Timeline of Saudi Singing

The Royal Anthem‏, the first musical piece, was composed specifically for the military band.

The Saudi Army Music School was launched under the leadership of Tarek Abdulhakim. The school took care of the music and teaching musical theories, and it produced the first Saudi songs.

The Radio Theater was established, and several national songs emerged that remain memorable to the present, such as (Watani al-Habib), sung by the Saudi artist Talal Maddah.

The first musical concert in the history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia accompanied by musical instruments was held to celebrate the return of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud from a medical trip to the United States, in which Talal Maddah performed his debut song (Wardak Ya Zarea al-Ward).

After the era of theater and vinyl records, the iconic song (A'tni al-Mahabba) emerged, recorded by Riyadhphone, a company founded by Talal Maddah, Lotfi Zini, and the poet al-Muntathir.

This period, known as the new romance era, was marked by numerous collaborations. During this time, Talal Maddah released several songs, such as (Maqadeer, al-Maw'id al-Thani, and Aghrab.) Many Saudi artists rose to prominence through Riyadhphone, including Abadi al-Johar, Ibtisam Lutfi, Etab, Yusra al-Badawiya, and the singer and composer Fathiya Hassan, known as (Touha), among others. The same era witnessed the emergence and rise of the artist Mohammed Abdu.

During this period, folk art and its artists also emerged, such as Issa al-Ahsaei and Mizal al-Farhan, who performed concerts in the Gulf countries. The popularity of mass songs led to the emergence of local music production and industry, with the appearance of private recording studios like Sawt al-Jazeera and previously Riyadhphone. The market thrived with the introduction of cassette tapes in the Kingdom. This period also witnessed the rise of veteran artists in the music scene, such as the late Abu Bakr Salem, who released some of his most notable songs for the Kingdom, including his national song (Ya Biladi Wasli, Wa Allah Maaki).

This period marked the beginning of musical performances (operettas) at festivals such as the Janadriyah Festival and annual summer concerts, including those at al-Muftaha Theater in Abha and the Jeddah Music Festival. It also witnessed the emergence of various artists such as Rashed al-Majed, Rabeh Saqer, Abdulmajeed Abdullah, and Khalid Abdulrahman. These concerts continued sporadically until the new millennium.

Significant transformations in the music and singing industry across the Arab world began, affecting listening mediums such as cassettes and CDs, and evolving towards digital platforms and distribution and production technologies, and the dominance of production companies in the field of music.