The Nightingale of Iran

Thank you for listening to The Nightingale of Iran! All six episodes are out now. For those of you who have finished listening to our series, today we are sharing something a little different. This is an episode of History Daily, a podcast with new episodes every weekday. Each episode of History Daily focuses on a particular day in history and the human stories behind what happened. We’ve picked an episode about the day in 1979 when the Shah fled the Iranian Revolution. It’s 20 minutes long and we think it adds great context for our show. If you like what you hear, you can find other episodes of History Daily wherever you listen to podcasts.Subscribe to the Nightingale of Iran newsletter here.

Growing up, Danielle didn’t know many families like hers in mainstream Jewish America. These days, there’s growing awareness about the diversity of the Jewish experience.

Houri Dardashti had long dreamed of moving to Israel from Iran. Eventually, she and her radio star husband Younes made the move. But Younes felt like an outsider in Israel. For a decade, he flew back to Iran to do concerts and sing on the radio. But when the Islamic Revolution happened, Younes could never return to Iran, and he was erased from Iranian history.

On his way from Iran to America for college, Farid spent the summer in Israel. A man recognized him from Iranian TV and invited him to sing at an event. A family of visiting Americans heard him sing, and it changed the course of his entire life.

Farid Dardashti, was born in Tehran in 1942. He had natural music talent and a gorgeous voice. He got offered a weekly show singing on Iranian TV. He was an instant hit and became a teen idol. But after six months, he left the country. This didn’t make sense to Danielle and Galeet. But they were missing an important piece of the story.

Danielle and Galeet’s grandfather Younes Dardashti grew up an orphan in Tehran’s Jewish ghetto. He was gifted with a gorgeous voice, but had a difficult childhood: He lived with an abusive uncle who forbade him from singing. In his late teens, he left his uncle’s house, got a job with the Iranian Railroad and, years later, he married Houri Aziz-Zadeh. In the 1940s, life changed rapidly for the Jews of Iran – a new Shah granted equal rights to Jews, women, and other marginalized groups. Jews could move out of the ghetto into neighborhoods integrated with Muslims. One night, Younes found himself at a party attended by Qamar-ol-Moluk Vaziri, a famous female Muslim singer.  Suddenly, the power went out. And in the dark and quiet, Younes started to sing. This was the moment that everything changed, and he became The Nightingale of Iran.Co-creators / Co-executive producers - Danielle Dardashti and Galeet DardashtiThe Nightingale of Iran - nightingaleofiran.comPresented by The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a publication of 70 Faces MediaHost - Danielle DardashtiWriter / Director / Senior Producer - Danielle DardashtiProducer / Musical Director / Subject Matter Expert - Galeet DardashtiAudio Editors / Sound Designers - Rebecca Seidel and Zachary GoldbergStory Editor - Rider AlsopStory Consultant - Asal EhsanipourComposer of Theme Song - Galeet Dardashti: “Melekh” from her album Monajat, featuring Younes Dardashti (with Shanir Blumenkranz, Max ZT, Zafer Tawil, Philip Mayer)In Episode 2, Singing in The Dark, you heard our conversations with: Farid Dardashti, Habib Partow, Schelly Dardashti, Houman Sarshar, Laura Younai, Rachel Nazarian Ehsagpour, Haideh Herbert.  Alan Niku interviewed Manucher Bibiyan.Thank you to our sponsors:-Jewish Writers’ Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab / Maimonides Fund-Common Era-Younes and Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation-The Himan Brown Charitable Trust-Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History-UCLA Mickey Katz Endowed Chair in Jewish Music-Be’chol Lashon (fiscal sponsor)Dedication: This is for you Dadders!!! We love you (and Mommy) so much!!!! xoxWe are so grateful for: our extraordinary husbands, Roni Sarig and Mason Weisz, who have contributed in countless ways big and small; Danielle’s amazing kids, Uri Dardashti Sarig and Raquel Dardashti Sarig, who lent their talents in story editing, sound capture, episode cover art design, and more; and Galeet’s kids -Yaniv and Adin–for being such incredible humans.There are so many people we want to thank for their love, guidance, support, and inspiration on this project: Houri & Younes Dardashti, Millie & Louie Heifetz, Michelle Dardashti, Yadid Dardashti, Shahnaze Dardashti, Hamid Dardashti, Louise Motevassel, David Dardashti, Niloo Dardashti, Schelly Dardashti, Jina Aziz-Zadeh, Dawne Bear Novicoff, Vicki Compter Lefkowitz, Jeni Friedman, Rebecca Friedman, Rebecca Guber, Debbie Kolben, Ami Eden, Caleb Guedes Reed, Sharon Nazarian, Jessamyn Rodriguez, Yonah Schiller, Richard Kay, Mark Kligman, Sarah Lefton, Janine Okmin, Arielle Nissenblatt, Ilana Nevins, Lior Sternfeld, Edwin Seroussi, Mohsen Mohammadi, Hasan Sarbakhshian, Sierra Ulrich, David Shofet, Sarah Benor and Hadas Bram.Intro credits read by: Michelle DardashtiCover art design: Ghulam NabiAssistants: Courtney Cunningham & Jessica DeWeeseMarketing / PR:  TinkDistributed by PRX, the Public Media Exchange

Danielle and Galeet grew up in a family band. They sang in 12 languages, but not Persian. This seems odd since their father and grandfather were famous Iranian singers. Then, they make a discovery.

Sisters Danielle Dardashti & Galeet Dardashti - a storyteller and an anthropologist - search for answers about their famous Persian Jewish family. Subscribe now to The Nightingale of Iran!