Salim Doumani: One of Arab America’s Earliest Recorded Vocalists

Salim Doumani

 (1897-1955)

 Salim Doumani or Samuel Simon, c. 1942. Photo courtesy of Roy Simon.

Next to Louis Wardini, few Arab American musicians in the 1920s managed to record on both Alexander Maloof’s label and A.J. Macksoud’slabel – except Selim Doumani or Salim Doumani. Although not the first Arab or Arab American to record vocally in the US for an Arab American market (Wardini first recorded in 1916 and Doumni recorded by 1922), Doumani was certainly among the first handful to record. Richard K. Spottswood’s Ethnic Music on Record: Mid-East, Far East, Scandinavian, English Language, American Indian, International, Volume 5 notes that Doumani recorded some thirty discs for Maloof Records between 1920 and February 1924. Many of these were longer songs that needed to be recorded on two sides. Doumani’s is the voice we hear recorded on one of Maloof’s most popular songs “America Ya Hilwa.”

Salim Doumani singing "America Ya Hilwa" on Maloof #225B. From the Richard Breaux Collection.
Hear Salim Doumani sing Alexander Maloof "America Ya Hilwa": https://soundcloud.com/profbro/america-ya-hilwa

We made several attempts to uncover information about Doumani and to confirm that the Salim Doumani we located was the same person who recorded on Maloof Records, but we kept getting false hits and nothing to confirm Doumani’s identity – until now.

Locating Salim Doumani’s identity and his story were like finding a needle in the proverbial haystack. A lone article appeared in an Arab American English-language newspaper published in Brooklyn, New York that announced, “Salim Ad-Doumani, Famed Singer Dies.” No article or story about Doumani appeared in the same newspaper before or after the September 1955 piece. A general search across newspaper sources turned up the one single result we already located. According to the news story, Doumani “died late last month of a heart attack at his home in Delray Beach, Florida. He was 57 years old.” Doumani had been in the United States for 33 years and was “the first Arabic professional singer in this country. He achieved nation-wide recognition through his bookings at various haflis and church affairs, and international recognition through his records which have total over one hundred different tunes.” Finally, the articled mentioned that Doumani’s father-in-law Rev. Ibrahim Zain, served as one of three ministers to preside over his funeral. 

22 September 1955 article from The Caravan about Doumani's death. Newspapers.com

BINGO! We had enough information to go on, yet tracking Doumani down proved to be a daunting task. If the information in the article turned out to be accurate, here’s what we knew:

Doumani recorded Arabic records, immigrated to the United States around 1922, his estimated year of birth was 1898, he was likely Syrian or Lebanese, he last lived in Delray Beach, Florida, and his father-in-law was a minister.

An Ancestry.com search turned up several people named Salim Doumani with some variations on spelling. Most had arrived in the United States too early, if the sole article was correct. But he showed up in no census, no city directories not even the Delray Beach, Florida directory for 1955, 1954 or 1953. How was this possible?

Frustrated by the absence of any information we could use to match Salim Doumani our singer, we did the next best thing. Searched for Ibrahim Zain and we locate the Antiochian priest Abraham Zaine and his family, then we struck gold.

Salim Doumani was born 22 November 1897 Douma, Greater Syria (today Lebanon) and his mother died previous to his father, Abraham Samon Essa, coming to the United States via Philadelphia on 29 July 1912.  Salim remained in Douma and was reportedly imprisoned for refusing to fight for the Ottoman army. According to his nephew, Roy Simon, Salim sang in prison and endeared himself to an Ottoman guard who later arranged Salim's passage to the United States. Salim's voyage took him from Beirut to Marseilles and Le Havre. It's very well possible that Salim Doumani, listed as approximately five years old (he would have been actually nine), was the person of the same name who on 31 August 1906, was deported from Ellis Island with his two relatives and an uncle. Salim immigrated to the United States 24 October 1920 by way of Ellis Island after disembarking from the Rochambeau. Though the ship records from 24 October list him as Salim Doumain entering the port of New York, New York City is crossed out and Pawtucket, Rhode Island was handwritten in as his final destination. Family lore has it that an Ellis Island official recommended he change his surname. Salim’s older brother reportedly chose the surname Simon. Although he could not become a naturalized citizen after a year in the United States, Salim filed his Declaration of Intention 24 October 1921 and married Syrian-born Julia Zaine later that year.

 "Doumain, Salim" listed on the passengers list for the Rochambeau 24 October 1920.

