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This music legend was deservedly labelled The Maker of Superstars. Hany Shenouda gave us El Masryen, Mohamed Mounir, and Amr Diab, and so much more. His influence on Egyptian music shaped generations upon generations, and it will remain forever in the memory of Egyptian and Arab music. This legend left us after a lifetime of greatness, but his legacy will always endure.
Where the Miracle Emerged
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The journey started in Tanta, where Hany Shenouda graduated from the Faculty of Music Education in 1966 before going on to study at the Conservatoire. Ten years later, in 1977, he changed the shape of Egyptian and Arab music forever when he founded El Masryen. The band started out as a cover band for Western artists, but Hany Shenouda soon began mixing Western and Eastern music styles, creating the Egyptian pop we know and love today. The songs El Masryen offered have a strong identity. Not just through the music, but through the lyrics as well. The great writer Salah Jaheen wrote 11 songs for the band throughout their albums.
The Maker of Superstars
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Thanks to Hany Shenouda, we have one of the pillars of Egyptian music, Mohamed Mounir. His first album, Elmooni Eineky, established him as a staple in Egyptian music and changed it forever. Their collaboration gave the Egyptian song a solid identity, celebrating our language, poetry, culture, and music. Together, they created timeless classics that influenced upcoming generations.
Another huge artist who rose to fame with Hany Shenouda is the unmatched Amr Diab. As a young adult, he was spotted by Hany Shenouda and encouraged to move from Port Said to chase his dreams in Cairo. Hany Shenouda produced and composed Amr Diab's first album, Ya Tariq, launching him as the greatest artist of his generation and developing the Egyptian song like never before. The influence of Hany Shenouda's work with these two legends changed Egyptian pop forever, creating the modern Egyptian song.
Unbelievable Range
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Hany Shenouda's transcendent work was not only limited to modernising and establishing the Egyptian song as we know it today. He also composed countless soundtracks that are engraved in the Egyptian consciousness. He composed the soundtracks for over 150 works. The most iconic ones are El Mashbouh, Shams El-Zanaty, El-Hareef, Al-Ghoul, Esabet Hamada w Toto, and many more. His most iconic and beloved composition, however, is Longa 79, his instrumental masterpiece for the sports TV programme El Kammera fe Al Malaab.
Hany Shenouda stated many times across multiple interviews that music is a language, and he spoke it best. Through his devotion to this beloved language, he talked to us about deep emotions and identity, but also about fun and the childlike purity of heart. As we bid him farewell and mourn his passing, we also celebrate the life he breathed into his work. A true legend who will live on in our hearts and memories, where his music was always present.
