One of America’s First Child Music Groups: The Zamelkani Trio/Corey Trio

Richard, Robert, & George Zamelkani performed as the Zamelkani Trio. They later became the Corey Trio.  Caravan 21 September 1961. Courtesy of Newspapers.com

We have highlighted the lives, music, and careers of numerous Arab American music pioneers but few fit in the category of the musicians featured in this blog post. As someone who attempted to gather a group of my own friends aged 10 and under into a band when I was six or seven, after I received a partial drum set from my parents as a Christmas gift, I was riveted to come across the Zamelkani Trio. The group of Arab American children stood as trailblazers on the American music scene. For one, when they started performing in May 1955, the three bothers George, Robert, and Richard Zamelkani were 7, 4, and 2 1/2. Their ages made them one of the youngest singing groups in any language  in the United States. To be sure, Frankie Lymon, of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, started when he was twelve in 1955 and his other four bandmates were between the ages of 13-14. History remembers Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers as the first all-teenaged musical group, the country singers, The Collins Kids, formed in 1954 as one of the earliest documented musical children’s groups to record; this surely made, the Zamelkani Trio one of the first child or pre-adolescent music groups. The Zamelkani Trio preceded the Five Stair Steps, the Jackson 5, and the Osmonds.

The Zamelkani Trio were the children of Lorice Zakaib and George Zamelkani. George Zamelkani was born 5 November 1919, in Brooklyn to immigrant parents Nebeha Haddad and Alexander Zamelkani. Alexander was born in Zamalka, on the outskirts of Damascus. He worked as a silk weaver. George seems to have been the youngest of his siblings and the family lived at 15 Tompkins Place in Brooklyn in the 1920s. By 1940, George worked as a photographer and as a welder for the Cardinal Engineering Company. On 15 September 1947, George married Lorice Zakaib in Brooklyn, New York. Lorice, too, was born to immigrants in Brooklyn, but on 17 February 1931; her father, Fred Zakaib, was Lebanese from Rashaya. Her mother,  Adele Major Zakaib, was Lebanese who immigrated to the United States and married Fred Zakaib in 1926. Of course, Lorice learned Arabic from her parents and she graduated from Brooklyn’s Prospect High School in 1947. In high school, Lorice was a member of the Advanced Drama Club and the band. 

Lorice Zakaib. A band and Drama Club member at Brooklyn's Prospect High. Married one year after this photo was taken. Prospect High School yearbook (1947). 

Lorice and George Zamelkani settled a few doors down from Lorice’s mother (then separated from Fred Zakaib). Their first child, George Edward Zamelkani, was born 29 March 1948. George worked as a telephone stock keeper in 1950 and within three years the couple had Robert Keith (1950) and Richard Paul Zamelkani (1953).

The Zamelkani Trio got their start via a Sunday school variety show at Saint Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral. Lorice, the former Prospect Height School band member, thought the boys were cute and taught them to sing "The Isle of Capri." They were a hit. 

Intrigued and encouraged by the performance, Mohammed el-Bakkar invited Lorice and the  Zamelkani Trio to meet him at Albert Rashid's record store. He bought a copy of each of his own records in the store's stock and gifted the Trio with a stack of his 78 rpm recordings. The boys were tasked with learning el-Bakkar's songs under their mother's instruction and soon people began to call the Zamelkani home to book the boys for various events. 

Treated as a novelty, at first, the group members never learned to read or write in Arabic. They learned song lyrics phonetically under their mother's instruction, according to George. “Arabic-speaking people in the United States, the Arab World, and the diaspora, appreciated and loved our music.”

Between 1955 and 1958, the Zamelkani Trio sharpened their musical skills.  At first, George played riqq, Robert sang lead and played violin, and Richard played the derbecki.  Violin virtuoso, Naim Karacand taught Robert to play violin. Later, George took oud lessons from Djamal Aslan. The Trio initially played during breaks in between acts. Sometimes, a hafli or mahrajan's headliners would join the Zamelkani Trio on stage in between acts.

In May 1958, George, Robert, and Richard made one of their most significant appearances as the Zamelkani Trio at the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities Syma halfa for Danny Thomas’ Saint Jude Hospital Fund held at Saint Mary’s Church Hall in Bay Ridge. On the entertainment bill for the evening were Eddie Kochack and his Orchestra, Olga “Kahraman” Agby, and Djamal Aslan, among others.  Over 300 people attended the hafla and scores of others had to be turned away because the event’s audience exceeded maximum capacity for the venue. Reports boast, the Trio “drew huge applause from the crowds with their music and singing.” One June 19, Caravan advertisement celebrated the Zamelkani Trio, Hakki Obadia, Joseph Catton, John Hyder, and Ray Bailouny. The same issue made note of a booking for Eddie Kochak and the Zamelkani Trio as surprise guests at Saint Mary’s Adelphi Club. 

