Halim El-Dabh

Halim El-Dabh's musical career began in the early '40s when he was virtually kidnapped by Prince Hassan Tussun of Egypt, who had heard El-Dabh's composition "It Is Dark and Damp on the Front" on the radio and felt compelled to meet its composer. Up to that point, El-Dabh viewed his compositional work more as a hobby, focusing instead on his career in agriculture. After he and the prince had an informal jam session up at the palace, El-Dabh began to consider more seriously a career in music. A major turning point in El-Dabh's career occurred when, in 1944, he discovered a wire...