The honorable and much beloved musician Ali Bira recently passed away. He had been in the music business for over 50 years and recorded almost 300 songs. He was born in Dire Dawa where a park was named after him and he received honorary degrees from Dire Dawa and Jimma Universities. Ali Birra was well known for his lyrics that promoted freedom and love. He began his musical career at 13 when he joined Afran Qallo a cultural group which promoted Oromo music and culture. He sang in his native Oromiffa but his versatility meant that he was also able to perform songs in Somali, Afar, Harari, Amharic and Sudanese!
He attended Arabic school as a child, where he learned the Arabic language as well as Oromiffa and Amharic.
He performed widely in Addis and travelled throughout the country, including Sudan to sing with well-known celebrities. Throughout his career he gained appreciation from different contemporary personalities and he joined other well known singers such as Mahmoud Ahmed, Tilahun Gessesse and Bizunesh Bekele.
At the outbreak of the revolution, in the early 1970s, he left Ethiopia and spent many years living abroad including Sweden (his wife was Swedish) Saudi Arabia and the USA.
Report from state media indicates that he was engaged in charity work during the final years of his life. He formed “Birra Children’s Education Fund” and was supporting needy children.
