Svika Pick (, 3 October 1949 – 14 August 2022),
born Henryk Pick, was an Israeli pop singer, songwriter, composer, and television personality.
Pick first gained traction on a national level after playing a lead part in an Israeli version of the musical ''
Hair'', later pursuing a prolific songwriting and singing career. He later gained notoriety after co-writing "
Diva
Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is cl ...
", which won the
1998 Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaste ...
for
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 ...
. Pick was described by peers and critics as the
Israeli King of Pop, and the Maestro.
Biography

Henryk (Zvi) Pick was born in
Wrocław
Wrocław (; , . german: Breslau, , also known by other names) is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, roughly ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
, to
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
parents, Paulina (1930–2010) and Borys Pick. His grandfather was the head of a music school, and his uncle was a music professor. At the age of five, Pick studied classical music. In 1957, his family
immigrated
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
to Israel. Pick studied music at the
Conservatory of
Ramat Gan
Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and man ...
, and started to perform in local Israeli rock bands at the age of 15.
Pick married Israeli songwriter Mirit Shem-Or, with whom he has a son, and two daughters; Sharona and Daniella, who have performed together as the Pick Sisters. Shem-Or wrote the lyrics for many of Pick's hits, including "Mary Lou", which was about her. After they divorced, they continued to collaborate artistically. Sharona is married to Israeli hotelier Daniel Federmann, son of businessman
Michael Federmann, while Daniella is married to the American filmmaker
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensemb ...
.
Pick was also in a relationship with Israeli fashion designer Shira Manor, with whom he had two sons, Tim and Neal.
In 2018,
EL AL
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural ...
flight from
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to
Tel 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 G ...
was diverted to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
after Pick suffered a
stroke. He later stated that he had to go extensive rehabilitation afterwards, including relearning Hebrew and his ability to walk.
Music career

Pick was one of Israel's leading pop singers in the 1970s, and was named “Israeli male singer of the year” by
Kol Israel
''Kol Yisrael'' or ''Kol Israel'' ( lit. "Voice of Israel", also "Israel Radio") is Israel's public domestic and international radio service. It operated as a division of the Israel Broadcasting Service from 1951 to 1965, the Israel Broadcastin ...
every year from 1977 to 1980. He played a lead part in the Hebrew version of the musical ''
Hair'' in the early 1970s.
In 1998 Pick wrote the song "
Diva
Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is cl ...
" with lyricist Yoav Ginai and performed by
Dana International
Sharon Cohen ( he, שרון כהן; born 2 February 1969), professionally known as Dana International ( he, דנה אינטרנשיונל), is an Israeli pop singer. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums. She w ...
, which won the
Eurovision Song Contest. He also wrote songs for several other Eurovision contestants. In 2002 he reunited with Ginai to write the "
Light a Candle" for
Sarit Hadad, who represented Israel in
Eurovision 2002. That year,
Habima Theater
The Habima Theatre ( he, תיאטרון הבימה ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv.
History ...
staged a musical called ''Mary Lou'' based on Pick's old hits. In 2009, this musical was made into the television series ''Tamid Oto Chalom'' (or ''Mary Lou''), directed by
Eytan Fox
Eytan Fox ( he, איתן פוקס; born on August 21, 1964) is an Israeli film director.
Biography
Eytan Fox was born in New York City. His family immigrated to Israel when he was two. His father, Seymour Fox, was a Conservative rabbi and a prof ...
.

In 2003, he composed the song "
Hasta la Vista" with Shem-Or, to whom he was married at the time, for
Oleksandr Ponomaryov, Ukrainian entrant in
Eurovision 2003. He also wrote a song for the
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
ian contestant of
Eurovision 2005,
Angelica Agurbash, but she later decided on a different one, acknowledging Pick for his effort. He competed seven times in the Israeli preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2010, he composed an entry for
Harel Skaat
Harel Skaat ( he, הראל סקעת, born 8 August 1981) sometimes known by the mononym Harel is an Israeli singer and songwriter. He represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Milim" ("מילים", "Words").
Skaat h ...
for Israel, and for
Sopho Nizharadze for
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...
.
Eurovision entries
Song contest
*"
Diva
Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is cl ...
" by
Dana International
Sharon Cohen ( he, שרון כהן; born 2 February 1969), professionally known as Dana International ( he, דנה אינטרנשיונל), is an Israeli pop singer. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums. She w ...
, Israel, (
Eurovision Song Contest 1998
The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster ...
), 1st place
*"
Light a Candle" by
Sarit Hadad, Israel, (
Eurovision Song Contest 2002
The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 was the 47th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tallinn, Estonia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Everybody" by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL. Organised by the E ...
), 12th place
*"
Hasta la Vista" by
Oleksandr Ponomaryov, Ukraine, (
Eurovision Song Contest 2003
The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the 48th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Riga, Latvia, following the country's victory at the with the song "I Wanna (Marie N song), I Wanna" by Marija Naumova, Marie N. Organised by ...
), 14th place
National selection
*“Ein li ish milvadi” by Svika Pick (
Israel 1979), 2nd place
*"Romantica" by Svika Pick (
Israel 1982), 6th place
*"Layla layla" by Svika Pick (
Israel 1986), 7th place
*"Domino" by Svika Pick (
Israel 1987), =10th place
*"Artik Kartiv" by Svika Pick (
Israel 1993), 7th place
*"Moonlight" by Svika Pick (
Israel 2005), 3rd place
*"Lifney SheNifradim" by Svika Pick (
Israel 2006), 4th place
*"Sing My Song" by
Sopho Nizharadze (
Georgia 2010)
Television career
From 2005–2009, Pick was one of the judges for the singing reality show ''
Kokhav Nolad
''Kokhav Nolad'' ( he, כוכב נולד) (meaning ''A Star Is Born'') was an Israeli reality television show searching for talented new vocalists, based on the British '' Pop Idol'' model. Since its debut on Israeli Channel 2 in 2003, Kokhav No ...
'' (the Israeli version of ''
Pop Idol
''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...
'') that aired on
Channel 2.
In 2005, Pick starred in the docu-reality series ''HaMaestro'' that aired on
Bip and followed the daily lives of him and his family.
In 2009, the musical drama series ''Tamid Oto Chalom'' aired on
HOT 3
Hot 3 (styled as HOT3; he, הוט 3; also available in HD as HOT3 HD) is an Israeli television channel of the cable television company ' HOT'. First introduced as The Family Channel in the early 1990s and later simply as Channel 3, it was one o ...
. Pick's songs were used for its title and soundtrack, and he guest starred in one of the episodes.
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 ...
*
Culture of Israel
The roots of the culture of Israel developed long before modern Israel's independence in 1948, and traces back to ancient Israel ( 1000 BCE). It reflects Jewish culture, Jewish history in the diaspora, the ideology of the Zionist movement that d ...
*
Television in Israel
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pick, Svika
1949 births
2022 deaths
20th-century Israeli male singers
Israeli composers
Israeli male stage actors
Polish emigrants to Israel
Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent
Israeli Ashkenazi Jews
Eurovision Song Contest winners
People from Ramat Gan
Hapoel Yehud F.C. players
Hapoel Nir Ramat HaSharon F.C. players