Ken Hunt News Feb.2000

The singer Ofra Haza died on 23 February aged 41. Born on 19 November 1957, she grew up in what she once described as a ìvery religious Jewish familyî speaking Hebrew and Yemenite Arabic. During the course of her career she would sing in several languages including Aramaic, Arabic and Hebrew and introduce serious themes such as marrying for love instead of women marrying their fatherís choice of spouse (ìDaw Da Hiyaî on Kirya) into popular music. The victims of persecution, Hazaís family left their home in the Yemen around 1930óa piece of family history that found its way into her song ìKaddishî on Desert Wind (1990)óand was raised in a Tel Aviv suburb (although some called it a slum). Her mother taught her traditional Yemenite songs and these formed an important part of her repertoire and to no little part contributed to the multicultural nature of her repertoire. Aged 12, 13 or so, Haza joined the local community centre theatre. She increasingly gravitated to singing and in 1976 and 1979 won first prize as a solo performer at the Oriental Song Festival. During the 1970s and 1980s she represented her nation at a variety of international competitions. One highóthe cynical might say low pointócame with Israelís entry for the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest; singing the song she took second place. Her profile was also increased somewhat by appearances in the films Shlagger and Suburban Girl. She was too astute and too gifted to stay happy singing Israeli pop songs though.

Her main claim to fame remained as a singer and she recorded extensively. Her Eurovision appearance notwithstanding she remained largely a local flavour. Her toehold in the outside world was the song ìGalbiî. She experimented with various styles in an effort to break out of her regional market. The 1986 album Breaking Days, for example, was rock. ìGalbiî became a minor hit in the United States and elsewhere wherever DJs were looking for new sounds to offer the dance crowd. The song was included on her Yemenite SongsóShiri Timon, an album picked up by GlobeStyle in the United Kingdom and a massive hit in Israel where its introduction of Mizrachim (as Oriental Jews are known) diaspora themes touched a sensitive nerve. This was the era of exotic sampling, usually without the original artistís knowledge, and Haza found herself a key exotic ingredient in Eric B & Rakimís worldwide hit ìPaid In Fullî which lifted her vocal from ìIm NiníAluî.

Haza dodged death and serious injury on 3 February 1987óthe anniversary of Buddy Hollyís fatal air crash, as she later regularly commented, and, spookily, 24 years, one month and two days after Patsy Clineís death in another plane crash, as she never mentionedówhen her Cessna crash-landed. (Without being ghoulish, it helped her popularity.) Eric B and Rakim brought her wider attention. Her Shaday (1988) emerged on WEA/Teldec and screamed marketing acumen with the inclusion of both ìIm NiníAluî and ìGalbiî. Hazaís star was undeniably on the ascendancy and her position at home was more and more that of a superstar. During the late 1980s and early 1990s to some degree her work took on a political hue. Desert Wind typifies this period in her work. The Israeli-Islamic divide was a primary source of inspiration with ìMiddle Eastî wondering about Muslim terrorism and ìMmímmaî wondering about Israeli communities in Ethiopia and the Yemen. The Hed Arzi label maintained an unstaunchable flow of albums for the local marketómost of which received only limited distribution outside her homeland and then mainly directly into local Jewish communities. The Grammy-nominated Kirya (a fond Hebrew nickname for Jerusalem) (1992), produced by Don Was (Bonnie Raitt, Khaled, Brian Wilson), married her desire to have commercially successful releases outside her homeland with a semblance of credibility in a domestic sense. In many ways it was her best hour, as far as people outside Israel would ever find out.

Haza was admitted to a Tel Aviv hospital about a fortnight before her death. Apparently the initial diagnosis was multiple organ failure compounded by flu. This was reportedly later retracted. The vigils of fans, the regular news bulletins on Israeli radio and the attendance of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak beside her coffin all attested to the love of her nation.PRIVATE. She was far more than a local hero though.