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

  The Music of John Fayad: La Voz del Desierto Photo of John Fayad. circa 1975. Courtesy of Richard M. Breaux collection. Before writing this profile, I could find very little information about John Fayad in one place. I first came across his name in 2019 when I purchased two 78 rpm records on the Voz del Desierto label. Searches online and in Discogs yielded albums on the Piramade label also named Voz del Desierto. No 78s on the label emerged in my results, signaling the rarity of the two 78 rpm discs likely recorded and pressed at the height of Fayad’s career in the 1950s. Fayad’s oud playing is stellar. Remarkably as good as any of his contemporaries in the United States or Latin America. But available government records suggest Fayad remained a roaming musician for most of his life. For short periods, he resided in Havana, Miami, Belize City, and Mexico City, but he was never in any of these places long enough to leave anything but a smattering of documents. He should also not...

  Ismael Ahmed, Aliya Ogdie Hassen, and the Little-Known Story of the Cairo Record Company and the Middle East Record & Film Company Elie Younes, "Take Me With You in Your Car," #151. Courtesy of Richard M. Breaux collection.  https://youtu.be/gS_NWD6eR7E My intention to write this post began in a wholly different place than it ended. I bought a Nour al-Hoda 78  record on the Middle East Record Co. label back in December 2020 as a part of a package deal. The seller listed and offered a lot of three 78s, two by Hanan on a different label and one by Nour al-Hoda. I had previously written about Hanan, had the fortune of meeting her sister in 2018, and continue to listen to Hanan’s music. Because I rarely sell discs(I often trade), I never gave the Middle East Record Co. disc much thought, so it went into my general record stash until a month later. I searched online databases, including Discogs, with hopes of finding something about the Middle East Record Co. label; I c...

  Petrophon Records: A Rare Arab American Record Label Releases Patriotic Songs at World War II's Beginning Petrophon Record featuring Najeeba Morad on vocals and Petro Trabulsi leading the orchestra in his own composition. Courtesy of Richard M. Breaux collection. https://youtu.be/MDhAPoCpLNg   Until a few years ago, we had never heard of Petrophon Records, nor had we seen their label. A Grand Rapids, Michigan record collector listed two or three 78 rpm records featuring Najeeba Morad on the popular auction site eBay in 2021. These records were not pressed on the well-known Morad Records, later operated by Najeeba and her family, these were both on Petrophon Records.  Najeeba Morad Karam, 1944. Courtesy of  Ad-Deleel. LOC. Close examination of these two discs reveals that Petro Trabulsy or Peter Trabulsi and his Arabian Orchestra backed Najeeba Morad on these sides. Petro Trabulsy was the “Petro” from which Petrophon derived. The label also notes that Petro compos...