From a young age, Elias Karam was specially keen on the voice and songs of Wadih al-Safi, and when he was 16 he wrote his first songs. At 20 he was already considered a professional singer and performed for Syrian radio.

After some years, Elias Karam, who is also a composer and 'ud player, went to live in Lebanon where he works with the biggest artists of that country. He has performed outside Syria and Lebanon in Jordan, Kuwait, the Gulf States, in Egypt (at the Cairo Opera), parts of Europe and Canada and the USA.