Umm Kulthūm
Umm Kolthoum (Egyptian Arabic: أم كلثوم; c. 4 May 1904 – 3 February 1975) was an Egyptian singer and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She was given the honorific title Kawkab el-Sharq (Arabic: كوكب الشرق, lit. 'Star of the Orient'). Immensely popular throughout the Middle East and beyond, Umm Kulthum is a national icon in her native Egypt; she has been dubbed "The Voice of Egypt" and "Egypt's Fourth Pyramid". In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Umm Kulthum at number 61 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. Her funeral in 1975 drew a crowd of over 4 million people, the largest human gathering in Egypt's history, even surpassing that of president Gamal Abdel Nasser. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Tamayy Elzahayra (village in Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt), Died February 3, 1975 (Cairo (capital city of Egypt) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1926 - 1928
Roles Represented in DAHR: mezzo-soprano
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= At least one recording from this master was issued on disc.
Recordings
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gramophone | BF1145 | 10-in. | July 1927 | Albek ghadarbi | Omme Kolsoum | Female vocal solo, with violin and oud | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | BF1146 | 10-in. | July 1927 | Albek ghadarbi | Omme Kolsoum | Female vocal solo, with violin and oud | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | BF1163 | 10-in. | July 1927 | Ya rohi bala kotre asseya, part 1 | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal solo | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | BT3917 | 10-in. | 4/28/1928 | Habbet walla banehi, part 1 | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal solo, with qānūn, oud, and violin | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | BT3918 | 10-in. | 4/28/1928 | Habbet walla banehi, part 2 | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal solo, with qānūn, oud, and violin | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | BT3919 | 10-in. | 4/28/1928 | Khallil demonec, part 1 | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal solo, with qānūn, oud, and violin | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | BT3920 | 10-in. | 4/28/1928 | Khallil demonec, part 2 | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal solo, with qānūn, oud, and violin | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | CT3927 | 12-in. | 4/30/1928 | El boode allemni | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal solo, with "strings" | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | CT3928 | 12-in. | 4/30/1928 | El boode allemni | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal solo, with "strings" | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | BD4374 | 10-in. | 1926 | Enna hali | Omme Kolsoum | Female vocal solo, with violin and kanoun | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | Bd4375 | 10-in. | 1926 | Enna hali | Omme Kolsoum | Female vocal solo, with violin and kanoun | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | Bd4376 | 10-in. | 1926 | Akhazt sotek, part 1 | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal soloist, with kamanja and violin | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | Bd4377 | 10-in. | 1926 | Akhazt sotek, part 2 | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal soloist, with kamanja and violin | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | Bd4378 | 10-in. | 1926 | Sahib Khessamak, part 1 | Umm Kulthūm | Male vocal soloist, with kanoon [qānūn] and violin. | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | Bd4379 | 10-in. | 1926 | Sahib Khessamak, part 2 | Umm Kulthūm | Male vocal soloist, with kanoon [qānūn] and violin. | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | Bd4460 | 10-in. | 1926 | Teraei gheri, part 1 | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal soloist, with kamanja and violin | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | Bd4461 | 10-in. | 1926 | Teraei gheri, part 2 | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal soloist, with kamanja and violin | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | BD4466 | 10-in. | 1926 | Ya retni kontel nasim, part 1 | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal solo | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | BD4467 | 10-in. | 1926 | Ya retni kontel nasim, part 2 | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal solo | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | BD4504 | 10-in. | 1926 | Ya aseyal hay | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal solo, with qānūn and violin | vocalist, mezzo-soprano | |
| Gramophone | BD4505 | 10-in. | 1926 | Asker fouadi | Umm Kulthūm | Female vocal solo, with qānūn and violin | vocalist, mezzo-soprano |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Umm Kulthūm," accessed June 12, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104957.
Umm Kulthūm. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved June 12, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104957.
"Umm Kulthūm." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 12 June 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: أم كلثوم
Discogs: Umm Kulthūm
Allmusic: Umm Kulthūm
Grove: Umm Kulthūm
RILM: Umm Kulthūm
IMDb: Umm Kulthūm
Britannica: Umm Kulthūm
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Umm Kulthūm, 1898-1975 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85154437
Wikidata: أم كلثوم - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1110560
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/10035031
MusicBrainz: أم كلثوم - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/0a354a70-b879-4697-ad9b-60bfe2bd1d63
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/167462 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/167462
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