Thread: Mounir Mourad

Since he came up in the Sayyid Darwish thread...

Mounir Mourad (1922-1981) was a multitalented composer, singer, actor, and all-around Egyptian entertainer. His father Ibrahim Zaki Mounir Mordechai was a famous musician of the early Twentieth Century, and his sister Leila Mourad also achieved significant fame as a singer and actress. Although Mounir made only a handful of films, his musical contributions were an important part of the landscape of mid-century Egyptian cinema. Mounir may be best known for the songs he composed that were performed by Shadia and Abdel Halim Hafez. Often lighthearted and drawing on Western influences, his work changed the course of popular Egyptian music.

Mounir Mourad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(ar.wikipedia.org) منير مراد - ويكيبيديا
(arz.wikipedia.org) منير مراد - ويكيبيديا
السينما - منير مراد ظــرف وخفة

(As demonstrated in the Sayyid Darwish thread, sometimes the songs get attributed to the wrong composer. Please correct if any of these aren't right...)

Shadia:





Shadia with Katie dancing:



Abdel Halim Hafez:







Shadia and Abdel Halim together:

And now for some clips of Mounir himself...

With Samia Gamal:



Who knew the Egyptians had the technology to merge Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis into a single body? (Didn't Zeinat Sedqi just come up in the klutz thread, too?)



Bring on the crazy ethnic stereotypes! (Isn't "Salma ya salama" at the end usually credited to Sayyed Darwish?)



I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to be really disappointed if Jean Dujardin didn't use the cutaway in this clip to prep for the "Bambino" scene in "OSS 177: Cairo, Nest of Spies"...



I'm not entirely sure what is supposed to be going on here, but it is brilliant! I haven't been this giddy since I found the clip of Dr. Ezzat and his sisters going full-throttle disco cheese all over "Ana kol ma 'oul al-toba"!



Okay, Alexandrian, what did I miss/mistake?

This is GREAT! Wow. I agree with the Dean Martin :) Darwish DID write and compose Salma ya Salaama. That much we all agree on. Thanks for putting this together.

So you went from little or no knowledge to this in what..three days? Thank goodness for ravenous appetites!

He was everywhere. For example, he was Togo mizrahi's principal assistant in the 1930's and one of the main driving forces behind the Shaabi movement in the 1960's!! He changed how directors shoot motion picture songs..twice?! He was a beloved human being, one of the industry's legendary confidants and a defender of artistic standards. Yet, his music was so ingenius and revolutionary that we often forget about all that other stuff.

Thank you for the examples Tourbeau. I think they're very well chosen.

Here's another. Mohammad Roshdy had been prodding Mounir for a Shaabi tune. Finally, Mounir called Roshdy to let him know that he's got something that'll "make all of Egypt dance". The original (and better version) is on youtube, but the 1990's reproduction is well done and might prove more popular here.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

I'm not entirely sure what is supposed to be going on here, but it is brilliant! I haven't been this giddy since I found the clip of Dr. Ezzat and his sisters going full-throttle disco cheese all over "Ana kol ma 'oul al-toba"!

He was a hilarious impersonator and spoke fondly of mimicry. He gave several radio interviews in the 50's and 60's and always seemed to do a bit or two. Here, he does it wholesale. Abdel Wahab, sis, Mohammad Fawzy, Abdel Mottaleb and Farid.

Even though the trio of Kamal El Tawil, Mohammad El Mogi and Abdel Halim Hafez were so dominant in the 50's, Mourad's unique musical style still managed to have quite an impact. Those works he composed for Abdel Halim below are beautifully woven. Awel Marrah T'heb Ya Albi is some tune. It sustains both intricacy and simple elegance at the same time. We always played Mourad's when we were young. The way his compositions and arrangements are written, they always make mediocre bands sound better. I was part of some terrible bands when I was a young teenager and we LOVED playing his stuff. Audience just overlooked how bad we were and started dancing and singing along.


On a side note, am I the only one or does anyone else develop an immediate sense of well being as soon as Zeinat Elwi shows up?

Originally Posted by Alexandrian

So you went from little or no knowledge to this in what..three days? Thank goodness for ravenous appetites!

I'd like to thank Wikipedia and Google Translate, and all the little people uploading stuff to YouTube, possibly at the risk of copyright infringement...

Actually, I was surprised at how easy it was to find almost all of the songs mentioned in the Wikipedia articles. I couldn't locate these two tracks from the ar.Wiki list, though: ليلي جمال - مرجيحة الحب and أبو شامة اسكندراني - طروب. I couldn't tell if the problem was on their end or my end...

He changed how directors shoot motion picture songs..twice?!

Now you're going to have to give details!

