I thought I had featured this LP some years ago but looking back through the archive I see that I missed it for some reason. Apart from the striking sleeve it has some very nice Egyptian music on it. Sounds very authentic to me but what do I know! Made back in the 60's for the Hi-Fi enthusiasts more than anyone and an interesting flavour of the Middle East long before the phrase "world music" was ever invented.
Wikipedia says -
"Mohammed El-Bakkar (Arabic: محمد البكار; d. Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States, September 8, 1959) was a Lebanese tenor, oud player, and conductor.
El-Bakkar was a noted tenor and appeared in several Arabic-language films. He moved to the United States in 1952 and lived in Brooklyn. He released several LPs of Arabic music in the United States. He also played a singing Oriental rug salesman in the Broadway musical Fanny, in the Oriental bazaar scene; the production ran from 1954 to 1956.
He died of a cerebral hemorrhage on September 8, 1959, at the age of 46, after collapsing while performing at an annual Lebanese American festival in Lincoln, Rhode Island."
Mohammed El-Bakkar - Side One
Interested to hear this because I've just been reading Saul Bellows "Herzog." Mohammed El Bakker is used to set the mood by Herzog's sophisticated lover ...
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