Louise Danielian: Armenian Songs for Everyone
Written by Harout Arakelian
By the late 1940s, the recording industry was beginning to thrive again, after struggling through the Great Depression and the competition from the movies and radio, as well as a musicians’ strike and a world war. Now, new music and new labels began to flourish. It didn’t matter if it was a big or a small city; many independent businesses were opened and provided musicians the opportunity to make records in professional recording studios. Across the street from NBC Studios in Hollywood, CA, was the Electro-Vox recording studio, a popular label used by well-known artists and composers, including Henry Mancini, the Nat King Cole Trio, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie. The Armenian contribution to the label’s discography contains prominent recordings by Manuel Tolegian, who recorded solo taxims from William Saroyan’s play “The Time of Your Life,” and Lucy Andonian, who conducted a chorus on two Armenian songs.
A rare set of records was also made here by a young Armenian woman in Los Angeles, Louise Danielian. Unfortunately, while her life story is unknown, she appears to have been born in Los Angeles and owned clothing boutiques, eventually becoming a socialite, hosting soirees and attending events in Beverly Hills. For the liner notes of her four-disc album set, Haig Giligian wrote:
“A Word of Introduction for Louise Danielian
In these eight recordings of Armenian Songs and Church Hymns, Louise Danielian does not pretend to create a sensation, nor does she aspire to rise to prominence in the field of Armenian music.
Her only desire is to perpetuate her utmost devotion to the art of singing which she has made a diversion for many years.”
Her accompanist, Marshall Chashoudian, was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on October 29, 1901. By 1925, he began a career as a concert violinist and teacher after departing from the People’s Symphony Orchestra of Boston. After moving to Los Angeles, he became a member of the faculty at the LA Conservatory of Music. He would also have a long career as a musician for the major motion picture studios and radio programs (MGM and NBC). Chashoudian was also the music director for a variety of LA-based entities, such as the Hollywood-Vine Methodist Church, Northeast Civic Adult Chorus, Pacific West College, and Leimert Park Chorus.
Chashoudian was deeply involved in the Armenian community. In 1934, he became a founding member of Armenian Allied Arts, an organization established to bring together Armenian Americans with interests in music, drama, literature, painting, and related fields. In 1945, he provided the music for Setrag Vartian’s movie adaptation of “Anoush.” Vartian claimed it was the first Armenian-language movie produced in Hollywood. In 1947, he became the local representative for the American National Committee to Aid Homeless Armenians (ANCHA), an organization started by celebrity restaurateur George Mardikian and attorney Suren Saroyan to help resettle displaced Armenians in Europe after the Second World War. He was commended for his role in the organization by founder George Mardikian, who said, “Marshall was a dear friend. He had done great work for ANCHA as its Los Angeles Chairman. He and his committee had found homes and jobs for more than a thousand DPs.”
Chashoudian would help produce concerts at renowned venues in LA to help raise funds and awareness for ANCHA; in 1948, he would accompany Armand Tokatyan and conduct a chorus of 50 singers. He passed away on August 19, 1959, in Los Angeles, and was memorialized by various organizations and groups he helped. While much is known about Marshall Chashoudian, the vocalist on these records, Louise Danielian seems to have turned her attention away from the music industry, but has left us her unique renditions of popular Armenian songs. Included here are four songs from their recording sessions at the Electro-Vox studio. We hope you enjoy this snapshot from Hollywood.
Portrait of Louise Danielian on the cover of her album, Louise Danielian Sings Armenian Songs for Everyone, circa 1940s (Image source: Armenian Museum Of America)
A special thanks to the SJS Charitable Trust for their generous support of our work to digitize and share our collection of 78 rpm records.