BTW, I'm still unclear on the part about their family being Jewish. Depending on who's writing the piece, I've seen that their father was Moroccan, Iraqi, or Egyptian. At some point, it seems Leila and Mounir each (independently?) converted to Islam, but their brother Isak apparently did not convert and was sent to some sort of internment camp sometime between 1967 and 1969. What happened to the other siblings? Is there more back story to this?

I'd also like to hear your thoughts on whether openly Jewish performers of today would be able to make the impact that the Mourad family did. I get the impression that the current sociopolitical climate would not lend itself well to it, and performers who are not Muslims are often pressured to convert. If nothing else, it seems harder to win support of the commercial entertainment industry if you are in a religious minority, but maybe that's due to factors like lingering cronyism from the Mubarak era and Rotana's chokehold on the media.

I've come across some recordings of their father singing Jewish prayers, but I haven't had a chance to dig very far into his body of work. Should he be my next musical sidetrip?

Here's another. Mohammad Roshdy had been prodding Mounir for a Shaabi tune. Finally, Mounir called Roshdy to let him know that he's got something that'll "make all of Egypt dance". The original (and better version) is on youtube, but the 1990's reproduction is well done and might prove more popular here.

LOL, the modern version needs more cookies! Seriously, the remake is good, but there's something, for lack of a better word, "plastic" about it that the original isn't. The style lends itself to the unpolished sincerity of the older music, don't you think?

Aw, I can't find Kab al Ghazal for sale as an mp3 or CD anywhere, and I'm googling like crazy!

Originally Posted by Alexandrian

He was a hilarious impersonator and spoke fondly of mimicry. He gave several radio interviews in the 50's and 60's and always seemed to do a bit or two. Here, he does it wholesale. Abdel Wahab, sis, Mohammad Fawzy, Abdel Mottaleb and Farid.

I wasn't sure at first if they were the actual songs or parodies of songs. I mean, obviously he's exaggerating, but I didn't know if he was also changing the words to be funny, or if the songs were more or less "straight." I recognized the melodies of Leila's song (I actually linked that clip a few years ago on Bhuz when we were talking about non-BD production numbers--the tap dancing in that one fascinates me), and obviously Farid's song, but I wouldn't be able to get a joke if he had been making puns with the lyrics.

It does help to have a transcription arabicpoems, but I still wasn't able to match the Mohammed Fawzy song. My guess would have been "Awazli Lemouni" or something like that, but I couldn't find it. Do you know it?

(BTW, if anyone else is playing along at home, here are the unlinked URLs to find the other four songs being referenced in the Mounir clip: Mohammed Abdel Wahab "Inta, inta" إنت إنت - محمد عبد الوهاب, Leila Mourad "Abgad hawaz" ليلى مراد ... أبجد هوز, Mohammed Abdel Mottaleb "Ana w inta fi al-hawa" فيلم دستة مناديل محمد عبد المطّلب انا و انت في الهوى, Farid al-Atrash "Ma 'ally w 'oltelou" فريد الاطرش - ما قالي وقلتلهه - من فيلم آخر كذبة)

The Farid clip reminds me...Wikipedia claims Mounir "developed much of Egypt's most famous dance music, performed by the leading dancers of the time, Tahiya Karioka, Samia Gamal, and Naima Akef." I found a clip with Samia and the one with Katie, but nothing with the other two. Hint?

Originally Posted by tigerb

Aw, I can't find Kab al Ghazal for sale as an mp3 or CD anywhere, and I'm googling like crazy!

Try searching for the title in Arabic: كعب الغزال

Originally Posted by Alexandrian

Those works he composed for Abdel Halim below are beautifully woven. Awel Marrah T'heb Ya Albi is some tune. It sustains both intricacy and simple elegance at the same time. We always played Mourad's when we were young.

There were so many good songs, the thread would have been a mile long if I'd linked them all. If anyone wants, I can clean up my notes because I still have the URLs to the rest of the songs in the Wikipedia lists.

Here's the Abdel Halim one:



I also really liked this song by Warda (oh, that voice!):

On a side note, am I the only one or does anyone else develop an immediate sense of well being as soon as Zeinat Elwi shows up?

Indeed. She was a beautiful, elegant presence. Now I feel guilty I didn't think to link her in the thread about dancing "womanly."


