Paul Baghdadlian

Paul Baghdadlian, often known simply as Paul, was a Syrian-Armenian singer, songwriter, composer, musician, entertainer, and businessman. He is referred to as the King of Love Songs. His music is loved by many Armenians and particularly by the Armenian diaspora. Paul, originally named Krikor Baghdadlian, was born on July 10, 1953, in Aleppo, Syria. He was born to Baruyr and Arousiag Baghdadlian. Paul grew up with two brothers and a sister. In 1961 the Baghdadlian family moved to Kuwait. He had great success in singing modern Armenian music after moving to Beirut, Lebanon. In 1965, at the age of 12 his mother died (his father eventually remarried and settled in Pasadena, CA). Struggling to live his daily life, he started performing to make his living. During the early 1970s, Paul Baghdadlian was known as Paul the Prince and was singing only English songs. After listening to fellow singer of the Armenian diaspora music Harout Pamboukjian, however, Baghadadlian started to sing in Armenian, mostly performing love songs. ⁴ Having achieved great success in Beirut and the Middle East in this new phase of his career, he moved to Los Angeles, in 1977 for an international career. ² In Los Angeles he produced hundreds of recordings, mostly ballads, most of which he sang in Armenian, though he sang in a number of other languages, most notably Arabic and English. Many of his songs were recorded and produced by Parseghian Records in Los Angeles. ⁴ He often toured the major centers of the Armenian diaspora and Armenia. ⁵ On November 27, 2010, Paul Baghdadlian performed a concert in Laval, Canada. This concert happened to be his last prior to his death 7 months later. Baghdadlian died on June 28, 2011, after a long battle with lung cancer. He died in Glendale Adventist Medical Center, where he was being hospitalized. The cause of death was ruled to be respiratory failure due to the cancer. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. He is survived by his two sons, his daughter, and his father.