Here are some famous folks who departed in 2019. Did I miss anyone?
Houari Manar (December 18, 1981 – January 7, 2019)
Houari was an Algerian Rai singer who was known almost as much for being a semi-closeted gay performer as for his music. Even though he never fully came out, his refusal to deny or hide his sexuality made him a trailblazer in the Muslim entertainment industry.
Dick Dale (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019)
"The King of the Surf Guitar" used his Lebanese ancestry to create his own unique style of midcentury American popular music. One of his most beloved recordings was his version of "Miserlou."
Ezzat Abou Aouf (August 21, 1948 – July 1, 2019)
Dr. Ezzat was a multitalented Egyptian actor, musician, and composer. Although he started out for a career in medicine, he soon transitioned to music where, as the group 4M, he and his sisters helped usher Egypt into an era of MTV-style synth pop. He later became a popular actor and ambassador of Egyptian cinema to the world.
Hossam Ramzy (December 15, 1953 – September 10, 2019)
Hossam needed no introduction for most belly dancers. Alternating between being traditional and innovative, this prolific Egyptian drummer and belly dance music producer was legendary.
Haitham Ahmed Zaki (April 4, 1984 – November 7, 2019)
Haitham was an Egyptian actor, perhaps best known to dance students who watch Arabic movies for playing the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in the biopic "HaIim."
Sha'aban Abdel Rahim (March 15, 1957 – December 3, 2019)
Another entertainer who needed no introduction, Sha'abola was an iconoclastic Egyptian sha'abi singer. If upper-class Egyptians thought sha'abi music was crude and unsophisticated before, Sha'abola hit like an atomic bomb with his song "I Hate Israel" in 2000. The epitome of "no filter," he sang what he thought, and nothing was off limits or too outlandish. It would be hard to imagine mahraganat music today if Sha'aban Abdel Rahim hadn't kicked the door down first.
Houari Manar (December 18, 1981 – January 7, 2019)
Houari was an Algerian Rai singer who was known almost as much for being a semi-closeted gay performer as for his music. Even though he never fully came out, his refusal to deny or hide his sexuality made him a trailblazer in the Muslim entertainment industry.
Dick Dale (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019)
"The King of the Surf Guitar" used his Lebanese ancestry to create his own unique style of midcentury American popular music. One of his most beloved recordings was his version of "Miserlou."
Ezzat Abou Aouf (August 21, 1948 – July 1, 2019)
Dr. Ezzat was a multitalented Egyptian actor, musician, and composer. Although he started out for a career in medicine, he soon transitioned to music where, as the group 4M, he and his sisters helped usher Egypt into an era of MTV-style synth pop. He later became a popular actor and ambassador of Egyptian cinema to the world.
Hossam Ramzy (December 15, 1953 – September 10, 2019)
Hossam needed no introduction for most belly dancers. Alternating between being traditional and innovative, this prolific Egyptian drummer and belly dance music producer was legendary.
Haitham Ahmed Zaki (April 4, 1984 – November 7, 2019)
Haitham was an Egyptian actor, perhaps best known to dance students who watch Arabic movies for playing the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in the biopic "HaIim."
Sha'aban Abdel Rahim (March 15, 1957 – December 3, 2019)
Another entertainer who needed no introduction, Sha'abola was an iconoclastic Egyptian sha'abi singer. If upper-class Egyptians thought sha'abi music was crude and unsophisticated before, Sha'abola hit like an atomic bomb with his song "I Hate Israel" in 2000. The epitome of "no filter," he sang what he thought, and nothing was off limits or too outlandish. It would be hard to imagine mahraganat music today if Sha'aban Abdel Rahim hadn't kicked the door down first.