Ara Kekedjian

Ara Kekedjian was born in 1946 in Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon, and became a pioneering figure in Armenian pop music during the 1970s. A composer, arranger, guitarist, and singer, Kekedjian earned the distinction of being "the first diaspora Armenian pop singer" for his innovative approach to blending Armenian rhythms and language with Western musical styles like rock and roll, soul, and psychedelic pop. In 1965, his band Les Lunettes Noires (The Black Sunglasses) performed the first-ever Armenian-language song on Lebanese National TV, winning first place on the popular talent show Pêle Pêle, and he later released the first-ever record of Armenian pop music in Lebanon.

Throughout his prolific career, Kekedjian released four solo albums, numerous 45rpm singles, and three albums of children's songs, with his debut album *Chante Ses Succès* arriving in 1970. Beyond his own work, he composed and arranged for legendary Armenian-Lebanese artists including Adiss Harmamdyan and singers Steve Minassian, Dikran Grigorian, and Garo Terzian, while also performing extensively as a pianist throughout Beirut and touring the world across the Middle East, Armenia, Europe, Australia, and the United States. Kekedjian's bold fusion of Armenian and Western influences left an enduring mark on generations of Armenian musicians; fellow musician Boghos Shahmelikian credited him as the reason he became a musician, saying "Myself and the rest of the Armenian musicians from Bourj Hammoud owed it all to Ara Kekedjian." He emigrated to the United States due to Lebanon's civil war in the mid-1970s and lived there until his death in 2019.