The parade that did not march: Do the songs of the year survive the test of time?
Since the first annual Hebrew hymn parade was broadcast, dozens of hits have gained fame over the years - some of them timeless classics, some of them hits for a moment.
On the occasion of Independence Day, we went out to check: which year songs are still played on the radio and which have been completely forgotten, and why?
The results are in front of you
Sagi Ben Nun and Nadav Menuhin
04/05/2022
Wednesday, 04 May 2022, 20:05 Updated: 20:10
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55 years ago, the first annual Hebrew hymn parade was broadcast on Gali Tzahal, and the first winning song was "Rain Come" by the Nahal Band.
Since then a lot of water has passed in the Yarkon: many songs have burned the radio over the years, some of them timeless classics, some of them hits for a moment that expired shortly afterwards.
In honor of Independence Day, we went out to check: which of the songs of the year survived the test of time - and which less?
The index we used is the playback index: we examined how many times the songs of the year from all times have been played on the radio in recent years - and we have seen what is played frequently and what is rarely.
It is worth noting that this is not really the only relevant metric - streaming and event playbacks, cover versions, use of campaigns, series and movies and quotes in the press and popular culture can also testify to this.
However, it seems that Israeli radio is still the most significant collective soundtrack, and its data can provide a fascinating picture, as we will see here.
At the request of Walla!
Culture Media Media tested the total number of songs on the radio stations in the last four years of all the songs selected as Songs of the Year by Kol Yisrael and Gali Tzahal, from the first Hebrew parade in 5777 and for fifty years - to 5777. Songs of the year selected in recent years , Probably still played - and in any case it's too early to ask if they survived the test of time.
So who still stars and who will be completely forgotten? We too were surprised by the results.
Ben Ari and Shaban in the lead.
The most played songs of the year on the radio (Photo: Walla !, Reuven Castro)
Let's start with the big winners.
Unsurprisingly, at the top of the list of the most played songs of the year are hits from the last decade.
In examining Media Forest's broadcasts on all radio stations in the last four years of the songs of the year for their generations - the most played song, by a large and significant margin, is
"Our Life is Strawberries"
by Hanan Ben Ari, Galgalatz's Song of the Year in 2006.
Ben Ari said in the past that the song was written Inspired by his little daughter. When she was three he drove her to kindergarten one day, and his daughter complained in the car in the back. When he asked her why she was crying, since our lives are strawberries, she laughed at the statement and started singing it - and the rest
is
history
. Eyal Golan,
"Sweet as Marley"
by Eliad,
"Daddy's Child"
by Muki, and in fifth place -
"Jessica"
Of Ethnics.
Among the older songs, which are played relatively often, it is worth mentioning
"Short Love"
by Meir Banai,
"Suddenly now, suddenly today (her loves)"
by Shlomo Artzi,
"Everyone has"
by Shlomi Shabbat and Lior Narkis,
"I gave her my life"
Of Beehive,
Tislam's
"See Her Today"
and Ariel Zilber's
"Rutzi Shmulik Calls You" .
More on Walla!
How much Yossi
To the full article
If you look at the national stations only, the big conductor is
"Exercise in Awakening"
by Shlomi Shaban and Hava Alberstein - the song of the year of the third network in 2004. Now it turns out an even bigger achievement: the song reached number one in the last four years of all songs of the year. For generations, both at corporation stations here and at Gali Tzahal stations (interestingly, according to data from all the stations, the song is ranked 19th).
"This news is a shot of encouragement for me, which tells me - someone is listening," said Shaban to Walla!
culture.
"Now that I'm before a new album, it's encouraging and gives a desire to play, assuming you might be heard."
"I're the last to ask him what makes a song successful, if I had known I would have written another one like this," says Shaban.
"This song was born strangely, from a picture I saw of a man waking up in the heart of a battlefield, sooty and his head resting on the thigh of a woman he does not see, and he begins to ask the questions, trying to find out if he is dreaming or awake and the bigger question if he lives I did not understand why I see this picture and what it asks for, I just started writing the questions. It was a pleasant experience to write something you do not know where it takes. Slowly the song became clear, not completely. Various interpretations and contexts. "
Hava Alberstein's voice, as well as Operation Eitan that took place in the same year the song was released, charged him with further depths.
