Name/Title
Marko Melkon, Hicaz Taksim/Raki Itsher ItsherDescription
Oud player "Marko" Melkon Alemsherian (1895, Smyrna, Turkey - 1963, New York, U.S.) was a key figure in Middle Eastern and belly dance music in the United States. An Armenian born in Izmir, he settled in America in 1921 after spending time in Greece to avoid Ottoman military service. He primarily sang in Turkish and was also comfortable with Greek. Melkon filed his Declaration of Intent for U.S. citizenship on November 10, 1922, claiming a birth date of May 2, 1894 (later changing it to 1895). He arrived at Ellis Island on February 10, 1920, from Piraeus, Greece. Fleeing Smyrna as a teenager, he worked as a musician in Athens before becoming a professional by his late teens, often performing under the Greek stage name Marko Melkon.
The exact date of these records are not known but it was sometime in the late 1940s in New York City.Audio Format
78 RPM RecordRecording Type
MusicAlbum Detail
Record Label
Kaliphone Phonograph RecordsLanguage
TurkishTrack Details
Title
Hicaz TaksimLanguage
TurkishInstruments
OudTitle
Raki Ishter IshterTrack Length
0:03:00Language
TurkishInstruments
Keman, OudTranslation
I Go Around Drinking RakiCreated By
garenkazanc@hotmail.comCreate Date
October 11, 2024Updated By
garenkazanc@hotmail.comUpdate Date
October 18, 2024
