Mohammed El Bakkar and His Oriental Ensemble Exotic Music of The Belly Dancer [1966]

Audio Fidelity ‎AFSD 6154

Mohammed El-Bakkar and His Oriental Ensemble Dances of Port Said Music of The Middle East Volume 5 [1960]

Audio Fidelity AFSD 5922

Mohammed El-Bakkar and His Oriental Ensemble The Magic Carpet Music of The Middle East Volume 4 [1959]

Audio Fidelity AFSD 5895

Mohammed El-Bakkar and His Oriental Ensemble Music of The African Arab Volume 3 [1958]

Audio Fidelity AFSD 5858

Mohammed El-Bakkar and His Oriental Ensemble Sultan of Bagdad Music of The Middle East Volume 2 [1958]

Audio Fidelity ‎AFSD 5834 

Mohammed El-Bakkar, idol of the Middle Easterners abroad and in the United States, was a featured star in the cast of the Broadway hit Fanny for two and a half years. As the leading tenor of the Orient, he has a long list of other distinguished achievements to his credit, including command performances for former King Farouk of Egypt, for his successor, Major General Mohammed Naguib, for King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia and the Shah of Iran. As an actor, he has appeared in 32 motion pictures which he himself produced and directed, and has numerous television and radio appearances to his credit. Bakkar came to this country a few years ago for a sixth concert tour and liked it so much he decided to become a citizen. He has filled engagements in major eastern cities and has been acclaimed enthusiastically everywhere. In leisure hours, when he isn't giving a professional performance, he has entertained Syrian, Lebanese, Turkish and Persian compatriots the world over. 

Mohammed El-Bakkar died in 1959 at the age of 46 due to a cerebral hemorrhage. [Courtesy el-bakkar.com]

Mohammed El-Bakkar and His Oriental Ensemble Port Said Music of The Middle East Volume 1 [1958]

Audio Fidelity AFSD 5833 

Nejla Ates: The Exquisite Turkish Delight

By Kai Wada Roath (Amoeba.com)

Ambassador of Confusion Hill and host of the Super Shangri-La Show

"She had a ruby on her tummy and a diamond big as Texas on her toe
She let her hair down and she did the hoochie-coochie real slow
When she did her special number on the zebra skin
I thought she'd stop the show…"
~ "Little Egypt" by The Coasters

If you have flipped through Middle East or Belly Dancing records, you most likely have seen her…for she is hard to miss. As Sandra Warner was the enchantress for Martin Denny’s album covers, Nejla Ates, “the Turkish Delight,” was the “Honk-honk, hubba-hubba, Ee chee wa waa!” album cover model of Middle Eastern records in the 1950s.