Kaveret (, lit. "beehive"), also known as Poogy (, nickname of band drummer Meir Fenigstein chosen for their performances abroad), was an Israeli

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

band, which operated originally from 1973 to 1976. Representing Israel in the

1974 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the 19th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 6 April 1974 in the Dome in Brighton, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster the British Broadcasting ...

, its songs featured humorous lyrics and ironic musical references. Kaveret is widely considered a breakthrough band in Israeli rock and pop history, and its members have had notable solo careers.The Band "Kaveret" Announced: Tickets Are on Sale as of Tonight
Ezri Amram, 10 March 2013, reshet.tv
Yoav Kutner, 14 June 2013, kutnermusic.com

History

Before Kaveret

Group members

Danny Sanderson Danny Sanderson (; born November 30, 1950) is an Israeli musician, singer-songwriter and guitarist. In 2005, Sanderson received a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to Israeli music. Biography Sanderson was born in Kibbutz Kfar B ...

Gidi Gov Gideon "Gidi" Gov (; 4 August 1950) is an Israeli singer, TV host, entertainer, and actor. He was married to Anat Gov before her death in 2012 and they had three children. Biography Early life Gov was born in Rehovot to Daniel and Tzipora ...

, Alon Oleartchik, Efraim Shamir and Meir Fenigstein met during their

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

service in the

Nahal Entertainment Troupe Lehakat HaNahal (Hebrew: להקת הנח"ל; lit. ''The Nahal Band'', also known in English as the ''Nahal Entertainment Troupe'') is the musical military ensemble of the Nahal program of the Israel Defense Forces. Established in November 1951 a ...

(, ''Lehakat HaNahal''). Sanderson and Fenigstein joined the troupe in 1968, appearing in its 21st revue,Revue 21 – Lehakat HaNahal in Its 21st Revue
army-bands.co.il the rest joining a year later.Revue 22 – In the Nahal Settlement in Sinai
army-bands.co.il During their military service, Sanderson operated a civilian band called ''HaSchnizelim'' (, lit. "the

schnitzel Schnitzel () is a thin slice of meat. The meat is usually thinned by pounding with a meat tenderizer. Most commonly, the meat is breaded before frying. Breaded schnitzel is popular in many countries and is made using veal, pork, Chicken as foo ...

s"), with a flexible line-up, which at times included Gov, Olearchik, Shamir and Fenigstein, as well as other band members, such as Eli Magen and

David Sha'anan David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

. The same group of people also participated in taping humorous skits which were aired in

Galei Tzahal Israeli Army Radio ( lit. IDF waves) or Galei Tzahal, known in Israel by its acronym Galatz (), is a nationwide state funded Israeli radio network operated by the Israel Defense Forces. The station broadcasts news, music, traffic reports and educa ...

show ''MiMeno Elayich'' (, lit. "From Him to You"), which were named "Pinot Poogy" (, lit. "Poogy's Bits"). Such activity continued after all members left the army, evolving into writing and recording a full

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

, called ''Sipurei Poogy'' (, lit. "Poogy's Tales"), named after Fenigstein nickname, Poogy, as well as shorter musical skits, ''HaMelech Mambo'' (, lit. "Mambo the King") and ''HaSipur HaMachrid Al HaYeled MiBrazil'' (, lit. "The Horrifying Story of the Kid from Brazil").Honey in the Beehive
Eran Dinar, 7 July 2007, mistovev.haoneg.com Every Action Has a Procedure
Davidovic, 26 June 2008, Pizmon Hozer @ israblog.co.il During work on these skits the line-up of the band formalized, with the addition of

Yitzhak Klepter Yitzhak Klepter (; 31 March 1950 – 8 December 2022) was an Israeli singer, composer and guitarist. He was a pioneer of Israeli rock, and had several collaborations with Israeli artists such as Arik Einstein and Gidi Gov. Biography Yitzhak Kl ...

and

Yoni Rechter Yoni Rechter (; born 18 November 1951) is an Israeli musician, composer, pianist, arranger and singer. Biography Yonatan (Yoni) Rechter was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. He is the son of Israeli architect Ya'akov Rechter and stepson of Israeli actr ...

to Sanderson, Gov, Oleartchik, Shamir and Fenigstein. During this period future band members were involved in different projects. Shamir and Gov sang in the 1972 Israel Song Festival, Sanderson released a couple of songs in English, ''Like to Tag Along''Like to Tag Along
youtube.com and ''Conspiracy'', and Shamir and Oleartchik collaborated as a duo called ''Nu Az Ma'' (, lit. "Well, So What"), releasing two songs, "Dam Lo Tov" (, lit. "No Good Blood")Nu Az Ma Duo – Dam Lo Tov
youtube.com and "Sufa" (, lit. "Storm"),Nu Az Ma Efraim Shamir and Alon Oleartchik–Sufa 1970 Uploader Dudi Patimer
youtube.com while Klepter was a member of ''Aharit HaYamim'' (, lit. "End of Days" or "Doomsday").Aharit HaYamim Is 40 Years Old: a Salute to a Band Like No Other
Eyal Rob, 21 February 2012, walla.co.il

