Milk and Honey ( he, חלב ודבש ''Khalav U'Dvash'') was an Israeli vocal group. The original line-up consisted of Shmulik Bilu, Reuven Gvirtz, Yehuda Tamir and
Gali Atari
Gali Atari ( he, גלי עטרי; born December 29, 1953) is an Israeli singer and actress. Atari won the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 which was held in Jerusalem, as part of Milk and Honey.
Early life
Atari was born in Rehovot, Israel, to Je ...
.
History
The group was assembled in 1978 by producer Shlomo Zach and composer
Kobi Oshrat
Kobi Oshrat ( he, קובי אשרת; born July 15, 1944) is an Israeli composer and conductor. He composed and conducted the winning entry at the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest ''Hallelujah'' sung by the vocal ensemble Milk and Honey.
Biography
...
, after both
Hakol Over Habibi and
Yardena Arazi turned down the opportunity to perform Oshrat's song "
Hallelujah
''Hallelujah'' ( ; he, ''haləlū-Yāh'', meaning "praise Yah") is an interjection used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four tim ...
" in the Israeli national selection for the
Eurovision Song Contest 1979.
Milk and Honey eventually won the national selection, and went on to also win the Eurovision Song Contest 1979.
"Hallelujah" peaked in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
at #5 in April 1979.
The group had one other international hit, "Goodbye New York".
Less than a year after the song contest, Atari retired from Milk and Honey and was replaced by Leah Lupatin in 1981.
The same year, Atari sued Zach for unpaid royalties; in 1994, an Israeli court ruled in Atari's favour, ordering Zach to pay the royalties.
Subsequently, in 2003, Zach and his partners sued Oshrat, alleging that Oshrat should have also contributed to the payments made to Atari, as he was a partner in the group.
That lawsuit was settled in 2009 through
mediation.
Milk and Honey competed in the national final on two further occasions; they performed the song "Serenada" in 1981, coming fourth, and "Ani Ma'amin" in 1989, where they came eighth. Gvirtz and Tamir accompanied the Israeli song contest act in
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
.
See also
*
Music of Israel
The music of Israel is a combination of Jewish and non-Jewish music traditions that have come together over the course of a century to create a distinctive musical culture. For almost 150 years, musicians have sought original stylistic elements ...
References
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Eurovision Song Contest winners
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1979
Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Israel
Israeli pop music groups
Musical groups established in 1979