Iraq’s Chaqmaqchi: A legacy of music and lost archives
Shafaq News/ Once a gunsmith, Fathi Chaqmaqchi became a pioneer in Iraq’s music industry, transforming his passion for sound into a leading record production enterprise that shaped the country’s musical heritage.
From Guns to Gramophones
In 1918, Chaqmaqchi founded a trading company in Mosul, initially repairing Ottoman-era firearms. His passion for music, however, led him to amass a vast collection of records. By 1940, he had relocated to Baghdad, opening a shop in Haydar Khana near al-Mutanabbi Street. There, he established a recording studio for Iraqi singers, with records produced in Sweden and Greece under his company’s name.
“In the 1940s, the company began producing shellac records before transitioning to vinyl in 1953,” Najem Abdullah Fathi Chaqmaqchi told Shafaq News. “At its peak, it produced over 1,950 songs.” The studio, located in Baghdad’s Bab al-Sharqi district, was one of Iraq’s only two recording hubs, alongside the national radio station.
Hub for Iraqi Music
Chaqmaqchi Records played a pivotal role in documenting the golden age of Iraqi music, recording many of the country’s most celebrated artists of the 1950s and 1960s. Its archives, once a key resource for Iraqi television, have since faded, but the company’s influence remains embedded in Iraq’s musical legacy.
The Chaqmaqchi family recalls hosting legendary Arab artists such as Abdel Halim Hafez and Faiza Ahmed, who reciprocated the visits in Cairo. The company also held distribution rights for major Arab record labels, including Sout El-Fan, Cairophone, Sout Al-Qahira, and Lebanon’s Baida Records.
“My grandfather built strong ties with Arab music giants, including composer Mohamed Abdel Wahab and singer Abdel Halim Hafez,” said Najem Chaqmaqchi. “Hafez visited Iraq in the 1960s with his Diamond Orchestra, led by Ahmed Fouad Hassan, alongside artists like Faiza Ahmed, Karem Mahmoud, Sherifa Fadel, and dancer Nagwa Fouad.”
During these visits, the company recorded their performances, including four songs by Faiza Ahmed composed by Iraqi musician Reda Ali, among them the hit Mayekfi Dema’ Al-Ain. The label also documented performances by Syrian singers who were active in Baghdad’s nightclub scene, including Nargis Shawqi, Nahawand, Rawiya, and Siham Rifqi.
Theft of Musical Archive
Chaqmaqchi Records suffered a significant loss when a major theft wiped out a large part of its archive, including rare recordings of Umm Kulthum and other Arab music icons. Stolen items also included photographs of Iraqi and Arab stars such as Nazem al-Ghazali, Zuhur Hussein, Wahida Khalil, Afifa Iskandar, Reda Ali, Abdel Halim Hafez, and Faiza Ahmed. Despite the loss, some recordings were salvaged from an off-site collection.
Following the theft, Najem Chaqmaqchi relocated the company to Khan al-Mudallal in the Maidan district, closing its Bab al-Sharqi shop in 2009. Despite his age and declining health, he remains dedicated to preserving his family’s musical legacy, welcoming visitors, and sharing stories of Iraq’s artistic past.
