(b Kabul, 1946; d Kabul, 1979). Afghan singer. He was the son of a prominent Afghan politician, Dr Abdul Zāhir, who was prime minister during the period 1971–2. Remarkably for someone from an upper-class Pashtun family, Dr Zāhir encouraged his son's interest in music. As a student at the Lycée Habībī Ahmad Zāhir was a member of a music group, with which he made his first recordings at Radio Afghanistan in 1961. He gained his baccalaureate and enrolled in a teachers' training programme, but then pursued his interest in music in earnest. He recorded music at Radio Afghanistan on a frequent and sometimes daily basis, and in his short career released about 30 cassettes of music, far more than any other singer. He had a charismatic personality which very much appealed to young people and he became exceptionally popular. During the communist era, while still in his early thirties, he was murdered in a politically motivated assassination. His funeral procession is remembered for its unprecedented size.
As a musician he had neither teacher nor students but was self-taught, learning from listening to recordings. He encouraged a vogue for Western modernity, and was the first person to introduce an electric instrument into Afghanistan: the electric organ. His social connections gave him many advantages as a musician. He was able to commission the best songwriters and work with the best instrumentalists, such as Sarmast (mandolin), Nabiālai (trumpet), Azami (saxophone) and Nāleh (flute). Though he did not have a great singing voice, he enjoyed a degree of ‘stardom’ that was unique in Afghanistan.
ABDUL-WAHAB MADADI (with JOHN BAILY)