Khalil Ragheb (Pictured Left) was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. When he was seven years old, his father returned to Kabul after six years living in New York City. The father brought his son, whom he hardly knew at the time, a gift, something rare or nonexistent in Kabul—a bongo drum. And that was the start of everything. “I was very happy with this bongo drum,” recalled Ragheb. “I would always sit by the radio, because there was no TV in Afghanistan then. I would sit and hear the music from the radio, and play along with my bongo.”
Ragheb improved so quickly that people began to notice, including a German music instructor, who introduced the boy to the piano, and musical notation. Soon, Ragheb was playing his bongo in a school band, playing Western music, not Afghan, but they were good enough to catch the ear of scouts from Radio Kabul. Ragheb had the good fortune to be recruited into radio work at just the moment when Ahmad Zahir—destined to become one of the most popular Afghan singers of all time—arrived in Kabul from India. Ragheb, still a high-school student, found himself playing with Zahir in the Radio Kabul Orchestra.
“The next year, Ahmad Zahir got the prize of the best singer of the year in Afghanistan,” recalled Ragheb. “And I got a prize for the best drum player.” Ragheb worked with Zahir and Radio Kabul for the next eight years. During that time, he also established himself as a fine singer. As he garnered the attention of educators throughout the region, Ragheb was awarded scholarships to study, first in Iran, and later, Germany.
Ragheb worked for five years at Iranian television. The Dari language he was raised speaking in Afghanistan is the same as Farsi, spoken in Tehran. It was there that Ragheb first met and performed with the “voice of Afghanistan,” Ustad Farida Mahwash. Ragheb volunteered to play harmonium with Mahwash for a series of concerts, and the two became friends. 1979 brought calamity, both in Afghanistan and Iran, and Ragheb moved to Germany, and, in 1988, to the United States, where he has lived ever since. In California, Ragheb once again found himself on stage with Mahwash, and this time the friendship deepened. They have worked together since that time, for 21 years now.
Ragheb is especially happy with their latest collaboration, Voices of Afghanistan. “Our goal is to introduce our music for the people who didn’t know about our music,” said Ragheb. “Because a lot of people think that Afghan the music comes from India, or Afghan music comes from Pakistan. But, no, we have our own music, our own instruments, and our own style. I am a singer, but I only play harmonium in this program. Because the reason I’m in this group is to introduce our music and our culture to the American people.”
Aside from his musical activities in the United States, Ragheb established and hosted a television program, “Sound and Image of Afghanistan,” which he continues to host today.
