Remembering Saudi Singer Etab 15 Years Since Her Death

Etab and Abdel Halim Hafez. (Facebook)
Etab and Abdel Halim Hafez. (Facebook)
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Remembering Saudi Singer Etab 15 Years Since Her Death

Etab and Abdel Halim Hafez. (Facebook)
Etab and Abdel Halim Hafez. (Facebook)

“A warm voice, an endearing face, and an unhappy ending,” this is how we simply describe the journey of late Saudi artist Etab, one of the greatest female singers in the Arab world. Etab died 15 years ago, on August 19, concluding a journey full of success, distinction, and challenges.

Those who followed her journey believe that the secret of her experience was in the “timing”. Etab was born and raised in the 1950s, a period marked by social traditions that hindered young girls and prevented them from expressing themselves, and the emotions of their generation, such as happiness, struggle, and yearning for love, and marriage.

But those challenges were confronted by a young Saudi talent, Tarouf Abdulkhair Adam Muhammad al-Talal Hawsawi, later known as Etab. She started singing when she was 13, at social and familial gatherings in Riyadh.

She performed her first song “Ya Bent”, composed by Fawzi al-Simoni, in 1966. Then, she moved to Jeddah, where she was sponsored, supported, and cheered by late artist Talal Maddah.

Then, Etab moved to Kuwait, where she was seen as a new female voice that took the music scene by storm. She made a successful singing duo with Haidar Fekri. They performed several live concerts together, which brought her into the spotlight.

Despite her major achievements, Etab still needed that one magic touch that would shoot her to fame. It came in 1972 when Egyptian legend Abdel Halim Hafez introduced her at one of his concerts where she performed with a female band and sang Saudi folkloric songs.

Etab would soon settle in Cairo, then the Arab world’s musical hub. She would live there for 20 years, starting from the 1980s, during which her career would peak.

She would dominate the female singing scene with songs such as “Jani al-Asmar” and “Mita Ashoufaq”.

The final chapter of her life would be the worst in her journey. It was marked by a dispute with her second husband that led them both to court. Little is known about the dispute, but she accused him of stealing $5 million from her, media reported at the time. The case ended with their divorce.

By the time she found out she had cancer, it was terminal, and she died quietly in 2007.

Art critic Mohammed Refaat describes Etab as a “pioneer”.

“She opened the door for women in the Gulf to step into the singing world. Since that time, men’s domination of this field ended, and we have seen many great women singers including UAE’s Ahlam, and Kuwait’s Nawal,” he remarked.

“Etab’s talents went beyond singing. She was a brilliant composer as well. She composed for herself and other artists. She was also a great live performer,” Refaat told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Moreover, he credited Etab with discovering many singing talents through the “Jalsat Tarab” program, which she co-presented.

“She always insisted on singing in the Saudi dialect, although it could have been easier for her to copy what her peers did and sing in the Egyptian dialect to make her more accessible to audiences and gain more fame and success,” he added.



Where's Marty McFly's Guitar? Search Is on for ‘Back to the Future’ Prop 4 Decades Later 

Michael J. Fox arrives at “A Country Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's” in Nashville, Tenn., on April 26, 2023. (AP) 
Michael J. Fox arrives at “A Country Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's” in Nashville, Tenn., on April 26, 2023. (AP) 
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Where's Marty McFly's Guitar? Search Is on for ‘Back to the Future’ Prop 4 Decades Later 

Michael J. Fox arrives at “A Country Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's” in Nashville, Tenn., on April 26, 2023. (AP) 
Michael J. Fox arrives at “A Country Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's” in Nashville, Tenn., on April 26, 2023. (AP) 

Marty McFly grabbed a guitar in “Back to the Future” and rocked out with the band at a 1950s high school dance, helping him narrowly avoid blinking out of existence before time-traveling back to the 1980s.

The guitar, in real life, wasn't as lucky.

Filmmakers went looking for the instrument while making the movie's 1989 sequel, but even now it's nowhere to be found. Four decades after the blockbuster film debuted, the guitar's creator has launched a search for the iconic Cherry Red Gibson ES-345.

Gibson, which is based in Nashville, is asking the public for help tracking it down as the movie turns 40 and as the company produces a new documentary about the search and the film, “Lost to the Future.”

In a video by Gibson, with the movie's theme song playing in the background, “Back to the Future” stars such as Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Harry Waters Jr. make a cinematic plea. There's also a surprise appearance by Huey Lewis, whose band Huey Lewis and the News performed the soundtrack's headliner song, “The Power of Love.”

Lloyd, in the cadence of Doc Brown, says in the video that the guitar has been “lost to the future.”

“It's somewhere lost in the space-time continuum,” says Fox, who played McFly. “Or it's in some Teamster's garage.”

In the film, McFly steps in for an injured band member at the 1955 school dance with the theme “Enchantment under the Sea,” playing the guitar as students slow dance to “Earth Angel.” He then leads Marvin Barry and the Starlighters in a rendition of “Johnny B. Goode,” calling it an oldie where he comes from even though the 1958 song doesn't exist yet for his audience.

Fox said he wanted McFly to riff through his favorite guitarists' signature styles — Jimi Hendrix behind the head, Pete Townshend's windmill and the Eddie Van Halen hammer. After digging and dancing to “Johnny B. Goode,” the students at the dance fall into an awkward silence as McFly's riffs turn increasingly wild.

“I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet,” McFly says. “But your kids are gonna love it.”