Canaanite Lydia
Humble, unapologetic, loud
I met her a day before her birthday (A gentleman never forgets a lady’s birthday but always forgets her age). She loves Aquarians. That’s me. She’s happy, grateful, thankful, and full of empathy towards other people. She is spiritual and works on her inner harmony. She reads the sages: Rumi and Gibran. She seeks wisdom and has done it since she was a little girl. She expressed herself through poetry, music, singing, and dancing. Today, words and hands are as loud as her passionate and present voice. She keeps you engaged by periodically calling your name.
Music
Art accelerates and amplifies your spirituality. Especially music. Music. “Tony, I feel that music, of all the arts, gives instant gratification.” It pierces your heart and shakes your body. The frequency pulsates positivity.
Even when you’re sad, music gives you a happy sadness.
Music soothes your pain and speaks to your moods. Music is universal. You can listen to classical, heavy metal, rock, opera, Arabic, or pop. It doesn’t matter. It will touch your heart. You know why? Because it is honest. It’s nonjudgmental. Music is truth and truthful.
The girl got the part
As a teenager, growing up during war times, the teenager expressed herself in music. She grew up listening to the beautiful songs of Olivia Newton-John, Crystal Gayle, and the big voice of Shirley Bassey. The all-boys hard rock band wanted a male lead singer.
“It’s crazy. It’s a fantastic story, Tony. You want to hear it?” she excitedly asked, but never waited for an answer.
A friend encouraged her to audition. She trained on Separate Ways by Journey and let her strong voice deliver. She got the part. The long-haired down-to-her-ankles pre-teen angel-faced was since known under her stage name — Angel.
She still maxes the sound engineer’s audio needles when singing. They got used to putting the microphones a meter away. She became the lead singer of Equation, the famous rock band of Lebanon’s late ’80s. They rehearsed in the drummer’s apartment for about nine months before their first concert.
What would people say?
Lydia, the fourth of five children in a conservative Christian family from the mountain town of Brummana. Her father was never going to accept that she performs on stage. What would they say about her? What would they say about them? He forbid her. She tried to reason with him. He wouldn’t budge. The music in her soul defied him. The teenager lied and snuck out of the house.
The evening of her first concert, she threw her leather outfit and gear out of her bedroom window, got dressed the proper way for her father, walked out the door pretending to sing at the school. In the car, she changed into her leather outfit and made sure her plain hair turned wild. Her siblings were in on this.
They packed the house
The car was packed. They were running late. Traffic was awful on the way to the theatre. Afraid that she was going to miss the curtain opening, Angel jumped out of the car and ran to the venue to find out that the traffic was bound to the concert venue. 800+ people attended that night as they ran out of printed tickets, and people queued outside. The seventh and eighth of July, 1984 were defining evenings in Angel’s life. Passion, defiance, perseverance, and raw talent delivered a potent taste of self-fulfillment. There was no turning back. She experienced how eagles soar.
For the next five years, she did many concerts packing thousands of music lovers. She loved her fans and later on realized the impact she had on so many of them. For some, she was an inspiration to carry a guitar instead of a Kalashnikov. Some parents hugged her for saving their children.
She wrote poetry, lyrics, and melodies of her own songs. With time, her style became rock-pop. Local and international media labeled her the first female rock star of the Middle East. The child prodigy, who can compose music without the need of any musical instrument nor can she read notes; the big rock star of the middle east moved to Switzerland where no one knew she even existed.
She soared internationally as Lydia Canaan
She moved to Switzerland where she had family and took the challenge to continue her journey on the international scene.
You know. Nothing puts me down. We’re Lebanese. We’re resilient people.
Sony Record Company wanted to sign her up as a heavy metal artist. She declined. Her mezzo-soprano voice skipped to perform opera but was destined to work with the biggest players in the business.
Her beginnings in Europe got her to make a song of her own lyrics and melody with a Swiss producer. One day David Richards, the producer of Freddie Mercury, Queen, David Bowie, Chris Rea, and the Montreux Jazz Festival, asked to meet her. Then Jim Beach, the manager of Queen, became her manager. She recorded in the same studio where Deep Purple recorded Smoke on the Water. When her songs were playing on the radio in Switzerland, she made a breakthrough on the London scene — every singing artist’s dream. She then made Love and Lust with the drummer of Queen, Roger Taylor, and duets with Robin Scott. She also worked with Barry Blue on Beautiful Life. Lydia’s Beautiful Life was a hit in South Africa when Nelson Mandela adopted it for a charity event under his auspices. She sat in her London apartment watching Madiba on TV swaying to her tunes. Her song became Mandela’s song, and she couldn’t be more honored.
And yes. Lydia Canaan, as of 2015, is the first and only artist from the Middle East who is listed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Library and Archives in America with the likes of Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, and The Beatles. Did I miss anyone?
She talks about some of her accomplishments with excitement, a sense of self-fulfillment, and with an equal dose of humility.
While artists invent stage names for themselves, Angel wanted to revert back to her origins. Lydia Canaan the biblical melodic name worked very well for her.
I am very proud of my name.
I am not just an artist
She is an artist with a purpose: To use her speaking and singing voice to give hope to people and to advocate humanitarian causes in Lebanon and abroad. She’s become a United Nations delegate to the Geneva United Nations Human Rights Council.
When a voice transforms emotions, it can transform behavior.
Lydia’s bytes of inspiration
While all the big names in the Rock and Roll hall of fame make a great company, her idol is Gibran Khalil Gibran: His ambitions, his genius, and his work. She understands him. She knows the power of her talent and she’s unapologetic about it. She believes that she’s as spiritual as her idol and can see herself living similar enlightened experiences. In spite of the different conditions and times, she connects with him on so many levels. The parallels reaffirm her to travel the road less traveled and swim against the current. When there is negativity, resistance to change, and surrender, she pushes forward and recharges when adversity knocks. She is positive and an incurable optimist — easier to navigate life this way. A few poignant takes from our conversation:
- Practice appreciation, thankfulness, and gratitude to the tiniest things.
- Turn negative experiences into positive lessons.
- Forget gut feeling. It’s a heart feeling. Listen to your heart.
- Children… Do not listen to your parents.
- Parents… With all due respect, you don’t always know what’s good for your children. Your job as a parent is to listen to what they want. Listen to their hearts and lift them to achieve their goals.
- Hug life. Be whatever you want to be. Be happy. Your energy will attract.
Her energy is contagious. “Never, never, never,” when I asked her if she gets tired.
“What would make me tired? I am a spiritual person. I believe in God. My faith and spirituality empower me. They nourish and nurture my heart and soul.”
Today, her base is in Lebanon. For her, Lebanon is going to be okay. She reflects back to the times when their dining room served as a makeshift hospital during the war. She lived in Switzerland, a country that was torn by war for hundreds of years and now it’s one of the most peaceful and prosperous places on the globe. When we look at nations in perspective, we acquire patience.
I’m very hopeful. I believe in the positive spirit. I believe in love. Love is my religion as my heart guides me.
Lebanon will bounce back regardless of what we’re seeing today. In life’s seasons, this dark cloud over Lebanon will pass. When people are leaving the country, there are people returning — silent enlightened angels are rolling back.
I have faith. I believe in this country. I believe in the spirit of these people. I am the daughter of this land. I’m a Canaanite.
The little girl, one of five children, who left Lebanon, came back home and is giving back. She defied her father until he was proud of her. She challenged Switzerland and conquered the world. She got famous. Fame did not get to her. I never knew of or her. I skipped the ‘fan’ stage to become a friend of this loud soul.
