Shlomo Artzi
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| Shlomo Artzi | |
|---|---|
 The "Tzima'on" album cover |
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| Origin | Moshav Alonei Aba, Israel |
| Years active | 1969 - Present |
| Genres | rock, pop rock |
| Labels | Hed Arzi |
Shlomo Artzi (Hebrew: שלמה ארצי) is a famous Israeli pop rock singer and a composer. He was born in moshav Aloney Aba, Israel, on November 26, 1948. He spent his childhood in Ramat Israel and when he was 8 years old, his family moved to northern Tel Aviv. He is one of the most popular male singers in Israel and has sold over a million albums.
[edit] Early Life
Artzi's schoolmates thought he would become an actor, not a musician. However, at the age of 12 he started playing the guitar and singing in a boy scouts group.
During his military service, Shlomo Artzi sang for a successful army entertainment group, Lehakat Cheil Hayam (Naval Corps Entertainment Group) and sang lead vocals on several songs on the Group's LPs. Surprisingly, he won the first prize in a song contest with his song Pitom Achshav, Pitom Hayom (Suddenly Now, Suddenly Today), also known as Ahavtiha (I loved her). After the Army, he worked hard to become a well-known musician and sang everywhere he could.
[edit] Musical Career
In 1975 he was selected to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest. The selected song was At Ve'Ani (You and Me), written by the legendary Israeli songwriter Ehud Manor, and composed by Artzi himself. To catch the moment, Artzi recorded a whole new record in less than 2 weeks. However, At Ve'Ani didn't win the contest, and the album was a big disappointment.
In 1976 Shlomo Artzi recorded a selection of his best songs from the period 1970-1973. Two years later, he finally gave up. He recorded He Lost His Way, a sort of last good-bye to the business. Nevertheless, the album was a big success and opened a new door to Artzi's career.
In 1979 he recorded Drachim (Ways), with a fresher style. His 1981 LP Chatzot (Midnight) was the second part of Drachim.
In 1980 Artzi started his own radio show on Israel's Army Radio, Galey Tsahal. In this show, he talked about the week's headlines and tells interesting stories he has heard or seen during the week. Od Lo Shabat (It isn't Saturday yet) is still broadcasted every Friday at 13:10 local time.
His records Tirkod (Dance, 1984), "Layla Lo Shaket" (Restless Night, 1986), and Chom Yuli August (July August Heat, 1988), are milestones of Israeli 80's songwriting.
In 1995 the best Israeli musicians recorded together a CD in memory of Yitzhak Rabin, named Shalom Chaver. Shlomo Artzi played two songs during the memorial service, which later became anthems of those days --Haish Hahu (That Man) and Uf Gozal (Fly Little One), which is written by Arik Einstein and Miki Gavrielov.
In 1996 he released an album called Shnayim (Two), which has sold 160,000 copies (4x platinum). The most notable songs in this CD were the title track, sung with Israeli singer Rita, "Menagev Lach Et Hadmaot" (Wiping Your Tears) and "Ze Ma Shenish'ar" (That's All That Is Left). Containing his best love songs, Artzi released Ahavtihem (I Have Loved Them) four years later. His album Tzima'on (Thirst), which was released in 2002, sold 150,000 and is one of Israel's bestsellers.
At the end of 2006 Shlomo Artzi announced his new album Shfuim, to be released in the spring of 2007. A new single from this album, "HaAmiti", became available during the first days of January, 2007.
