Kevorkian Company, Moosh/Shalakho
Name/Title
Kevorkian Company, Moosh/ShalakhoDescription
Oscar (Asadour) Kevorkian, bandleader, label owner, and musician, was born circa 1898 in the Kharpert region (Harput, present-day Elâzığ Province, Turkey), likely in the village of Soursouri. He immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island in 1914 and eventually settled in Fresno, California by 1935. His siblings later established themselves in France. In 1918 he married Araxie (Mary) Daorian, and the couple had four children. Before fully entering the music business, Kevorkian worked a range of jobs, including operating the OK Taxi company in the late 1920s and serving as a driver for West Side Undertakers and Yost & Webb Mortuary. By 1936 he had become a funeral director at Yost & Webb, and around 1949 he and a partner acquired the firm, which remains in operation. Kevorkian was also an active figure in Armenian American musical life in California. In 1929, he and clarinetist Mesrob Takakjian recorded four sides for Columbia Records in Los Angeles. During the 1930s, the two performed frequently at Armenian social gatherings and community events in the Fresno area. They later recorded again for the newly established Rec-Art label in Los Angeles. These experiences, along with a vibrant regional performance scene, led Kevorkian to establish his own record imprint in Fresno, first named OK Records after his taxi business and initials, and later renamed the Kevorkian label. Mesrob Takakjian, an important clarinetist in this milieu, was born circa 1894–1896 in Palu, near Kharpert, and immigrated to Providence, Rhode Island in 1912. He was among the early Armenian musicians to record for Columbia in the mid-1910s and continued recording in the 1920s for independent labels associated with figures such as M. G. Parsekian and Vartan Margosian. In the mid-1920s he relocated to Fresno for health reasons after contracting tuberculosis, later working at the Nishkian Phonograph Store and entering a small business venture with his brother Sarkis selling novelties and candy. There he reconnected with Kevorkian, beginning a long musical partnership that lasted more than two decades. Takakjian also recorded in 1939 with ethnomusicologist Sidney Robertson Cowell for WPA, University of California, and Library of Congress field projects. Oscar Kevorkian died on July 5, 1959 after suffering a heart attack while playing cards at the Highland Club in Fresno, passing away shortly after being taken to hospital. Mesrob Takakjian survived him by many years, dying in 1976.Audio Format
78 RPM RecordRecording Type
MusicCategory
Vinyl Record