Watch Umm Kulthum

She had the musicality of Ella Fitzgerald, the public presence of Eleanor Roosevelt and the audience of Elvis Presley. Born a peasant at the turn of the last century, legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum earned a position of great wealth and influence. She was a powerful symbol, first of the aspirations of her country, and then of the entire Arab world. Four million people filled the streets of Cairo for her funeral in 1975 and to this day her songs outsell those of many contemporary Arab female vocalists.