singers, especially during the 1960s and 1970s.

Early years

Baligh Abdel Hamid Hamdi Morsi was born on 7 October 1931 in the Shubra district of Cairo. His father was a professor of physics at King Fuad I University. He learned to play the violin at age nine, and the oud two or three years later. He took music lessons with a variety of teachers throughout childhood and teenage years. He became a professional musician in 1954 at age 22. Immediately prior to that, he had been a law student, and he chose to not complete the studies for the law degree.
He started his musician career as singer. But very soon he turned to composing, and his compositions got good acceptance in the mid-1950s. In the late 1950s, the then-famous Umm Kulthum sang his composition "Hob Eih" and it was a hit. Some other of Baligh Hamdi's early compositional successes include "Why no", sung by Faydah Kamel, the song "Ma Thbinish Be Al Shakl Dah " by Fayza Ahmed and the song "Tkhounoh " by Abdel Halim Hafez. For the next two decades he was one of the most popular, successful, and productive composers in the Arab world.

Contribution to Arab music

Baligh Hamdi frequently said that he drew upon musical ideas and aesthetics in Egyptian folk melodies and rhythms in composing his songs. He also drew on ideas that were floating around in the contemporary music of his time. His sound has a classical flavor due to the heavy use of the string orchestra. But he also made some use of electronic keyboards and guitars in harmony with the strings, or alternating with the strings, in many songs.
His best work is published as recordings under the name of the singer. The singers include Umm Kulthum, Abdel Halim Hafez, Shadia, Layla Murad, Najat Al Saghira, Fayza Ahmed, Warda, Sabah, and other singers.

Songs composed

Presented to Abdel Halim Hafez some of the finest music since the end of the sixties and even the mid-seventies of them.
Presented to singer Warda Al-Jazairia, including the Ghent.
Baligh Hamdi contributed in one way or another the development and revival of the musical theater provided most of the work: Operetta "Egypt Bride," and the operetta "Tmarahnp", "Yassin, I have," also wrote several songs, including:, and "Bawadaak" rose to as defined by discovering many of the singers and the singers, especially from Arab countries.
Hamdi eloquent cooperation with Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi and Mohamed Rushdie introduced in the early sixties with all types of Egyptian folklore providing a set number of songs together, including, also providing to Mohammed Rushdie others.
He was the discoverer of Afaf Radi.
He produced music for many films, plays and television soap operas and radio mention the film and dramas and sitcoms.
He was one of the most frequent composer for songs for Egypt and his love to it, even he sang some of it personally.

[Jay-Z]'s unauthorized use of Khosara Khosara

Baligh Hamdy's heir claimed that Jay-Z used the melody from Khosara Khosara in his 2000 hit Big Pimpin' on 30 March 2015 a judge in California set the issue for trial. On 21 October 2015 US district judge Christina Snyder abruptly dismissed the lawsuit against Jay Z and his producer Timbaland before it went to a jury ruling that the heir of an Egyptian composer lacked the right to pursue a copyright infringement claim.