Who would have thought? As far as I’m aware, the only compilation on Israel in the 60s is the (quite boring) CD "Beat Music Festival" bythe Hed-Aryi label, so this set takes a quite unique stand.
Beyond the Wailing Wall in the 60s, there were not many night clubs and recording studios for Pop music, nor was there a vast offer of modern (Western) instruments and amplifiers. Even though the import of Western Pop music elements had happened some years before, when Eastern folk first time was mixed with RnR. But first you had to electrify your Bouzouki and play concerts with one mike to sing and one more in front of the guitar. But there were a few courageous combos who delivered some fine tunes. Have in mind that at a time when Jimmy Hendrix stunned the Western world, in Israel they still dabbled with Woolly Bully. Our 6’30” introduction tune presents the star of this set (you see him on the cover) who came from Greece, settled in Israel, played concerts for Moshe Dayin and Ben Gurion, was suspected of being a spy, flew to NYC where he opened a night club soon frequented by Frank Sinatra and Anthony Quinn, got a cocaine habit so his club was raided by the FBI and he got a 2 year jail sentences, and in the bitter end finally died under “suspicious circumstances” in Romenia. (just to help you to get in the right mood, that is. Many Israeli groups and artists had to go abroad to cut a record (USA, UK, Austria, Germany, Greece ) (although the Sing Sings were Brit boys who tried their luck in Israel), and In the middle of my mix there’s various samples of the rare and uncomped recordings. Our Heraic set ends with a song by a troupe dressed up in military uniforms (seems they sing against he war, tho). You will hear. Huge thanks for most of the tracks go out to youtube channel yt דודיפטימר , and to dudipedia.wordpress.cominfo (in Hebrew!) and pics. Translations of song titles might be courtesy of Google Translator. Yé Yé and Falafel!
01/ Aris San - Dam Dam - GR / ISR
02/ Bezalel & Echoes - Oh little Girl - ISR
03/ Bezalel & Sabras - Israel Boogie - ISR
04/ Sonny Bells - I can tell - ISR
05/ Sonny Bells - Wooly Bully - ISR
06/ Bezalel & Sabras - Move it - ISR
07/ Bezalel & Sabras - Please don't tease - ISR
08/ Bezalel & Sabras - Dynamite - ISR
09/ Princes Of Israel - When You Know - ISR
10/ Sing Sing Four - Someone Like You - UK / ISR
11/ Sing Sing Four - The Fool that fell - UK / ISR
12/ Sing Sing Four - Yeh Yeh Halev - UK / ISR
13/ Sing Sing Four - Venus - UK / ISR
14/ Bezalel & Sabras - Estemen - ISR
15/ Bezalel & Sabras - Falafel - ISR
16/ Band of Princes - When you know - ISR
17/ Tzipi Shavit & Lions - Dror Yikra - ISR
18/ Rebel Troupe - The Morning of the Month - ISR
19/ Lions of Judah - Crazy about your curls - ISR
20/ Lions of Judah - The Valley Song - ISR
21/ David Ifra & Yardi Hatzer (Yard Boys) - Midnight Hour (live) - ISR
22/ Metronomes - Kaleidoscope - ISR
23/ Danny Ben Israel & Ray Christoph's New Sound - Happy Birthday Rock'n'Roll - AUS/ ISR
24/ Spiders - Pass away the days - ISR
25/ Central Command Band - Guardian of the walls - ISR
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