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Izhar Cohen ( he, יזהר כהן; born March 13, 1951) is an Israeli singer who won the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest.
https://web.archive.org/web/20170212014526/http://www.izhar-cohen.eu.pn/A-ba-ni-bi lyric with English translationOle ole lyric with English translation
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VIDEO: Eurovision 1978 - Israel - Izhar Cohen & Alpha Beta - A-ba-ni-bi - א-ב-ני-בי
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Izhar 1951 births Living people 20th-century Israeli male singers Israeli male stage actors Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent Eurovision Song Contest winners Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Israel Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1978 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1985 Hebrew-language singers Jewish Israeli musicians Jewish singers People from Givatayim Jewellers
Izhar Cohen ( he, יזהר כהן; born March 13, 1951) is an Israeli singer who won the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest.
Biography
Izhar Cohen was born inTel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
, Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, and raised in Givatayim
Givatayim ( he, גִּבְעָתַיִים, lit. "two hills") is a city in Israel east of Tel Aviv. It is part of the metropolitan area known as Gush Dan. Givatayim was established in 1922 by pioneers of the Second Aliyah. In it had a population ...
, to a family of singers of Yemenite-Jewish descent – Shlomo Cohen, Sarah Cohen, and Hofni, Pini, and Vardina Cohen.
Singing and stage career
Cohen started to sing when he was a child and joined his father in his performances. At 18, Cohen joined theIDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
's Nachal
Nahal ( he, נח"ל) (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training ...
entertainment troupe. During the 1970s Cohen was one of the most played singers in Israel. Representing Israel, he won the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest with the group Alphabeta
Alphabeta were a group of Israeli singers who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1978 with Izhar Cohen.
The singers were Reuven Erez, Lisa Gold-Rubin, Nehama Shutan, Esther Tzuberi, and Itzhak Okev. The winning song was ''A-Ba-Ni-Bi''. Israel ...
performing "A-Ba-Ni-Bi
"A-Ba-Ni-Bi" ( he, label=Hebrew script, א-ב-ני-בי; bet-language language game for the word ''aní'', meaning "I" in Hebrew) was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, performed for by Izhar Cohen and Alphabeta.
Descripti ...
" with music by Nurit Hirsh
Nurit Hirsh ( he, נורית הירש, b. Tel Aviv, August 13, 1942) is an Israeli composer, arranger and conductor who has written over a thousand Hebrew songs. Three of her most famous and widely known songs are '' Ba-Shanah ha-Ba'ah'' (''Next ...
and words by Ehud Manor
Ehud Manor (Hebrew: אהוד מנור; born Ehud Weiner; July 13, 1941 – April 12, 2005) was an Israeli lyricist, translator, poet and radio and TV personality. He is widely considered to have been Israel's most prolific lyricist of all time, h ...
. The title of the song is the Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
word "''ani''" (first person singular pronoun) expressed in the popular children's language game
A language game (also called a cant, secret language, ludling, or argot) is a system of manipulating spoken words to render them incomprehensible to an untrained listener. Language games are used primarily by groups attempting to conceal their c ...
" Bet language".
Cohen later represented Israel again (this time with an unnamed group of backing singers) at the 1985 contest performing " Olé, Olé" (music – 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
...
, words – Hamutal Ben-Ze'ev) where he finished 5th. He attempted to represent Israel again in 1982, 1987 and 1996 but did not win the national final.
Cohen was an actor in the Haifa Theater. He owns a jewelry shop on Dizengoff Street
Dizengoff Street ( he, רחוב דיזנגוף, ''Rehov Dizengoff'') is a major street in central Tel Aviv, named after Tel Aviv's first mayor, Meir Dizengoff.
The street runs from the corner of Ibn Gabirol Street in its southernmost point to the ...
in Tel Aviv.
Izhar was on The Singer in the Mask as "Bull", getting 10th overall.
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
External links
https://web.archive.org/web/20170212014526/http://www.izhar-cohen.eu.pn/
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VIDEO: Eurovision 1978 - Israel - Izhar Cohen & Alpha Beta - A-ba-ni-bi - א-ב-ני-בי
Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Izhar 1951 births Living people 20th-century Israeli male singers Israeli male stage actors Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent Eurovision Song Contest winners Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Israel Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1978 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1985 Hebrew-language singers Jewish Israeli musicians Jewish singers People from Givatayim Jewellers