Okay, unsubstantiated speculation ahead: One of the first things I thought of while watching these videos was Kay Kyser, who was an American bandleader active from the late 1930's through the 1950's. Kyser's group was sort of unique among the big bands in that their style ranged from straight pop music to silly novelty tunes. (To give you an idea, here are two unlinked clips that occurred in succession in the 1940 movie "You'll Find Out." One minute they're doing a normal love song, and the next, it's a goof on the idea of a Good Humor (brand) ice cream peddler who is habitually in a bad mood: Kay Kyser Orch / Harry Babbit / "You've Got Me This Way"1940) You'll Find Out. and Kay Kyser Orchestra and The Help - Bad Humor Man - YouTube.) Comedy was Kyser's bread and butter, but unlike Spike Jones or today's Weird Al, Kyser fully expected to be able to turn off the hijinks and get taken seriously as a purveyor of mainstream, non-novelty music--a feat that eludes most performers who attempt it. Kyser never had particularly high ambitions when he was being "serious," but the fact that he had as much success in that direction as he did may be why my brain is trying to associate him with Mounir. I couldn't even begin to guess whether Mounir had any exposure to Kyser, beyond that WWII spread American culture to lots of places it wouldn't have normally been. Probably no connection (especially since much of MENA was Britain's theater during the war, not ours), but maybe an interesting observation to debate...

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

LOL, the modern version needs more cookies! Seriously, the remake is good, but there's something, for lack of a better word, "plastic" about it that the original isn't. The style lends itself to the unpolished sincerity of the older music, don't you think?

Hey, you're preaching to the converted. Towards the end of the 1990's Roshdi re-recorded a dozen or so of his most popular songs and released three albums doing so. All three were very successful and did him and the composers/lyricists a world of good financially. The albums also became very popular with dancers.
But, yes, the re-recordings were overly percussive and lacked a good deal of the charm and musicality of the originals.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

I'd also like to hear your thoughts on whether openly Jewish performers of today would be able to make the impact that the Mourad family did. I get the impression that the current sociopolitical climate would not lend itself well to it, and performers who are not Muslims are often pressured to convert. If nothing else, it seems harder to win support of the commercial entertainment industry if you are in a religious minority, but maybe that's due to factors like lingering cronyism from the Mubarak era and Rotana's chokehold on the media.

I've come across some recordings of their father singing Jewish prayers, but I haven't had a chance to dig very far into his body of work. Should he be my next musical sidetrip?

The Mourads and Dawood Hosni are the most recognized Jewish artists in Egyptian music history. There were several equally influential artists in literature and the motion picture industry.

Popular Anti-Jewish sentiment never really took hold in Egypt until the declaration of the State of Israel and the 1948 war and that is when the vast majority of the remaining Egyptian Jewish population found no recourse but to leave the country never to return. in the century or so prior to those events, religion didn't have any significantly destructive effects on the populace. However, the artistic community's response to divisive sectarian efforts has always been, I am heartened to report, rather unambiguous. Both Leila and Mounir experienced the brunt of popular ignorance firsthand. Unlike other members of their family, they had highly successful careers which they needed to protect and further enhance. Public conversion was therefore the most expeditious solution. All reports however suggest that Egyptian Artists who knew/worked with the Mourads all seem to have adopted the same attitude towards the situation. Various influential artists have spoken of how they chose to support the Mourads after their conversion; acting as go-in-between with family abroad, observing Jewish religious holidays with Both Mounir and Leila (There are reports from several sources as to how Mohammad Al Qasabgi would schedule his rehearsals with Leila so as not to work on Shabatt), etc. There were many difficulties such as Mounir's wife leaving him after his conversion and immigrating, with their son, to the United States.

Today? I'm not sure how different the response would be. Considering that the pair did convert, I believe the popular reaction would be similar. And the artistic community's evaluation of sectarianism remains unchanged. But one thing is certain about how Egyptian popular sentiment has changed since the 1940's: Being openly Jewish today would be extremely difficult. The effect this has had on Egyptian culture, Perhaps the world's most ancient melting pot, could only have been debilitating.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Okay, unsubstantiated speculation ahead: One of the first things I thought of while watching these videos was Kay Kyser, who was an American bandleader active from the late 1930's through the 1950's. Kyser's group was sort of unique among the big bands in that their style ranged from straight pop music to silly novelty tunes. (To give you an idea, here are two unlinked clips that occurred in succession in the 1940 movie "You'll Find Out." One minute they're doing a normal love song, and the next, it's a goof on the idea of a Good Humor (brand) ice cream peddler who is habitually in a bad mood: Kay Kyser Orch / Harry Babbit / "You've Got Me This Way"1940) You'll Find Out. and Kay Kyser Orchestra and The Help - Bad Humor Man - YouTube.) Comedy was Kyser's bread and butter, but unlike Spike Jones or today's Weird Al, Kyser fully expected to be able to turn off the hijinks and get taken seriously as a purveyor of mainstream, non-novelty music--a feat that eludes most performers who attempt it. Kyser never had particularly high ambitions when he was being "serious," but the fact that he had as much success in that direction as he did may be why my brain is trying to associate him with Mounir. I couldn't even begin to guess whether Mounir had any exposure to Kyser, beyond that WWII spread American culture to lots of places it wouldn't have normally been. Probably no connection (especially since much of MENA was Britain's theater during the war, not ours), but maybe an interesting observation to debate...