"When I tried to understand what the picture I was seeing was, I saw it as a metaphor for the mid-life crisis," says Shaban.
"Somehow, both because of the timing, the participants and also because what you think when you write a song for what the person who hears it thinks are two different and sometimes opposite things, because of all that the song has become an independent creature."
Ofri Gopher, the director of the music stations here, recognizes in the song an unusual combination of elements: "The connection between Shlomi and Hava; an unconventional text in relation to the period in which it was written and published; "Based on deep roots and a deep understanding of rock and pop - this song has something old-fashioned and temporary, and not Instagram, so he got a hug from the radio editors."
On the other hand, veteran editor Yoram Rotem of Gali Tzahal cools the enthusiasm a bit: "The real test of the song 'Exercise in Awakening' will be if in 50 years it is played."
More on Walla!
Cynicism shattered, human love prevailed: it's clearly Rita's greatest song
To the full article
The first song of the year: "Rain is coming" by the Nahal band
And in the face of the success of "Exercise in Awakening", another song by Shaban who was chosen as the song of the year, his breakthrough hit "Eric" - came in the play ranking at all stations only in fifth place from the end.
"The song 'Eric' is a bit of a mutation," admits Shaban.
"In real time it's getting a much bigger hit than it was meant to be. It's a small moment that somehow tapped too much. "It's, but it's really bloated. As much as 'Wake Up Exercise' is an open text, 'Eric' is a closed text, and it probably has a different shelf life."
"The title does not necessarily help the song stay relevant"
Fifty years ago, two different songs won parallel parallels on Kol Yisrael and Gali Tzahal - one of them remained a huge hit, and the other disappeared
completely
. The year that has been played in the corporation here for the past four years.In contrast, the big winner in the GLC parade was Yigal Bashan's
"What Has Changed"
, which has been lost and completely disappeared from consciousness - and also from the radio.
In the ranking of songs played this year for their generations, he came in last place in all radio stations, both GLC stations alone and Kol Yisrael stations alone. Almost no one plays it
.
I chose Yigal Bashan's song 'What Has Changed' for the parade that year, because it was a big hit, "says Yoram Rotem, the chief music editor of Gali Tzahal, who conducted the Hebrew parade of Gali Tzah.
"But the song 'What Changed' did not survive," he admits.
"It probably sounds too much like a Passover song. By the way, I still play the song every year on the eve of Seder night."
More on Walla!
I touch my dead brother through transparent wires, and hear the melody of my life
To the full article
At the bottom of the list: Yigal Bashan, sleep, temporary sanity, synergy and again - Shlomi Shaban (Photo: Walla !, Reuven Castro)
Eldad Sharim, the composer of "What Has Changed", expressed regret over the figure.
"I do not have an exact explanation. I am sorry that he did not pass the test of time. Apparently it is such a song, an instant hit that leaves no marks. Some songs become hits and others disappear, maybe they get tired, similar to 'Gangnam Style' or the Lambda song."
Compared to this song, you are signed to many hits that actually survived the test of time and in a big way, including "Love is a song for two", "You and I", "We broke up like this", "The celebration ends" and others.
What increases a song's chance of surviving?
"I have to tell you when I was working on the songs I had no idea what would stay and what would not. Sometimes you work on a song and say, 'It's going to stay.' When I did 'Regards' by Yardena Arazi and the Nahal band, I knew it would be a folk song.
In both cases, I knew there was something in the composition of the words and the melody that said - it's an important song.
You feel it in your bones.
On the other hand, a song like 'We broke up like this' - I had no idea.
This song, as well as ‘You and I’, touched a lot of people because they were talking about something personal.
I think that if there is something national or something personal in the song, it has a better chance of speaking to a lot of people. "
Also at the bottom of the ranking of performances of songs of the year, in general radio stations:
"Look it's me"
by Synergy;
"Last Summer"
of Temporary Sanity - a song that broke marching records in the weekly parade;
Mashina's "Machine Dance"
- the only instrumental song of the year;
"We stay in the country"
of a trio like a gypsy;
In which he also participated in the tooth;
And
Avi Toledano's
All My Life ' and Adam's
' Sorry'
survived the test of time less well.
