Arab world's legendary singer, Sabah Fakhri, dies at 88

Syria's government says Sabah Fakhri, one of the Arab world’s most famous singers, has died at the age of 88

BEIRUT -- One of the Arab world’s most famous singers, Sabah Fakhri, who has entertained generations with traditional songs and preserved nearly extinct forms of Arabic music, has died, Syria’s government said Tuesday. He was 88.

Born Sabah Abu Qaws in the Syrian city of Aleppo in 1933, Fakhri got his stage name as an adolescent when he started performing.

He soon rose to fame to become one of the Arab world’s legendary tenors and one of its exceptionally charismatic entertainers.

Fakhri was a world class Tarab singer, an Arabic form of music associated with emotional evocation that can last for hours.