Last updated: 12 hours ago
Stephanie Stephanou is a Lebanese singer whose story is closely intertwined with Beirut’s music scene of the 1980s and the circle of musicians surrounding Ziad Rahbani. She began singing with Rahbani while still a teenager, balancing school with rehearsals, studio sessions and performances, and remained part of his musical circle for years.
Growing up during the Lebanese Civil War, Stephanou developed her musical world around the Western records she loved, from Stevie Nicks and James Taylor to The Beatles and Shawn Phillips. Around 1985, during free time at Rahbani’s Bypass Studio, she recorded a small number of songs with friends from the scene. Among them was “You Turn Me On,” an infectious boogie track featuring Abboud Saadi, Ziad Rahbani, Toufic Farroukh and Walid Itayim. The song was never officially released, surviving for decades only on a handful of hand-copied cassettes circulated among friends and musicians.
Although Stephanou never pursued a conventional solo career, music remained a constant throughout her life. After returning to Beirut in 2003, she resumed working closely with Rahbani, eventually becoming manager of Bypass Studio and later managing his band and international tours.
“You Turn Me On” finally receives its first official release as part of Habibi Funk’s Beirut City Pop, bringing to light a remarkable piece of Beirut’s musical history.
Growing up during the Lebanese Civil War, Stephanou developed her musical world around the Western records she loved, from Stevie Nicks and James Taylor to The Beatles and Shawn Phillips. Around 1985, during free time at Rahbani’s Bypass Studio, she recorded a small number of songs with friends from the scene. Among them was “You Turn Me On,” an infectious boogie track featuring Abboud Saadi, Ziad Rahbani, Toufic Farroukh and Walid Itayim. The song was never officially released, surviving for decades only on a handful of hand-copied cassettes circulated among friends and musicians.
Although Stephanou never pursued a conventional solo career, music remained a constant throughout her life. After returning to Beirut in 2003, she resumed working closely with Rahbani, eventually becoming manager of Bypass Studio and later managing his band and international tours.
“You Turn Me On” finally receives its first official release as part of Habibi Funk’s Beirut City Pop, bringing to light a remarkable piece of Beirut’s musical history.
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