Ofra Haza - Career

Career

Her first album, entitled Al Ahavot Shelanu (Our Love), was released in 1980 and yielded a string of popular radio hits, including Hageshem (The Rain), Shir Ahava La'chayal (Love Song For The Soldier), Kmo Tzipor (Like A Bird) and what ultimately became her signature song in Israel, Shir Ha'frecha (The Bimbo Song). The latter was written for the film Schlager (1979) in which Haza played a leading role. At first, radio stations across the country refused to play the song due to its lyrics, which at the time were unaccepted, but it quickly climbed the charts and reached No. 1, where it stayed for five consecutive weeks. Later in the year, the album reached gold status.

A second album soon followed, Bo Nedaber (Let's Talk), eventually going gold, which included the hugely popular hits Tfila (Prayer) and Simanim Shel Ohavim (Lovers Signs).

Her third album, Pituyim (Temptations) came out in 1982 and enjoyed equal success, reaching gold status as well, with such hits as Gabriel and Kol Yom Matchila Shana (A New Year Starts Everyday). With this album, more well-known writers agreed to write her songs, including Tzvika Pick and Nurit Hirsh.

In 1983, Haza's career jumped to a new level of success and popularity. At the Eurovision Song Contest, she came in a close second to the Luxembourg entry with the song "Chai" (Alive). Her popularity in Israel reached enormous heights. Her first platinum album, "Chai", released in 1983, became her biggest-selling album to date, and the title track was voted the No. 1 song of the year. Author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor notes in The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History that Haza's performance of this song was highly symbolic as it contains the lyric "Israel Is Alive". As the contest was held in Munich, Germany, the scene of the 1972 Olympic's massacre, there was considerable patriotism involved with the Israeli entry. Additional hits from the album included Amen Lamilim (Amen For Words) and Sof Hakayitz (End Of Summer). Haza was voted "Female Vocalist Of The Year" four years in a row, from 1980 through 1983. Later that year, Haza released Shirey Moledet which consisted of her renditions of well-known Israeli folk songs, eventually going platinum as well. Public response was so overwhelming, she went on to release two more volumes (in 1985 and 1987).

Bait Ham (Warm House) was released in 1984 and included such hits as Yad Beyad (Hand In Hand), Itcha Halayla (With You Tonight) and the title track. The album quickly went gold. In December that year, Haza released what was to become the turning-point of her career, a collection of Yemenite songs, simply titled Yemenite Songs. Despite lukewarm radio airplay, the album went on to become a best-seller, quickly reaching platinum status. This LP was reissued in the United States by Shanachie Records under the title Fifty Gates of Wisdom.

The album Adama (Earth) followed in 1985 and saw the top writers in the country contribute to the album: Sasha Argov, Naomi Shemer, Ya'akov Orland and Ehud Manor, among others. The album produced the enormously popular hits, Adama, Goral Echad (One Destiny) and Mishehu Holech Tamid Iti (Someone Always Walks With Me), and reached gold status. Later that year, Ofra released "Shirey Moledet B", a continuation of her renditions of well known Israeli folk songs. The album went gold.

In 1986, Haza tried to update her sound and gathered with acclaimed producer Izhar Ashdot to create Yamim Nishbarim (Broken Days). The album had an edgy rock sound and the lyrics were deep and personal and written by Haza herself. The album went gold and produced the hits Kol Haklafim (Open Your Cards), Bo Ve-Nagen Oti (Come and Play Me) and Hake'ev Haze (This Pain).

When asked about her musical roots in an interview on KCRW-FM radio (1993, Santa Monica), Haza spoke of her Yemenite Jewish parents, a childhood filled with music and singing and a passion for traditional Yemenite songs, picked up from her mother. Questioned about the theatre troupe, she spoke of poverty and the total neglect of successive governments for the Hatikvah neighborhood; and how, by way of protest, the community had rallied to create something positive and dramatic, which would make others sit up and take notice of the forgotten neighbourhood.