Years of activity

The band, now with a complete line-up, rehearsed the rock opera, with the intent of bringing it to the stage.An Evening of Humor and Electricity
Davar, 1 June 1973, Historical Jewish Press Humor and Electricity (cont.)
Davar, 1 June 1973, Historical Jewish Press The band was signed by producer Avraham Deshe (Pashanel), who convinced the band to give up the rock opera idea and put up a revue show composed of songs and skits. The updated show became a huge success.Deshe Fever: The Life and Death of Producer Avraham Pashanel, the Full Story
Avishai Matiya, 28 April 2014, maariv.co.il In November 1973, while the band itself was performing as part of their reserve army duty after the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

,Many Artists and Army Bands Go Out Every Day to Entertain Soldiers
Davar, 19 October 1973, Historical Jewish Press The Show Must Go On
Davar, 15 November 1973, Historical Jewish Press the band's first album, '' Sipurei Poogy'', was released, based upon the band's stage show. In the Israeli Annual Hebrew Song Chart, the band was voted "Band of the Year" in both

and

Israel Broadcasting Authority The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017, succeeded by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. History The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station '' Kol Yi ...

, a feat that they would repeat for the next four years. Their song, "HaMagafayim Shel Barukh" (, lit. "Barukh's Boots") won first place in both charts. In March 1974, the band was selected to represent Israel in the

.The "Kaveret" to the Eurovision
Davar, 29 March 1974, Historical Jewish Press In the contest, the band performed sixth with the song "

Natati La Khayay "Natati La Khayay" (; the translation used by the band is "She looked me in the eye") is a song performed in Hebrew by the Israeli band Kaveret, conveying both romantic and political message. The song is 's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 19 ...

", which received 11 points, achieving 7th place. Following their performance at Eurovision, the band released two songs in English, both are versions of the band's Hebrew songs with English lyrics, "She Looked Me in the Eye" (

)Poogy – She looked me in the eye
youtube.com and "Morris and His Turtle" (HaMagafayim Shel Barukh).Poogy – Morris and his turtle
youtube.comA New Record – Poogy
Davar, 18 June 1974, Historical Jewish Press In August 1974, the band release its second album, " Poogy BePita" (, lit. "Poogy in a Pita"),What's New?
Maariv, 20 August 1974, Historical Jewish Press which included "

", and continued touring with their "Sipurei Poogy" revue until the end of the year. In early 1975, the band started working on new songs,Stars and Nights – Kaveret Prepares a New Revue
Davar, 20 February 1975, Historical Jewish Press which resulted in a new show and an album, " Tzafuf BaOzen" (, lit. "Crowded in the Ear"). The band's new revue received lukewarm responses, and the revue was revamped to contain more of its older material to please the crowd. In early 1976 the band embarked on a U.S. tour,The "Kaveret" to the USA
Davar, 8 December 1975, Historical Jewish Press for which the band translated some of its repertoire to English, and recorded new songs in English. However, the band couldn't get a record deal,
Yoav Kutner, 27 January 2019, kutnermusic.com and returned to Israel in June 1976A Musical With Giant Dolls – For Kids
Davar, 15 June 1976, Historical Jewish Press and resumed touring. Soon, tensions within the band caused its members to announce the band's break up.Kaveret – The End
Davar, 25 July 1976, Historical Jewish Press

Solo careers and reunions

After the break up, Oleartchik and Fenigstein preferred moving to the U.S. while most of the group members embarked on solo careers, often collaborating with each other on the solo projects. In 1979 Sanderson and Gov formed a new band, Gazoz, which was more pop-oriented and released two albums, and a year later formed a third band, Doda, which had a rockier sound and managed to release a single album before breaking up. In 1984 an initiative to reunite the band members for a short tour was successful,The Kaveret Returns
Maariv, 11 April 1984, Historical Jewish Press including the return of Oleartchik, who studied music and played in local bands, and Fenigstein, who quit music altogether and founded the Israel Film Festival, from the U.S.. The band played several shows, culminating in a free show in

Yarkon Park Yarkon Park (, ''Park HaYarkon'') is a park in Tel Aviv, Israel, with about sixteen million visits annually. Named after the Yarkon River, which flows through it, the park includes extensive lawns, sports facilities, botanical gardens, an aviar ...

, which was attended by a crowd of 400,000 to 500,000 people.Hundreds of Thousands Bid Farewell to Kaveret; Dozens Fainted
Maariv, 13 August 1984, Historical Jewish Press To celebrate the reunion the band recorded a new song, "Meir VeAlon" (, lit. "Meir and Alon"), which chronicled Oleartchik and Fenigstein's stay in the U.S. The song was released in Oleartchik's first solo album, "Oleartchik", which was released the following year. A taping of the band's performance in

Caesarea Caesarea, a city name derived from the Roman title " Caesar", was the name of numerous cities and locations in the Roman Empire: Places In the Levant * Caesarea Maritima, also known as "Caesarea Palaestinae", an ancient Roman city near the modern ...

was released as a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...

