Growing up in the Gulf and driving the car with my family moving from one town to another in our Mazda station wagon car, we do what every sane person does, open the radio.
That was in the mid 80s and the sky was the limits, back then we did not have to worry about cell phone, mp3 players, notebooks or that thing we now know as the internet. There was the radio, cassette tapes and TV. The first song I know I have sang to is this song, Lolaky Lo La Lo La. We did not know anything about cool Arabic music until this song hit the airwaves and all of sudden all the cool boys and girls worry singing along.
This is the fruit of the labor of Hamid El Shari, the father of Arabic pop who introduced a number of pop singers who till this day remain active. This song was one of the early attempt by the musician who introduced this one hit wonder Libyan singer Ali Hamida who was born in tiny border town in Egypt. Ali released half a dozen albums none of them made it big as his Lolaky song that defined the generation.
Ali Hamida had an interesting life, he now has a PhD in music, he served time in jail and during that time he felt abandoned by his friends. At the time he sold 6 million records--a number that has yet to be broken by an Arab singer. He had his troubles with the tax agencies in Egypt, he had to seel his apartment to pay back taxes, and thee worse came when he was accused of indecent acts involving a child.
Ali managed to become the first pop icon of the Arab world, his haircut and perm were the haircut of choice of the generation. Checkout his watch, his sneakers. And boy does he have some dance moves? I think Hamid was influenced the most by the early Hip Hop movement in america and that shows even in his choice of outfits during that period.
Ali Hamaida Lolaky Lola
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