1. Elias Hanna Al Rahbani was a Lebanese musician, composer, songwriter, orchestra conductor, and reality television personality, sitting as judge on a number of talent shows.
17 Facts About Elias Rahbani
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Elias Rahbani composed more than 2,500 songs, including 2,000 in Arabic.
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Elias Rahbani wrote the soundtrack for more than 25 films, a number of TV series, and composed musical scores for the piano.
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Elias Rahbani composed songs for a number of artists, including Fairuz and Sabah.
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Elias Rahbani studied music at the Lebanese Academy and did his specialization at the National Music College from 1955 to 1956.
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In 1957, at the age of nineteen, Rahbani wanted to continue his musical studies in Moscow but injured his right hand, which meant the end of his dreams of becoming a major piano player.
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Elias Rahbani later trained with his left hand and concentrated on music composition instead.
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In 1958, Elias Rahbani had his break, at the age of twenty, when the Arabic Service of the BBC contacted him about composing forty songs and writing the soundtracks to thirteen BBC Arabic radio productions.
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Elias Rahbani stayed at Radio Lebanon until 1972 but continued his career as a record producer with a number of record companies in Lebanon.
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Elias Rahbani has to his record hundreds of successful Lebanese and pan-Arab music, some in foreign musical adaptations, but mostly in Arabic music.
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Elias Rahbani accused Saber Rebai of plagiarizing his music with the song "Atahadda al 'aalam".
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In 1996, Elias Rahbani published the poetry collection Nafizat el Omr.
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Elias Rahbani was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Barrington University in Washington, and the American University in Asturias, Spain.
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Elias Rahbani has taken part in a number of televised talent shows in Lebanon and the Arab world, including being a judge on the singing competition SuperStar.
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Elias Rahbani took part in the launch of Rotana Academy for Teaching of Music in 2004, but left soon afterwards.
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Elias Rahbani was honorary judge for seasons 10 and 11 of Star Academy.
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Elias Rahbani died on 4 January 2021, at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, from complications due to COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic in Lebanon.