Midwest Mahjar: The Recorded Sounds of the Arabic-Speaking Diaspora in the United States at 78 RPM

Rev. Dr. Khalil A. Bishara One of two found photos of Rev. Dr. Khalil A. Bishara, c. 1935. From the 10 May 1937, Sun & Bulletin , courtesy of Newspapers.com As readers of this blog know, several Arab American priests or ministers recorded on 78 RPM record.   Most ministers who recorded like Germanos Chehade, Agapios Golam , Samuel David and Ilyas Kurban held positions in the Syrian or Antiochian Orthodox Church. Melkite and Maronite priests seemed less likely to record, yet Maronite priest Rev. George Aziz recorded on Columbia in 1914 and on Maloof in 1925 and Melkite priest Anton Aneed recorded on A. J. Macksoud in the 1920s. Recordings by Arab American imams or Protestant ministers were less common and recordings by any Syrian/Lebanese immigrants on so-called vanity labels are even more rare and tended to fly beneath the radar that is Richard K. Spottswood’s Ethnic Music on Record. Reverend Doctor Khalil Asaph Bishara’s recording of “My God’s