In some cases, hits that were played non-stop became disgusting almost immediately.
In other cases, songs made so identified with a particular atmosphere or period found it difficult to survive in a different kind of time.
"Over the years, the annual parades have always been rated by young listeners, and they went for fashions. Audiences today can love one person and tomorrow someone else. , And offers some explanations.
"Adam's 'was a huge hit in the year it came out that year but it's a song that was only good for its time. All of Adam's songs, beyond the retro stuff, have no big presence today, only guys from the 80s remember them. Also' Dance Mashina's machine did not survive, because today in general less melody is played on the radio - but the piece lives on in Mashina's performances. The latter, too, is not played so well, perhaps because it is too long or because it is perceived as a sad memory song - but its honor lies in its place, it has proven qualities. I remember staying in the car to hear the song until the end when Kutner played the song for the first time. That a song is played less, does not mean that the song is less good. "
And perhaps today, as far as the last few years are concerned, the performances are already in any case not the measure that determines the survival of songs, and certainly not their success.
"Today the radio medium is not the only one that defines what is a hit and what is not a hit," says Gopher. "The song of the year on the radio in the last decade is not necessarily the main parameter for choosing whether a song survives the test of time."
Singer Muki has had handsome success in the annual parades over the years.
In 2003, "Daddy's Child" won first place in Galgalatz's parade, and his song "Free Heart" came in second place immediately afterwards. However, he does not believe that the title guarantees that the song will survive, More over the years.
"First of all, songs don't always get their public and commercial recognition in real time, a lot of times it happens down the road. Second, there are a lot of songs that are missed for a thousand and one reasons. And third, I don't think winning the song of the year title passes the test of time. "A year, two years or three years later no one will remember what the song of the year was. What they will remember is whether the song stays or not stays. I do not think the title helps the song stay relevant," says Muki to Walla !.
"Indeed, in real time when it happens it can help at the marketing, commercial level, as a public platform that the song gets - but winning the song of the year is not what will make the song an iron-clad asset or a track that will remain."
More on Walla!
"The real damage from the corona is not the dead but the loss of trust between the public and leaders"
To the full article
"In 2002, in the IDF waves, my song 'Talking About Peace' came in second place.
Do you know what the song was in the first place?
'Through us' in the cover version of Hani Furstenberg and Sarit Vino Elad from the 'The Bourgeois' series.
"
Check where each of these two songs is today - and you will get a clear answer," he
says
.
With the period of the second intifada, and with the sequences of melancholy songs played on the radio on charged and sad days.
Survived or not?
The "way" of the bourgeoisie
Meanwhile, examining the playbacks of this year's songs across all radio stations over the past four years is once again flooding the under-representation of singers, bands and rockers.
It is also interesting to see who won among the historical rivals: Tislam's 'See It Today' (1678 plays) defeated Benzin's "Friday" (1172 plays);
Among the big bands of the 90s, Ethniks with "Jessica" by knockout defeated Mashina with "Machine Dance";
While Ofra Haza, whose song "Chai" was played 1276 times, defeated Yardena Arazi - who surprisingly never won the title.
Ranking of songs played this year in the last four years, including radio stations
1.
"Our Life is Strawberries" - Hanan Ben Ari - 3203
2.
"Come Today" - Eyal Golan - 2526
3.
"Sweet as Marley" - Eliad - 2211
4.
"Father's Child" - Muki - 2153
5.
"C. Sika "- Ethnics - 2076
6.
" Ripples "- Static and Ben El Tavori - 1923
7.
" Short Love "- Meir Banai - 1770
8.
" Suddenly now, suddenly today (her loves) "- Shlomo Artzi - 1768
9.
" All This time "- Ravid Plotnik - 1709
10.
" Everyone has "- Shlomi Shabbat - 1697
11.
" I gave her my life "- Hive - 1681
12.
" See her today "- Tislam - 1678
13.
"Rutzi Shmulik calls you "- Ariel Zilber - 1540
14.
