Karekin Proodian

Armenian-American singer (born January 6, 1885 in Dikranagerd, Ottoman Empire [modern Diyarbakır, Turkey] - died November 25, 1977 in Paramus, Bergen, New Jersey, USA) Proodian first emigrated to the United States in May 1903. He settled in West Hokoken, NJ, where there was a large Armenian enclave, and worked as a weaver. By 1910, he had embarked on his life-long career as a proofer in a photoengraving shop in West Hokoken. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen that same year. In 1911, he married his wife Annie; they had 3 children. Recorded 20 titles for Victor and Columbia in New York City in 1916, including Ashugh Sheram’s "Iprev Ardziv" (Like an Eagle) on Columbia E3065, an ode to the heroism of General Antranig Ozanian. In the early 1920s, he continued to record for smaller Armenian labels based in the New York area.