Continuing with underrepresented regions
Middle East this time
From 1974
Spicy east-west fusion with killer guitar
Musical heat matched by album cover
Omar Khorsid was quite a figure
Born in Cairo, taught himself violin, piano, and guitar
He eventually received an invitation to join Halim Hafez’ prestigious orchestra
It was the first time they had incorporated electric guitar in the mix
He did scores for a bunch of movies and TV shows
And became something of a screen star himself
He was a playboy known to swing all kinds of directions
Married 4 times between 1971 and 1981
The latter two simultaneously
He moved to Beirut in the early 70s
At the time, the most liberal, cosmopolitan, and happening cultural center in the Levant
Also away from the unrest in Egypt
This album from 74 was recorded for the Voice of Lebanon label
He was doing some freaky stuff, even for Beirut, even for the 70s
Sadat invited him to perform at a White House summit with Carter, celebrating the peace with Israel
Personal side note: I was born right after the historic accord, and was THIS close to being named Anwar before a last-second switch at the hospital
After the treaty, he went back to Egypt and continued his film career, and his amorous adventures
But there was a dark side as well
Like many who supported the treaty with Israel, he was targeted by hard-liners
The lifestyle, music, and acting surely didn’t help his cause with them
He was still married to his third wife, a Lebanese businesswoman who moved back to Egypt with him, when he married the fourth, an Egyptian singer
BOTH wives were pregnant in 1981, when Khorsid was killed in a high-speed car crash in Giza
According to the cached bio on his now-defunct website, the fourth, Abu Ouf, miscarried upon learning of his death
The third wife, Dina, was in the car with him, but survived
Given the conflict with conservatives who viewed him as a zionist/west-aligned traitor (this was five months before Sadat was assassinated), and the tumultuous love life, his death caused a lot of rumors to swirl
A musical and social maverick who lived fast and died young
Check out his music for cool fusing of middle eastern sounds with reverb and 70s electronics