" Lights "- Avraham Tal - 1502
15.
"Tell her" - Dudu Aharon - 1473
16.
"Waiting for the Messiah" - Shalom Hanoch - 1443
17.
"Until Tomorrow" - Eviatar Banai - 1411
18.
"Avnibi" - Yizhar Cohen - 1408
19.
"Exercise in Awakening" - Shlomi Shaban and Hava Alberstein - 1394
20.
"Fireworks" - Moshe Peretz - 1372
21.
"Leshem" - Miri Mesika - 1300
22.
"Chai" - Ofra Haza - 1276
23.
"Apples and Dates" - Rami Kleinstein - 1264
24.
" Sitting in a cafe "- Teapacks - 1236
25.
" Baruch's boots "- Hive - 1194
26.
" Friday "- gasoline - 1172
27.
" The silence that remains "- Shiri Maimon - 1165
28.
"Nasaf Tishrei" (Father died and died Elul) - Zvika Pick - 1142
29.
"It's All the Magic" - Nimrod Lev and Orly Pearl - 1120
30.
"Shel Sharb" - Gidi Gov - 1086
31.
"Today Today" - Dorit Reuveni, Central Command Trio - 1054
32.
"The Escape Trail" - Rita - 1023
33.
"Two" - Shlomo Artzi and Rita - 976
34.
"Goliath" - Hive - 962
35.
"Coming from Love" - Yehudit Ravitz - 958
36.
"At Night" - Idan Raichel's Project - 931
37.
"If You Go" - Idan Raichel's project - 908
38.
"Come on home Moti" - Sarit Hadad - 905
39.
"Dance" - Shlomo Artzi - 890
40.
"Golden Boy" - Nadav Gadge - 852
41.
"Captain Jack" - Gary Eckstein - 840
42.
"It's me" - Eyal Golan - 838
43.
"Sweet Sweet" - Yigal Bashan and the Northern Command Band - 828
44.
"Now you're back" - Miri Mesika - 814
45.
"Draw You a Mustache" - Marginal Youth - 811
46.
"Hallucinate you in front of me" - Eyal Golan - 807
47.
"Honey" - Ari Gorli and Reut Yehudai - 746
48.
"One day and two more days" - Shai Gavso - 706
49.
"You have" - Shlomi Shabbat
50.
"Why should I take to heart "- Arik Einstein and Shalom Hanoch - 684
51.
" Slichot "- Yehudit Ravitz - 667
52.
" The Kingdom of Hermon "- Northern Command Band - 630
53.
" Tears "- Eyal Golan - 591
54.
"On his shoulders he will bring "- Rebecca Zohar - 564
55.
" Over "- Idan Amidi - 538
56.
"And you" - Harel Skaat - 526
57.
"Will I be in love with you" - Aviv Geffen - 520
58.
"Ferris wheel" - Milk and honey - 520
59.
"Everything you want" - Rami Kleinstein - 505
60.
"Sorry "- Man - 502
61.
" All My Life "- Avi Toledano - 489
62.
" Pain of Warriors "- Idan Amidi - 479
63.
" Through Us "- Hani Furstenberg and Sarit Vino Elad - 466
64.
" We Remain in the Land "- Trio Like a Gypsy - 437
65.
"Rain Comes" - The Nahal Band - 420
66.
"Hallelujah" - Milk and Honey - 375
67.
"Arik" - Shlomi Shaban - 354
68.
"Look, It's Me"Synergy - 349
69.
"Last Summer" - Temporary Sanity - 339
70.
"The Dance of the Machine" - Mishina - 297
71.
"What has changed" - Yigal Bashan - 49
The data was produced at the request of Walla!
Culture by Media Forest, which provides content distribution (singles, albums, etc.), monitoring, recording and analytics of broadcasts, production of reports and playlists, automatic transcription of broadcast media, media research for the music and advertising industries in Israel
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Tags
Song of the year
Galei Tzahal
Galgalatz
Voice of Israel
Network C
Here Gimel
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Shlomi Shaban
Hava Alberstein
Hanan Ben Ari
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Eldad sings
Muki
Yoram Rotem
