Zvika Pick emerged in the Israeli consciousness in 1970 as a force that could not be denied, and after which pop culture in Israel changed forever.
The 21-year-old who was born as Henrik and educated musically on classics such as Tchaikovsky and Bach, won the hearts of young men and women in Israel when he stepped into the shoes of Claude - the main character in the hippie musical "Hair".
In the musical, Pick presented a new type of masculinity: Zvika Pick's long-haired Claude was an androgynous character (in the days when gender was not yet a matter of personal choice or definition), peacock and sexually extroverted.
He was dressed in velvet clothes and felt almost alien in essence in the local landscape.
The adults did not see the magic in him, the critics were not impressed and mocked him quite a bit at the beginning of his career.
But by the middle of the decade, it was no longer possible to deny his great talent and the colorfulness he brought to popular music in Israel.
Peake was a classic creator who produces catchy, danceable pop anthems alongside mournful or pathos-filled piano ballads.
Over the years he was considered a "serial comeback", after a less successful decade in the 1980s, but looking back it's hard not to be impressed by the versatility, the colorfulness that was ahead of its time (in many ways Peak is a cultural figure that is more suitable to our time than to those in which he broke out and became famous), the ability to invent again, the experimental spirit, and most of all - the huge composing talent.
The day of his death symbolizes the passing of one of the fallen that music in Israel has known.
The Auto Dancer
One of the most prominent songs, perhaps the most prominent, from "Pick" - the singer's second album, released in the summer of 1973. At this stage, Tzvika had not yet received recognition for his talent, and he was helped by more well-known singers who sang his songs, including Oshik Levy and Edna Lev.
Soon Zvika Peak will become a household name in Israel, and during the seventies will experience what will be considered the golden age of his career.
He became the revered pop singer in the country, the kind that fans chase after, and for a decade established himself as one of the prominent names in Israeli pop.
Tishrei was collected
In 1977 Pick was awarded the title of "Singer of the Year" and released "Nasef Tishrei", which many know as "Met Av and Met Elul".
It is a composition by Zvika to a song by the poet Natan Yonatan, and the great popularity that the piece gained (which was later selected as the song of the year) led Pick to record an entire album, mostly of poets' songs (and which is called, well, "poets' songs").
The album also included a new version of another hit by the composer, which will become temporary: "There is no country for love", written by Yonatan Gefen.
Love at the end of summer
A song that will become a classic (and perhaps the one most associated with the musician) is "Love at the end of the summer", which he composed to the words of his then-wife Mirit Shem Or.
The song, which many know as "The Young Lovers", continues to this day to be a radio hit, and an extremely popular karaoke performance.
It was released in 1978 as part of "Music", Peak's mega-successful record, which broke sales records and included other albums, including of course the album's theme song (which some prefer to call "Ma'ale Ma'ale").
live with him
The movie "Dizengoff" 1999 is considered an Israeli cinematic classic, and is a song of praise to Tel Aviv of the 1970s.
As requested by the creator and performer associated with that decade, Zvika wrote part of the film's soundtrack.
Of which I especially remember "Living with him", written by Mirit Shem Or (like many of his songs) and performed by Ricky Gal.
Despite Hanu Oletz's melody, the lyrics are about a young woman who falls in love with a married man and fantasizes about the improbable possibility that they will live together one day under the same roof.
"Dizengoff,"99 on the other hand, is remembered for completely different things.
Another familiar song from the same soundtrack, which Pick performed himself, is "Friday Party".
I'm not the man
After Yoram Gaon and Eric Lavi, the chilling words of Alexander Penn were performed by Zvika in 1978 as part of the acclaimed "Musika".
Pick's version was a huge success, reaching fifth place in the Hebrew hymn chart of 1979 on the C channel and the IDF airwaves (the second place was taken by another song by Pick - "Mary Lou").
Mary Lou
Another song that immediately comes to mind when you think of the late singer.
Like many successful songs, "Mary Lou" was also released as part of "Music" and yes, it was also written by Shem Or.
He marched for 13 weeks in the song parade of Network C at the beginning of 1979 until he reached the first place, where he stayed for two weeks.
In the eyes of many, it is considered Peak's most successful song, and perhaps the most associated with him.
In 2002 it was also the name of a successful musical, written based on a story by Mirit and based on the maestro's songs.
Flower song
Towards the end of Pick's successful decade, the movie "Shlager" was released, written and directed by Asi Dayan, and starring members of the Pale Tracker and Ofra Haza.
"The Flower Song", which Haza performed to Pick's tune and Dayan's words, is the one most associated with the film.
Like other songs composed by the musician, it also created controversy - in light of the use of the word "flower", which was considered offensive to girls of the Mizrahi ethnic group.
This did not prevent it from becoming a huge hit, which did wonders for Ofra Haza's career.
Zvika originally intended the song for the singer Ruthi Navon, but it was Miana who performed it.
Asi Dayan, on the other hand, saw the breast as the most suitable to sing it.
Ofra Haza's audition, by the way, Pick was not really impressed, but years later he admitted that her choice was the best for the song.
This was not Zvika's only connection to the film, in which, like other celebrities, the singer participates in a guest appearance as a garage worker (singer).
Creative popsicle
The years of the beginning of the nineties were not exactly considered good years for Pick, but one song he performed is particularly memorable - even if at first it was what sounded like a parody of a Zvika Pick song.
"Artik Creative" (which she wrote - yes, Mirit Shem Or) was performed by Zvika in the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest. It came in seventh place in the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest. But his words "Popsicle creative, chocolate banana, Popsicle creative, chocolate lemon" were liked by the Israeli audience.
A year later Peake composed Dana International's "I Can't Without You" which scorched the radio stations.
But it will be another collaboration between the two that is considered the peak of his success.
diva
Although it is not a song he performed, some would argue that "Diva", which he wrote for Dana International and which represented Israel at the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest in Birmingham, is Pick's greatest international achievement.
Apart from the fact that it is a canonical song in the pantheon of Israeli creation, a melody and lyrics that perfectly represent the musician's writing style, the story behind the song is no less iconic.
From the opposition of the ultra-Orthodox parties to Dana's participation in the competition, through the parrot dress he designed for the singer Jean Paul Gaultier to its relevance in our days, a song that glorifies trans and the queer lifestyle.
For Zvika it was an impressive, glorious and successful comeback and no less than his own personal victory.
After many dry years in the singer's career, "Diva" came towards the end of the nineties and reminded everyone who the greatest maestro of all is.
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