The Zamelkani Trio.  26 March 1958. Caravan. Courtesy of Newspapers.com

The Trio’s success and growing popularity led to more appearances on March 19-21, 1959, at the ALSAC Follies halfa and other events throughout the year. This time the crowd reached over 500 people. Other musicians who played over the three-day period included Kahraman, Naim Karacand, and Jack Ghanaim. The Caravan newspaper also published a photo of the trio. Dressed sharply in black suits, white shirts, and bowties. George held a riqq while seated, Robert stood proudly in his fez, and young Richard held a derbecki. Even at a young age, the trio projected an image of polished professionals. Not surprisingly, their next gig, sponsored by ALSAC of Greater New York at Fort Hamilton High School on May 31, 1959, included Kahraman, Naim Karacand, and Danny Thomas himself.  The benefit announced that “this tribute to Danny Thomas” constituted “his only appearance” that year of the Saint Jude Hospital. Finally, the year and the decade closed with the hafla sponsored by the United Syrian Lebanese Women’s Club of the YWCA. Now familiar musicians, like Kahraman and Naim Karacand, performed but so did Mohammed Al-Akkad and Mike Hamway at several events including the December 6th celebration at Saint Nicholas Cathedral. Special guests that night included Metropolitan Anthony Bashir and the singer Karawan.

Seasoned professionalism best described the Zamelkani Trio in the 1960s. Gigs in Danbury, Connecticut, at Saint Anthony Church’s dedication, a family reception following a cousin’s Christening,  and drop in at the Cedars Hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey in 1960 added more engagements. The following year, New York’s Chanel 5 called and the Trio appeared on Wonderdrama television’s Sunday Morning Show, on 24 September 1961. Audiences from all over New York’s metro were able to catch the act. Then, the Voice of America radio program came calling. Founded in 1942 with the intention of offering unbiased international news, someone at the Voice of America saw the Zamelkani Trio on television and invited the boys and their parents to their studios to sing and for an interview. This episode was aired to demonstrate Arabic culture’s persistence in the United States. The result - an enormous crowd at the Saint Nicholas Cathedral SOYO October 1, 1961 in Brooklyn. The Trio performed into July 1962 when they returned to Danbury, Connecticut, for the 25th Annual Lebanon American Club outing. Just over a year later, the Zamelkani Trio, Naim Karacand, Anton Abdelahad, Djamal Aslan, and Hana Rached jammed at the mahrajan co-sponsored by Saint George Syrian Orthodox Church, Saint Ann's Melkite Church, and Saint Anthony's Maronite Church near Danbury, Connecticut on 21 August to 2 September 1963. After this engagement, the Zamelkani Trio disappeared from the press. 

1959 Poster featured Danny Thomas, Kahraman, and the Zamelkani Trio.

 Caravan April 30, 1959. Courtesy of Newspapers.com

How was it that any reference to the Trio could absolutely vanished? Where had they gone? Turns out, while the Trio’s career blossomed their parent’s marriage dissolved. The elder George met and married Marion Flavio; Lorice met and married William M. Corey. Lorice changed the boys’ surname on August 19, 1963, at the Kings County Court in New York from Zamelkani to Corey. The Zamelkani Trio became the Corey Trio. 

"Legal Name Change," August 30, 1963. Brooklyn Record. Courtesy of Newspapers.com

George Corey completed most of his K-12 schooling at PS 29 and graduated from Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn. The family moved to Florida, George attended Broward Junior College, and Robert and Richard continued their education at Driftwood Junior High School and MacArthur High School. Musically, the Corey Trio added songs by Mohamed Abdel Wahab to their repertoire. In 1964, as a result of their earlier Voice of America performance, the Lebanese government requested the Corey Trio open at the Lebanese Pavilion at 1964 New York World's Fair in Queens. 

In 1966, the Corey Trio provided the music for the Thousand Arabian Nights event in Fort Lauderdale. In total, over 500 guests attended. Other Arab American musicians who relocated from the Northeast to Florida included Emil Kassis, Jamili Matouk, Mosa Kalooky, and Marie Kablan.

   

Life changed dramatically and tragedy struck the young group by the summer of 1967. Robert, now attending high school, and a standout football and baseball player at MacArthur High School in Hollywood, Florida, drowned in a local rock pit at the age of 16. According to reports, around 1:15pm, on 23 July 1967,  Robert drowned. He had been swimming with two schoolmates around 100 feet from shore, he got a cramp, stopped swimming, and disappeared into thirty feet of water. His friends managed to flag down two sheriff’s patrolmen, but by the time they recovered Robert, it was too late.  Ironically, Richard was swimming with classmates in the high school pool at the same time. Lorice, George, and Richard were devastated. The family held Robert’s service at Three Saints Eastern Orthodox Church on Wednesday, July 26, 1967. Sadly, three teens in total perished in drownings in Hollywood, Florida, within weeks of each other. Grief stricken, the Corey Brothers stopped performing publicly for an entire year. 

George went on to college. Richard, followed in Robert’s footsteps and, became a star athlete - a split end in football and outfielder in baseball. Richard also acted and appeared in the high school production of Rogers' and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” in 1970. He graduated from MacArthur High School in 1971.