Compare "Salim Douman" passenger 24 October 1920 and Saleem Simon's first papers  which give the same immigration date aboard the same ship. Both reference Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Despite the marriage, when Rev. Abraham Zaine moved from Boston to Canton, Ohio to take on ministerial duties the Doumani’s followed him, his wife, and Julia’s three younger siblings. The 1922 Canton, Ohio city directory lists Julia Doumani as a resident. Connections between Rev. Abraham Zaine and Alexander Maloof led Salim to record first with Maloof Records between 1920 and 1924, then with Macksoud Records. During his first Maloof recording #201 M451 & M452 he teamed up with Naim Karakand on violin, but unknown musicians played the oud and the qanun.  For two other recordings on 11 August 1922, he performed a duet with an unknown artist simply listed as Madame Marie.

Salim Doumani "Mata Ya Kiram El Hay," #144A Macksoud. From Richard M. Breaux collection.

Meanwhile, Julia, who traveled back and forth between Rhode Island and Ohio, gave birth to their first child Zicky Doumani Essa in 1923. Salim Doumani moved to Delray Beach in 1924 after recording for Maloof and Macksoud where he anglicized Salim to Samuel or Sam and ditched Doumani for the more Anglo-sounding Simon. He was now Sam Simon. Julia had three more children, Angela in 1925, Lilian in 1926, and Helen in 1928. The children all used the surname Simon, and Zicky changed his first name to Richard. Because Salim, now as Sam Simon, sang at so many haflis, family events such as weddings, and community dinners and benefits in need of entertainment, Richard Zicky Simon dreamed of becoming a professional singer himself - but he did not.

Whether the Simon’s experienced any of the discrimination or problems with police that Syrians encountered in other cities in Florida or throughout the country remains unclear. About 440 miles north of Delray Beach in Lake City, Florida, Syrian grocer Nola G. Romey and his wife Fannie got into a confrontation with a non-Syrian police chief. In effort to curtail the conflict between Romey and the police chief, Mrs. Romey brandished a pistol and shot at the Chief John Baker. He returned fire and killed Mrs. Romey. Nola Romey was jailed and local vigilantes took him from the jail and lynched him.

Sam and Julia operated a general and dry goods store from the time they settled in Delray Beach until the 1928 Hurricane damaged their store beyond repair. The Simon’s reinvested in a vegetable and fruit grocery store which they ran until the 1960s. By 1930, Julia took regular summer trips to Grand Rapids, Michigan to visit her mother, father, and siblings. Sam’s brother, Alexander Simon, married Julia’s younger sister, Linda. Julia spent much of her time raising the children and organizing civic events through various women’s groups. Sam ran the store, became actively involved with the Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Club. For example, when the local chapter of the club celebrated the Kiwanis Internationals anniversary in January 1932, Sam “sang and played several numbers” as a part of the entertainment. Two years, later he performed for Kiwanis Club members again. This time he performed “My Heart is Open to You,” "The Sheik of Araby," and “America, You’re Beautiful”  in Arabic.  In 1939 and 1940, Sam sang at at the wedding ceremonies for his sisters-in-law and when Antiochian Archbishop Antony Bashir visited the Eastern Orthodox Churches in nearby Palm Beach in 1939 assistance in “the singing of the Liturgy [included] Samuel Doumani and Michael Merhige, Syrian ecclesiastical musicians, and the Holy Trinity choir.” Note in this instance the news article used Sam’s anglicized first name, but his birth surname.

Doumani's father-in-law was an Antiochian Orthodox priest and "Samuel Doumani" assisted Antiochian Orthodox Archbishop Bashir during a visit to Palm Beach's Holy Trinity Church. Palm Beach Post Times, 13 March 1939. Courtesy of Newspapers.com

The 1940s witnessed the marriage of Sam’s daughters and Richard served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Sam and Julia continued to remain active in Civic groups and operate/manage the fruit and vegetable store at 220 E. Atlantic. Sam entered the hospital after experiencing “diaphragm seizures and a severe foot infection”in April 1954.  Sam, too, began to suffer from diabetes. In a little over a year’s time, Sam had a heart attack at his home and died 21 August 1955. Julia lived until 1992.

Samuel Simon "Salim Doumani", Rev. Abraham Zaine (Salim's Father-in-law), Alexander Simon (Salim's brother). Photo courtesy of Roy Simon (Alexander Simon's son).

Despite his early fame with Maloof Records and Macksoud Records, newspapers in Palm Beach, Miami, and Delray Beach barely reporter Samuel Simon’s or Salim Doumani’s death. Back in Brooklyn, however, one person ran a short story in the Arab American press about Salim Doumani’s pioneering role in Arab American music.


Richard M. Breaux

© Midwest Mahjar