Fahd Ballan

Fahd Ballan was born in 1933 in the village of Al-Kafr in Suwayda, Syria to a Druze family.

In 1958, he sang his first song Ya batal al-ahrar ("O Hero of the Free") composed by Suhail Arafa in celebration of the unification of Syria and Egypt.

[7] In the early sixties, Ballan began a collaboration with artist Shaker Barikhan after the two met while working at Aleppo Radio.

Barikhan would go on to compose for Ballan numerous songs including Aah Ya Gleby ("Oh, my heart"),[8] a duetto with singer Sahar.

[9] Zuhur, Sherifa (2000) Asmahan's secrets: woman, war and song, University of Texas Press