Prominent Algerian singer and musician Hamdi Benani passed away on Monday morning at the age of 77 in a hospital in Annaba city where he had spent 10 days for treatment from the coronavirus.

Many Algerian and Arab artists and entities, including President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed “great sadness for the loss of a master that was hugely considered a figure in Algerian culture.” 

Born in Annaba in 1943, Hamdi Benani, dubbed the White Angel for his white violin, is most known for Malouf de Annabi. He enjoyed decades of a fruitful career since the early 1960s with his Ya Bahi Al-Djamel that established him as a popular violinist and singer.

Learned under his known uncle M’hamed El Kourd, Benani was awarded for the first song he wrote at the age of 16. Benani walked in the footsteps of older masters like Hassen Al-Annabi, Mohamed Tahar Fergani, and Abdelmoumène Bentobal.

His successful albums include Ya Ahl Ellil Tahya Bikoum, Bahi Al-Djamel, Min Chit Frikitti, and Achiq Al-Mahboub Dar Al-Hiba.

Algeria has recorded approximately 50,000 cases of coronavirus with deaths hovering around 1,670.

ahramonline