Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia will honor late legendary musician and composer Talal Maddah in a majestic night as part of Riyadh Season 2022 with the participation of tens of artists from the Middle East.

Turki Al-Sheikh, chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), announced early Sunday that he will meet the sons of Talal Maddah to reach an agreement regarding the copyrights of their father’s work.

He also called on all Arab artists to join the big night to honor Talal Maddah. Shortly after his invitation, artists from across the Middle East have started confirming their participation.

Till Sunday, over 31 popular Arab artists have announced their attendance, including Mohammed Abdo, Rashed Almajed, Abdulmajeed Abdullah, Asala, Ahlam and more. The date of the concert has not been confirmed yet.

Following a career that spanned almost 50 years, Maddah was known as the “golden throat” and had composed more than a thousand songs.

He died of a heart attack during a live TV performance on Aug. 11, 2000, a few days after his 60th birthday.

Maddah left an indelible mark on the Arabic culture and music of the 20th century. He was known for playing the Oud, a stringed musical instrument popular in the Middle East and North Africa.

Due to his talent for playing the Oud, Egyptian musician Mohammed Abdel Wahab gave him the title “Ziryab.” Ziryab was the chief entertainer in the Court of Cordoba and a great musician of his time who played a key role in developing medieval Eastern music.

Maddah was born on Aug. 5, 1940, in Makkah. He began his career in the late 1950s with the release of his first album “Wardak Ya Zaree Al-Ward” (Grower of Roses), which was the first Saudi emotional song to be aired on Saudi Radio.

He also starred in a movie “Fog Street” (1965) alongside Lebanese singer Sabah, and was also the first to perform on Saudi television, and the first Saudi to broadcast his songs from London, Damascus, Cairo, Germany, the Netherlands, Prague, Moscow, and other countries.

He worked on more than 80 albums and composed the songs of top Arab singers, including Mohammed Abdo, Warda Algerian, Faiza Ahmed, Samira Said, Raja Belmalih, Abadi Al-Jawhar, and Etab.