Yessai Markarian
Better known as "Composer Grandpa Dollar" (Ashough Dolar Baboug). He was
born in the village of
Khdr Bek of Musa Dagh, Turkey in 1889.
In 1910 he joins the Ottoman Army in the Marash region.
In 1913, two years before the battle
of Musa Dagh, he leaves for
the United States, looking for a better life. After staying in America for 33 years he
returns to Anjar, Lebanon, to join his people in building a new homeland
in exile. That's why his compatriots called him "Ashough Dolar Baboug"
(Composer Grandpa Dollar.)
Although he was not a professional song writer, he has written many poems
and songs in Armenian and Musa Dagh dialect. His famous song is called
"From The Villages of Musa Dagh", written
and composed by
him. This song is about the hardships of the peoples of Musa Dagh and Anjar.
He died in Anjar, Lebanon in 1964.