Ahmed Adaweya | Agabi Alayk Ya Zaman (Duniaphon, 1971)

All of us here at Arabic Singles Going Steady, from the CEO to the Office Manager to the interns are YUGE Ahmed Adaweya fans. That's not an accident. We simply don't let anyone through the deadly laser-beam protected front doors who isn't. Nothing personal if you're not the biggest fan; it's just our policy.

So, you can imagine the non-stop 48-hour party that erupted here in our offices when we finally procured a copy of our man's very first, impossible-to-find 45 RPM single, "عجبي عليك يا زمن / الاولة اه / ياللي بتعمل طيب / عجبي على ناس يا زمن".

Ahmed Adaweya performing "Agabi Alayk Ya Zaman"

Side 1 plays fine, but there was an annoying endless loop near the end of Side 2; we admit to having excised a couple of seconds of sonic information from our rip -- we don't think you'll even notice it.

Released in 1971, there would be a two-year gap between this incredibly punchy debut and his all-time one-two knockout punch, Sah Dah Anboh and Salamitha Oum Hassan, of 1973.

(Listen to "Agabi Alayk Ya Zaman / Alawilat Ah")

(Listen to "Yalliy Bitaemal Tayib")