Shlomo Artzi

Shlomo Artzi שלמה ארצי
Shlomo Artzi in concert, 2010
Background information
Born	(1949-11-26) November 26, 1949 (age 67)
Origin	Alonei Abba, Israel
Genres	Folk rock, Pop rock
Years active	1969–present
Labels	Hed Artzi

Shlomo Artzi (Hebrew: שלמה ארצי‎‎) is an Israeli folk rock singer-songwriter.

He was born on November 26, 1949, in Moshav Alonei Abba. In the course of his career, he has sold over 1.5 million albums, making him one of Israel's most successful male singers.

Artzi's parents were Holocaust survivors and their memories deeply influenced him and his sister Nava Semel, a playwright. His father, Yitzhak Artzi, in his youth Zionist activist in Bukovina, Romania, was later a member of the Knesset, his maternal grandmother, was the sister of Rabbi Meir Shapiro.

When Artzi was eight years old, his family moved to northern Tel Aviv. Artzi's schoolmates thought he would become an actor, not a musician, as he was known for his acting skills at elementary school. However, at the age of 12 he started playing the guitar and singing in a boy scouts group and at friends' parties. At age 16, he began writing and composing songs.

During his military service, he was recruited to the Artillery Corps, and after serving for a year and a half, he joined Lehakat Kheil Hayam (Naval Corps Entertainment Group). During his service in the group, he took part in the programs "And on the Third Day" and "Rhapsody in Blue", alongside other soon-to-be Israeli celebrities, such as Rivka Zohar, Dov Glikman, Avi Uriah, Riki Gal, and more. He was yet to stand out during the first program, but by the second program he became the lead singer and one of the main stars. He sang lead vocals on several songs on the Group's LPs.

In 1970, Artzi had the opportunity to take part in the Israeli Song Festival, a prestigious song contest held every year. Still in military service and wearing a military uniform, he sang Pitom Achshav, Pitom Hayom (Suddenly Now, Suddenly Today), also known as Ahavtiha (I loved her). The song, written by Tirza Atar and composed by Ya'akov Hollander, won first prize. It was included in his first album, Shlomo Artzi, which came out in 1970, and came in first in the annual chart-toppers countdown of Kol Israel. Artzi was voted Singer of the Year.Archived December 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.