34 years ago Friday the man affectionately known as the Afghan Elvis and the King of Afghan music, was assassinated. Here’s the saddest part about the death of  Ahmad Zahir; not only was he shot dead by his best friend but it happened on his birthday. Zahir was a vocalist and instrumentalist whose repertoire consisted largely of Persian poems. He became more political after the Marxist government came to power, and that is how he met his untimely death at the age of 33.

Zahir remains an iconic figure whose voice still blares from speakers in Afghanistan. This week on Radio M we celebrate the life and music of Ahmad Zahir in part with a short documentary from Radio Lab.

Our weekly musical journey this week also takes us to Brazil, India, Argentina, France and The Dominican Republic. All aboard!