Biography
Issam Rajji (born 1945, Kfarshima) was a Lebanese singer and song writer most prominent from 1970s and 80s period.
Best known for his songs Lagetek (When I Met You…), and “Yawmain wa Shahrain” (Two Days and Two Months), Rajji’s special deep vocals also earned him roles in Lebanon’s top musicals and plays in the 1970s and 1980s with the Rahbani brothers, Sabah, Shoushou and Nabih Aboulhosn.
Raised in the Mount Lebanon village of Kfarshima, Rajji shot to stardom with “Hizzi ya Nawaem” (Nawaem Shake your Waist), which was written by Farid al-Atrash and became an instant hit in the Arab world. He also successfully revived the classic song “ya Salat Zein” (Oh,Beautiful Prayer).
Rajji was also an accomplished composer, and besides writing a great deal of his own music, he also wrote for Sabah (singer)
“Laylitna Saidi” (Happy is our Night)
“ya Nas Dinyi Doulab” (Oh People, Life is like a Wheel) -
Samir Yazbek
“al-Oyoun Assoud” (Black Eyes)
“Dakhlak Berdan” (I Feel Cold).
He worked with a majority of the Arab world’s top music composers such as Philemon Wehbeh and Melhem Barakat. One of his latest collaborations was with choreographer Caracalla for the musical “Belaylet Amar” (Moon Nights), which was performed at the Casino Du Liban and Baalbeck.
According to thisiscyberia.com, when once asked about how he felt about dying, Rajji replied, “I hate death because it would separate me from the people I love.”
Rajji went to Jordan for a while during the Lebanese civil war and married a Jordanian woman Nawal Elias and had three children with her Layal,Rami and Sariya. He and his family also lived in Oman for a long period of time but then returned permantly to Lebanon in 1993 after the civil war.
He died in 2001 of a stroke after having a brain seizure.
His song Laguitik (When I met you…) was one of the earliest hits for Lebanese singer Diana Haddad in 1996. It would also be featured on the Soundtrack of the Brazilian novela O Clone in 2001 but covered by a Syrian-Brazilian singer called Tony Mouzayek.
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