Farid al-Atrash (Arabic: فريد الأطرش‎; October 19, 1910 – December 26, 1974), also written Farid El-Atrache, was a Syrian composer, singer, virtuoso oud player, and actor. Having immigrated to Egypt at the age of nine years old with his mother and siblings, Al-Atrash embarked on a highly successful career spanning more than four decades—recording 500 songs and starring in 31 movies. Sometimes referred to as “King of the Oud”, he is one of the most important figures of 20th century Arab music.

Al-Atrash was born in Al-Qurayya, in southern Syria to the Druze al-Atrash family who fought the French colonial army. His father was Syrian and his mother was Lebanese. As a child, al-Atrash emigrated with his mother and siblings to Egypt, escaping the French occupation. Later, they were naturalized by the Egyptian government as citizens. Farid’s mother sang and played the Oud, which spurred his musical interest at an early age.

As a child and young adult, al-Atrash sang in school events. He studied in a music conservatory and became an apprentice of the renowned composer Riad Al Sunbati. In the 1930s, al-Atrash began his professional singing career by working for privately owned Egyptian radio stations. Eventually, he was hired as an oud player for the national radio station and later as a singer. His sister, Asmahan, was also a talented singer, and for a while they worked together. In 1941, they starred in their first successful movie Intisar a l-Shabab (انتصار الشباب – The Triumph of Youth, 1941), in which Farid himself composed all the music.