. The band reunited again in 1990 to a tour titled "Kaveret Hozeret" (, lit. "Kaveret Returns"), which was accompanied by a song by the same title, and by a reissue of the band's three original albums along with bonus tracks taken from rehearsals and pre-Kaveret skits.That's Not Yosef
Eran Dinar, 8 August 2013, mistovev.haoneg.com The tour was documented by Menachem Zilberman for a film called "Kaveret: Tmunot MeChayey Lehaka" (, lit. "Kaveret: Pictures from a Band's Life").Pictures from a Band's Life
Hamon Productions Kaveret Band – Pictures from a Band's Life 1990
youtube.com In 1998 the band reunited once more to perform one show in

, as part of Israel's 50th anniversary celebrations. The show was taped and released on the album "Kaveret BaPark" (, lit. "Kaveret in the Park"), which also included a bonus disc of rehearsals and two new songs written for the reunion, "Zocher, Lo Zocher" (, lit. "Remember, Don't Remember") and "Mechapes Derech Chazara" (, lit. "Looking for a Way Back"). The entire ensemble performed a single show in 2000; the band did not originally intend to reunite in that year, but did so especially for raising money to fund lifesaving surgery required by band member

.Therefore, Stand and Play: Yitzhak Klepter Must Keep On Creating
Nir Gorali, 9 February 2011, mouse.co.il In March 2013 the band formally announced a further series of reunion concerts. Initially there were meant to be two concerts, but due to public demand, three additional shows were added. Prior to the shows a

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

of rarities and outtakes titled "Kaveret BeKufsa – Antologia 1971–1976" (, lit. "Kaveret in a Box – Anthology 1971–1976") was released. The last performance, performed on 9 August 2013,Kaveret takes a bow — band performs final concert in Tel Aviv Read more: Kaveret takes a bow -- band performs final concert in Tel Aviv
Times of Israel, 9 August 2013 was taped and released as an audio album and a DVD, titled "HaMofa HaAcharon" (, lit. "The Final Act"). On 8 December 2022, Yitzhak Klepter died at the age of 72.

Band members

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

- lead vocals,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

* Efraim Shamir - lead vocals, rhythm guitar,

12-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in ...

Steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

* Alon Oleartchik - vocals,

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

(nickname: Churchill) -

, electric guitar *

- vocals, keyboards * Meir Fenigstein (nickname: Poogy) -

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, percussion, spoken word and vocals as "Poogy" ;Touring members * Tal Bergman - drums, percussion (1998) * Yotam Ben Horin - acoustic guitar, backing vocals (2013) * Gili Shapira - acoustic guitar, backing vocals (2013) * Guy Mazig - electric guitar, backing vocals (2013) *

Shay Wetzer Shay may refer to: People Shay is an Irish Gaelic name, a variant of the name ''Shea''. It is derived from O'Shea, which is anglicized from ''Ó Séaghdha''. Shay is also a Hebrew unisex name, meaning , deriving as a variation of Shai (given name) ...

- drums, percussion (2013) * Ido Zeleznik - keyboards (2013)

Albums

Studio albums

*'' Sipurei Poogy'' (, lit. "Poogy's Tales") - 1973 *'' Poogy BePita'' (, lit. "Poogy in a Pita") - 1974 *'' Tzafuf BaOzen'' (, lit. "Crowded in the Ear") – 1975

Live albums

*''Kaveret – Hofa'a Chaya, Kayitz 1984'' (, lit. "Kaveret - Live Concert, Summer 1984") - 1984 *''Kaveret BaPark'' (, lit. "Kaveret in the Park") – 1998 *''HaMofa HaAcharon'' (, lit. "The Last Concert") - 2013

Compilations

*''Kaveret BeKufsa – Antologia 1971–1976'' (, lit. "Kaveret in a Box – Anthology 1971–1976") - 2013

DVDs and videos

*''HaMofa HaAcharon'' (, lit. "The Last Concert") – 2013 *''Kaveret BeKufsa – Antologia 1971–1976'' (, lit. "Kaveret in a Box – Anthology 1971–1976") – 2013 (two DVDs are included in the box set).

References

External links

Of Everything Kaveret's Unofficial Archive

*
Gidi Gov Biography on IMDb

Meir Fenigstein's Israel Film Festival

* {{Authority control Israeli rock music groups Israeli comedy musicians Musical groups from Tel Aviv Musical groups established in 1973 Musical groups disestablished in 1976 1973 establishments in Israel 1976 disestablishments in Israel Comedy rock musical groups Eurovision Song Contest entrants