Jeanette Georges Feghali (10 November 1927 – 26 November 2014), known professionally as Sabah, was a Lebanese singer and actress. Her professional career started in Egypt and later extended to Lebanon and the wider Arab world. She amassed a vast line of work over six decades, out-scaling most past and present contemporaries. Sabah is often regarded as one of the greatest Arab singers of the 20th century.
Born to rural Lebanese parents in a village 15 kilometres from Beirut, Sabah grew up with a love for performing arts. In 1945, she was noticed for an acting talent at her school in Lebanon and later invited to Egypt by actress and film director Assia Dagher. There, she was cast in her first film as the original character Sabah, whose name was chosen through a public poll and later adopted by Sabah as a stage name.
Most of Sabah's career spanned the mid-1940s to the early 2000s. In 1958, she acted in her first film with Abdel Halim Hafez, which helped her enter the mainstream Arab acting scene. She is said to have produced about 3000 to 5000 songs, acted in nearly 100 films, and nearly 20 stage plays.
Sabah remains a celebrated figure in Arabic music. Even though she was scrutinised for her bold outfits, use of cosmetic surgery, and outspoken personality, she has become praised as a major artistic figure within the Arab socialist movement.
Contents
Early life
Sabah was born to a Maronite family in Wadi Chahrour, Baabda District, as the youngest of three daughters. During her childhood, she was harassed by her father who had hoped for a son. Her brother eventually killed their mother, suspecting her of having an affair. Sabah was the sister of famous Lebanese actress Lamia Feghali and a maternal first cousin of famous Lebanese singer and actress Alexandra Nicholas Badran, known as Nour Al Hoda. She grew up in the nearby town of Bdadoun, Aley District.
Career
Sabah emerged in a period when the field of Arab singers included many notable talents, such as Umm Kulthum (1904–1975), Nagat El Saghira (born 1938), Warda Al-Jazairia (1939–2012), Shadia (1931–2017), Fairuz (born 1934 or 1935), among others.
Sabah began singing at a young age and released her first song in Lebanon in 1940 at the age of 13. In the early 1940s, she was invited to Egypt by actress and producer Assia Dagher. Sabah acted alongside Dagher in her first movie, El-Qalb Luh Wahid (The Heart Has Its Reasons), released in 1945, which brought her regional fame. She then became widely known by her character's name, Sabah, which means "morning" in Arabic.
Sabah was active in Egyptian cinema and resided in Egypt for two decades. Among her most popular films were The Night is Ours (1949), My Father Deceived Me (1951), That's What Love Is (1961), Soft Hands (1963), Three Women (1968), Paris and Love (1972), and The Second Man (1959), where she played a cabaret singer seeking to avenge her brother's death at the hands of a smuggling ring. In the 1990s, Sabah and her former husband, Fadi Lubnan (Kuntar), produced a documentary about her life. Titled The Journey of My Life (مشوار حياتي, Mishwār Ḥayātī), the documentary aired on Future Television.
Throughout her music career, Sabah recorded over 3,000 songs, collaborating with numerous renowned Egyptian composers, including the late Mohammed Abdel Wahab. She specialized in the Lebanese folk tradition known as mawwāl, and among her most famous songs were "Zay el-Assal" ("Your Love is Like Honey on my Heart") and "Akhadou el-Reeh" ("They Took the Wind"). Sabah released more than 50 albums and appeared in 98 films. Known for her youthful spirit and vibrant performances, she became a symbolic figure of the "belle époque" and the "joie de vivre" in the Levant and the Arab world. Despite the Lebanese civil war, she continued to sing at weddings in Lebanon.
Until 2009, Sabah performed in concerts and on television, including appearances on programs like Star Academy. She collaborated closely with singer Rola Saad in remaking some of her previous hits, such as "Yana Yana". The accompanying video, which pays tribute to Sabah as "the notorious diva", received significant airplay on Arabic music channels. Additionally, Sabah hosted the TV show Akher Man Yalam on 31 May 2010.
Personal life
Sabah held passports from Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and the United States.
She married Lebanese businessman Najib Chammas at the age of 18 and later married nine more times. Her notable spouses include Egyptian actor Rushdy Abaza, Egyptian musician Anwar Mansy, Egyptian television presenter Ahmed Farraj, Lebanese politician Youssef "Joe" Hammoud, and Lebanese author-director Wassim Tabbara. Hammoud reportedly divorced Sabah in the 1970s following a scandal related to a performance in which she wore revealing shorts. Her second-to-last marriage, which lasted 17 years, was to the much-younger Lebanese artist Fadi Lubnan. Her final marriage took place in 2013, at the age of 85, to Joseph Gharib.
She had two children: Sabah Chammas, from her marriage to Najib Chammas, and Howayda Mansy, from her marriage to Anwar Mansy. Sabah Chammas is a medical doctor, while Howayda Mansy is known as a singer, actress, and socialite. Both of Sabah's children reside in the United States. Sabah was also the paternal aunt of Brazilian congresswoman Jandira Feghali and her brother Ricardo Feghali, a member of the band Roupa Nova, through her brother Albert.
