Life of The Party

For Life of The Party, host Regine Basha asks her father, an Uud, dumbek, and violin player and avid Arabic music fan now in his 90s, "What top five classic songs are currently a must at your party?"

In the Iraqi-Jewish community, the all-night music parties (or Charghlis) of Basha's childhood, date back to early 20th century Baghdad and still carry on in various forms today. With this festive legacy in mind, this episode's playlist includes epic, classical love songs from Uum Kalthoum, Farid Al-Atrash, Warda, and Nazem Al Ghazali that are not only favorites among Iraqi Jews, but have been beloved for decades across the Middle East. Some of these songs can be over an hour long in their entirety, keeping the party going until breakfast!

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