Real name: Asadour Kevorkian

Effective period / Period of releases: 1929

Armenian singer (born near Kharpert, Ottoman Empire ca. 1898 – died July 5, 1959 in Fresno, California, USA), a.k.a. Oscar Kevorkian.

Likely born in the village of Soursouri near Kharpert, Kevorkian emigrated to the United States in 1914. On December 14, 1918, he married Araxie (Mary) Davorian in Fresno, California. In 1923, he was working as a chauffeur in that city. Later, he founded his own taxi company, O.K. Taxi, and droves hearses for local undertakers. In 1936, he started working as a funeral director for one of them, Yost & Webb. In 1949, he and a partner purchased Yost & Webb.

On the side, Kevorkian was active in Fresno's Armenian music scene. From the late 1920s, he often teamed up with clarinetist Merop Takakjian, playing at Armenian events and parties. In 1929, both recorded four titles for Columbia in Los Angeles. In the 1940s, Kevorkian founded his own label, first called OK Records, later Kevorkian Record Company.