[1][2][3] Although born in Syria, he immigrated to Egypt at the age of nine with his mother and siblings, where he eventually became one of the most noted figures in 20th-century Arabic music.

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.

[10] Farid and his sister Amal, along with their brother Fouad, belonged to the religious minority Druze clan of their parents, Princess Alia and Prince Fahd al-Atrash.

(Asmar 1998)[11] His sister, Asmahan, evidenced similar musical talent in her teens, becoming one of the most popular female vocalists and cinema stars in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Even today, the reference to the given name "Farid" in the context of Arabic music or popular culture is immediately understood to denote al-Atrash himself.

[citation needed] In many of his songs, and nearly all of his concerts, al-Atrash would sing a mawal, which is a local folk Egyptian slow voice improvisation of a few poetic lines.

[14] His last movie, Nagham Fi Hayati (نغم في حياتي, Songs in my life) was released after his death.

Some of al-Atrash's well-known movies include Intisar al-Shabab (انتصار الشباب – The Triumph of Youth, 1941), Yom Bila Ghad, Ahd el-Hawa, and Lahn al-Kholoud (لحن الخلود – "Eternal Tune", 1952), Resala min Imraa Maghoola (رسالة من امرأة مجهولة – Letter from an Unknown Woman, 1962) produced by Salah Zulfikar Films owned by his close friend Salah Zulfikar and directed by Salah Abu Seif.

In 1947 he produced and co-starred in a movie with Samia directed by Henri Barakat; Habib al-'Oumr ("The love of my life," 1947), which became a huge success.

Farid continued to work with other film stars in numerous successful movies in which he always had the romantic lead role of a sad singer.

[19] The former queen's family did not accept al-Atrash, and the separation from Nariman sent the singer into a long depression, the start of health problems that worsened from that point on until his death.

[citation needed] As al-Atrash became older, he reconsidered his opinion of marriage and proposed to Egyptian singer named Shadia, but at the last minute he backed out.

[26] He composed songs for top Arab singers, foremost his own sister, Asmahan, as well as Wadih El-Safi, Shadia, Warda, and Sabah.

[27] Notable Egyptian instrumental guitarist Omar Khorshid covered Farid al-Atrash's songs in a tribute album.