Zekia Agob: the scarcity of sources in documenting Arab America’s First Woman Recording Artist
Zekia Agob: the scarcity of sources in documenting Arab America’s First Woman Recording Artist Photo of Zekia Agob Sheha in her late 50s. Photo courtesy of Barbara N. One of the 78 rpm discs we acquired with our first batch of Arabic records back in November 2015, was Columbia E3601 "When Love Suppressed Me” or “Lamean Kanmut Elhood Part I and 2.” About two or three years later, we found and purchased Parts 3 & 4. Dick Spottswood’s encyclopedic discography Ethnic Music on Record lists her as only "Z. Agob," although the Arabic script translates to “Zakia Agob” or “Zekia Agob.” Zekia Agob is not only one of the most elusive singers we’ve attempted to write about; she is also one of the more historically important, as one of the the first Arab American woman to record at 78 rpm in the United States for any US label. Of course, recorded women singers and musicians in Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria have a long and well-documented history. The Foundat...