The Corey Brothers shared several hilarious stories related to their music exploits before and after Robert's passing. There was George's squashed oud, sat on by a drunk audience member and replaced with a oud from Joe Budway. Or the rigged contest to meet the Zamelkani Trio won by the groups’ unofficially organized fan club President and Vice President. This incident did not sit well with the boy's mother. The three musician minimum that convinced the brothers to insert a non-musician friend into the group. With an unplugged instrument, the friend played a mean equivalent of an air guitar. 

A major highlight of Richard Corey's youth was seeing singer Fayrouz during her 1971 US tour. Papers announced Fayrouz would go on a multi-city tour which included New York, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Richard attended the concert in Pittsburgh and sat for dinner with Fayrouz and her husband, sister, and local VIPs at her hotel. 

Well into the 1970s and 1980s, Richard and George continued to play music. The New Years Eve Party at the Syrian Lebanon Club at 2626 Southwest 3rd Avenue began to become a regular gig in 1973. The Mid-East Club of America's Christmas Party in 1975 booked the Corey Brothers for their "Arabian Nights" celebration at the Tampa Women's Club. When Nancy Longo married Rick Shephard in January 1976, the Corey Brothers provided the entertainment for the reception. Tony and Frances Longo secured the Corey Brothers two years later to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. One article in the 1978-Orlando Sentinel, highlighted the importance of the Corey Brothers and the importance of Arabic and Jewish music and dance at the Art of Bellydance Studio. Richard Corey joined Joe Budway and Amer Kadaj on 8 September 1978, at Al-Kareem Club for the annual Arabic dinner. Sadly, Amer Kadaj was murdered in his Detroit store nearly one year later on the eve of another Al-Kareem Club dinner.  Shattered by the murder of his good friend, Joe Budway canceled his appearance. Left to fulfill the obligation, Richard Corey called on his brother, George, to continue "one of most difficult shows of their lives" - the Al-Kareem gig in September 1980. Two years later, the Corey Brothers released a 33 1/3 rpm album on the 25th Anniversary of the groups' professional beginnings. The album was dedicated to their late brother Robert Keith Corey. The album closes as many of their shows closed with the singing of Mohamed Abdel Wahab's "The Wheat Song." One of the cornerstone's of the Corey Brothers' career was the annual labor day event in Atlanta, Georgia, where the duo played every year for about fifteen years from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s.   

Ad for the Corey Brothers booking at Miami's Syrian Lebanon American Club, Miami Herald, 28 December 1973. Courtesy of Newspapers.com
Nine years later the released their 25th Anniversary album with Triiad Recording Studies.

Corey Brothers "Ah Roseanna" - https://youtu.be/0KdF5gKXaAg
Corey Brothers "The Wheat Song" - https://youtu.be/93S6vdwmpQc

By the 1990s, the Corey Brothers started to finally slow down. The combination of marriages and children, the demands of travel, and bookings for hafli, mahrajan, and private events became too much to juggle. Nonetheless, from May 22-25, 1992, the Syrian Lebanese American Clubs of Florida hired the Corey Brothers as they primary musical entertainment for their Daytona Beach meeting. Likewise, in 1993, Saint Philip Eastern Orthodox Church hosted "An Evening in Beirut" with the Corey Brothers. The church hosted the event at John Germack Hall and the Corey Brothers headlined the weekend's events. Finally, a 1995 gig in Texas marked the end of the Corey Brothers' regular public music career; the story doesn't end there.

Music careers, born of a mother’s love for her children and cultural heritage, allowed the Corey Brothers to travel across the United States and around the world.  El Salvador, Mexico, and Haiti stand out as some of the more member locations the Corey Brothers played.

Beyond music, George married Sharon Martin in 1968, had children, then divorced and married Karen Giudice in 1981. Richard married Elizabeth Thompson in Miami at Saint Sophia Orthodox Church in 1982. Four years later, Elizabeth gave birth to Richard II. Richard married his current wife, Dr. May Yazji-Corey, and the two have been married for 26 years. Richard has two sons and three step-daughters. 

Music aside, George and Richard have both done well for themselves. George Corey became a real estate broker and business owner, he then had the honor of speaking at a Harvard University School of Business Alumni event. He served as the Executive Vice President of Caldwell Banker Residential Real Estate and President of EXIT Ryan Scott Realty. At age seventy-six, he still works in real estate for a Florida firm. Richard Corey has worked as a restaurateur, lecturer at Nova Southeastern University, and business consultant to the dental industry.

Lorice Corey, the boy's loving mother, who launched their career back in the 1950s, lived the rest of her life in Hollywood, Florida. She passed at the age of eighty-six years old.

During the Super Bowl LIV in 2020, held in Miami Gardens, Florida, Richard pre-recorded drums for Shakira's half-time performance. Shakira opened, followed by Jennifer Lopez. The two collaborated for the last song.  It was Shakira's zaghrouta, an homage to her Arab ancestry (her father is Lebanese American), that garnered lots of social media attention. 

George and Richard occasionally get together to play today but they stopped playing professionally on the hafli circuit years ago. They are scheduled to play at their church event in February 2025. The Corey Brothers’ love for music and their love for each other reflect lives that combine humor, humility, and a homage to their brother, their mother, and the Corey/Zamelkani legacy.

Special Thanks to George & Richard Corey.

 

Richard M. Breaux

©Midwest Mahjar