Blaoui Houari ( ''Blawī al-Hwārī''; 23 January 1926 – 19 July 2017) was an Algerian singer-songwriter, composer and conductor. Over the course of his career, he recorded over 900 songs and released over 100 albums.

Early life

Blaoui Houari was born on 23 January 1926 in

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

, Western Algeria, then

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

. His father, who owned a bar in Oran, played the Kwitra. Houari left school at 13 to work for his father.

Career

Houari began his career as a singer-songwriter in the 1940s, when he first played music at weddings and circumcision ceremonies. He also composed songs and played the piano, the guitar, the

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

and the accordion. He released his first album in 1955, which included a cover of Benyekhlef Boutaleb's song ''Rani M’hayer''. In 1986, he released ''Dikrayat Wahran'', an album about Oran. Over the course of his career, he recorded over 900 songs and released over 100 albums. With Ahmed Wahby, Houari co-founded El Asri, a musical style which blended traditional Arab music with

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

rhythm and Oranian dialect. For example, he turned Abdelkader El-Khaldi's poems into songs. During the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

, Houari was arrested by the French army and detained in Sig for his pro-Algerian songs. When Algeria became an independent nation in 1962, he became the head of Oran's public radio and television stations. In 1970, he conducted the Algerian National Orchestra at

Expo '70 The or Expo '70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, between 15 March and 13 September 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...

in Osaka, Japan.

Death and legacy

Houari died on 19 July 2017 in Oran, at the age of 91. He was buried in Oran's Ain El Beida cemetery. Houari is considered as the "precursor of raï music." Indeed, his music influenced many raï performers, including Khaled, who covered some of his songs, as well as

Houari Benchenet Houari Benchenet (Arabic: هواري بنشنات), born in Oran on May 25, 1961, is an Algerian raï singer. Biography A native of El Hamri, in Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considere ...

and

Cheb Mami Mohamed Khelifati (; born 11 July 1966), better known by his stage name Cheb Mami (), is an Algerians, Algerian musician and singer-songwriter. He sings and speaks in Algerian Arabic and sometimes in Mashriqi Arabic, Eastern Arabic dialects or ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houari, Blaoui 1926 births 2017 deaths Musicians from Oran Male singer-songwriters 20th-century Algerian male singers Algerian composers 20th-century composers