After selling her house in Hazmieh, which she felt as "too big and cold for only one person", Sabah relocated to the nearby Hotel Comfort in Baabda, Mount Lebanon, a hillside city with views of Beirut and the Mediterranean Sea. Later, she resided in another hotel adjacent to Baabda.
Death
Rumors of Sabah's death circulated days before she died. Amused by the rumors, Sabah said, "Even in my death, I'm making people busy." She died on 26 November 2014, at approximately 3:00 a.m., sixteen days after celebrating her 87th birthday, at her residence in Hotel Brazilia, due to unspecified reasons. The news was first published by Clauda Akl, daughter of her sister Lamia Feghaly. It was mentioned that Sabah expressed a wish for people not to mourn her and to dance the dabke at her funeral, stating "I've lived enough." Following her death, her hairdresser and husband Joseph Gharib shared in an interview that Sabah had a fondness for wearing red lipstick during her final days.
Sabah's funeral was held four days after her death at St. George Cathedral in downtown Beirut. Her family, Lebanese officials, and numerous Arab delegates attended the ceremony. Outside the cathedral, the official Lebanese Army band performed the national anthem, followed by several songs from Sabah's extensive repertoire. Additionally, a group of dancers dressed in traditional attire performed to her music, which played through loudspeakers.
During the funeral mass, Sabah's coffin, draped in a flag, was placed near the altar alongside a large photograph of the singer during her younger years. Following the service, mourners escorted the casket to a waiting hearse outside. People expressed their respects by applauding, throwing flowers, and reaching out to touch the coffin and take photographs. Sabah's body was transported through several towns to the church in her hometown of Bdadoun, where she was laid to rest.
Legacy
The TV drama Al Shahrourah, based on Sabah's life, aired during Ramadan in 2011, with actress and singer Carole Samaha portraying her. Sabah generally responded positively to the series, though she noted some inaccuracies, such as the portrayal of her father in traditional Lebanese attire. Months before her death, Lebanese journalist Rima Njeim hosted a live TV episode on MTV Lebanon honoring Sabah.
Her music is included in music classes in Lebanon. In 2015, graffiti artists Halwani and the brothers Omar and Mohammad Kabbani created monumental murals on buildings in Beirut to commemorate Sabah. These artworks celebrated her for challenging gender-based and other social taboos, and for offering an alternative to the dominant images of political leaders and their slogans in Lebanese culture.
On 10 November 2017, Google honored what would have been her 90th birthday with a Google Doodle. In Marvel's Moon Knight TV series, her song "Saat Saat" from the 1980 Egyptian movie A Night When The Moon Cried is featured at the end of Episode 5.
On 6 September 2023, the Alexandria Film Festival announced the results of a poll it conducted to compile a list of the top 100 Egyptian musical films. Approximately 32 film critics and cinematographers participated in this poll. Sabah appeared in six of the selected films, including "Love Street" (1959), "The Unmarried Mother" (1950), "Bolbol Afandi" (1946), "Soft Hands" (1964), "Leila Baka Feha Al Qamar" (1980), and "He Stole My Wife" (1954).
Awards
In 2004, Sabah was recognized at the Alexandria Song Festival and the Cairo Film Festival. Additionally, she was honored with a statue in Beirut during the same year.
In 2010, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dubai International Film Festival.
She received multiple honors from the Lebanese Republic, including the National Order of the Cedar medal.
Work
Sabah released more than 50 albums and appeared in 98 films, along with over 20 stage plays. She was known for having a vast repertoire of over 3,500 songs.
Selected filmography
Source:
1986 Ayyam El Lulu ايام اللولو aka = Days Of The Pearls
1972 Paris wal Hob باريس والحب aka = Paris and Love
1970 Kanet Ayyam كانت ايام aka = It Were Days
1970 Nar El Shoq نار الشوق aka = Fire Of Longing
1969 Easabet El Nesa عصابة النساء aka = Gang Of Women
1968 Thalath Nesaa ثلاث نساء aka = Three Women
1966 Mawwal El Aqdam El Zahabiyyah موال الاقدام الذهبية aka = Popular Song Of Golden Feet
1963 El Aydi el naema الايدى الناعمة aka = The Soft Hands
1963 El Motamaradah المطاردة aka = The Chase
1961 El Hub Keda الحب كده aka = That's What Love Is
1961 Goz merti جوز مراتى aka = Husband Of My Wife
1960 El Ragol El Thani الرجل الثانى aka = The Second Man
1959 El Ataba El Khadra العتبه الخضرا aka = The Green Threshold
1958 Shari' El Hobb شارع الحب aka = Love Street
1958 Sallem Al Habayib سلم ع الحبايب aka = Say Hello To Lovers
1956 Izayy Ansak ازاى انساك aka = How To Forget You
Selected discography
Source: