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

  Sound, Light, and New York City's Little Syria: A Look at Michel Macksoud's Original "Radio Lab" Original photo appeared in Richmond Times Dispatch , December 4, 1955. Courtesy of Shutterstock.com Back in 2019, in our search for information about record shop and record label owner A.J. Macksoud , we learned about the Macksoud family.  The Macksouds were merchants in Manhattan’s and Brooklyn’s Little Syria. They owned a kimono manufacturing business, watch and jewelry stores, and, of course, Abraham J. Macksoud operated his record store since 1907 and a record label since around 1914 on Greenwich then Rector and finally Washington Street including 77, 88, and 89 Washington Street. At the same time A.J. Macksoud managed his phonograph record company, label, and record store, another Macksoud, an M.E. Macksoud , owned and operated his radio and radio components shop at 84 Washington Street.   Ad for M.E. Macksoud's Radio shop from Radio Digest , November 22, 1924....

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...