It's distinctly possible. Hollywood productions were very popular in Egypt in the 40's and 50's and musicians, the good ones in particular, are easily influenced by others. I don't think I've ever been introduced to Kay Kyser before. Off to youtube I go.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Indeed. She was a beautiful, elegant presence. Now I feel guilty I didn't think to link her in the thread about dancing "womanly."

Having fun with Mounir and the crew. Yet, there's always something simmering underneath the surface. As if she's fully expecting life to rear its ugly head, waiting on whomever will eventually do or say the wrong thing.

[QUOTE=Alexandrian;972160]So you went from little or no knowledge to this in what..three days? Thank goodness for ravenous appetites!

That is Tourbeau for you.. I can only marvel at her knowledge in music but above all, her ability to retain this information. And thanks to Alexandrian, Serpentine, tiger B and others who can keep these threads going long enough to attract interest!

And to Tourbeau.. thank you for periodically bringing these important yet relatively unknown people (beyond the ME) and their contribtion to music and cinema. Prior to this thread I had heard of Mounir Mourad as the brother of Leyla and a comedian and all round entertainer (of Jewish heritage).. and thats it.

Originally Posted by Alexandrian

Okay, I have to ask, is that thing Zeinat Sedqi keeps doing where she pulls her lower eyelid down a culturally recognized Egyptian gesture that means something or is she just riffing on the song lyrics?

I still haven't had much luck locating the Fawzy song in هنا القاهرة/محدش شاف by name yet. Maybe there's a misspelling in the lyrics or the opening line isn't the title?

عوازلى لمونى
واهلى فاتونى
حرام .....حرام يا روحى

The most I could dig up was that I think they're talking about it here من أغانى الزمن الجميل الأغانى الكوميديه. If I start listening to every Fawzy MP3 I can find online to ID it by brute force, I'll feel guilty if I don't listen to the whole songs. (Not that there's anything wrong with a spontaneous Fawzy listen-a-thon...) I probably should anyway. He's worth knowing more about.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Okay, I have to ask, is that thing Zeinat Sedqi keeps doing where she pulls her lower eyelid down a culturally recognized Egyptian gesture that means something or is she just riffing on the song lyrics?

LOVE her. This one may not be found in the Egyptian body language lexicon but she has, over the years, created a whole subsection.

I still haven't had much luck locating the Fawzy song in هنا القاهرة/محدش شاف by name yet. Maybe there's a misspelling in the lyrics or the opening line isn't the title?

عوازلى لمونى
واهلى فاتونى
حرام .....حرام يا روحى

The most I could dig up was that I think they're talking about it here من أغانى الزمن الجميل الأغانى الكوميديه. If I start listening to every Fawzy MP3 I can find online to ID it by brute force, I'll feel guilty if I don't listen to the whole songs. (Not that there's anything wrong with a spontaneous Fawzy listen-a-thon...) I probably should anyway. He's worth knowing more about.

Maybe it's time I give the kids a new assignment. They've been showing a lot of interest in his music recently. Or, I could publicly confess my ignorance on Sama3y and let a couple o' dozen friends have fun with me.
The kids will have an added assignment.

Originally Posted by Alexandrian

Having fun with Mounir and the crew. Yet, there's always something simmering underneath the surface. As if she's fully expecting life to rear its ugly head, waiting on whomever will eventually do or say the wrong thing.

What a CUTE clip. I loved the flirting ... The pulling down the eyelid I've seen done thousands of times. Meaning "You're not fooling me... I have my eye on you, careful ... I don't believe a word of what you're saying."

Thank you Alexandrian, for the post about the Jews of Egypt. I went to visit one of the oldest remaining synagogues in the world, the Ezra Synagogue in Fostat (Old Cairo), built in 882 CE - where they found the cache of genizah papers from Meimounides and others - and learned first hand of the truth of your statements. In Alexandria, once the intellectual capital of the ancient world with a huge Jewish population, there are now only a handful of (registered) jews left... The synagogue is well kept but VERY wary of strangers, until you produce a European or USA passport.

Originally Posted by Serpentine

What a CUTE clip. I loved the flirting ... The pulling down the eyelid I've seen done thousands of times. Meaning "You're not fooling me... I have my eye on you, careful ... I don't believe a word of what you're saying."

There's that gesture. However, this is not what Sidqi is doing here. There's nothing about the clip or the lyrics which leads to that. She just exaggeratingly (vintage Sidqi) points to her eye whenever the lyrics mention "ein". Very cute.

Originally Posted by Alexandrian

There's that gesture. However, this is not what Sidqi is doing here. There's nothing about the clip or the lyrics which leads to that. She just exaggeratingly (vintage Sidqi) points to her eye whenever the lyrics mention "ein". Very cute.

ooops! Too bad, I love that gesture.