Hed Arzi Music ( he, הד ארצי, meaning: ''Echo of My Country'') is an Israeli
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
founded in 1946.
History
The company was founded in
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 ...
in 1946 as a partnership of Zvi Levin (also known as Hirsch Lewin) with Josef Grossman, Alexander Borowitz and Ephraim Ruttenberg. Mr. Levin was a refugee from
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
where he has owned and operated a bookshop and recording label ''Semer'' (from the Hebrew "Zemer", meaning song). The Semer label operated from approximately 1932 until the recording masters and inventory were smashed and burned during
Kristallnacht
() or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation fro ...
. Hed-Arzi started operating in September 1947, managed by Ephraim Felix Rzeczynski, making it the oldest recording company in Israel (followed by Makolit in Jaffa, Tslil in Tel-Aviv and others).
Originally the company produced 78 rpm gramophone records (including re-issues of Semer recodings), the most popular among which were ''Agala Vesoussa'' and ''Bab El-Wad'' by
Yaffa Yarkoni
Yafa Yarkoni ( he, יפה ירקוני, also Yaffa Yarqoni, 24 December 1925 – 1 January 2012) was an Israeli singer, winner of the Israel Prize in 1998 for Hebrew song. She was dubbed Israel's "songstress of the wars" due to her frequent perf ...
as well as ''Kalaniot'' and ''Ani Mitzfat'' by
Shoshana Damari
Shoshana Damari ( he, שושנה דמארי; March 31, 1923 – February 14, 2006) was a Yemeni-Israeli singer known as the "Queen of Hebrew Music."
Biography
Shoshana Damari was born in Dhamar, Yemen. Her family immigrated to Mandate Pales ...
. In 1951, company started building a plant in
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 many ...
. In 1955, the first LP was manufactured (6 songs of Shoshana Damari). In 1958, it recorded its first stereo record and was considered "the biggest and most modern record manufacturer in the Near East with steady increasing export activities to nearly 30 countries" or the "leading distributor and manufacturer in Israel". Until 1960, the company has produced over 1250 titles of conventional records, about 700 records 7" in diameter and over 320 LP records; its income was $25,000 a year. In late 1961, the company issued a documentary LP ''Echoes of the
NMC Music
NMC Music ( he, אן אם סי) is an Israeli record label. It was established in 1964 as a subsidiary company of CBS, and became independent in 1988.
Artists represented by NMC include Noa Kirel, Mashina, Yehuda Poliker, Shlomi Shabat, Ch ...
Shoshana Damari
Shoshana Damari ( he, שושנה דמארי; March 31, 1923 – February 14, 2006) was a Yemeni-Israeli singer known as the "Queen of Hebrew Music."
Biography
Shoshana Damari was born in Dhamar, Yemen. Her family immigrated to Mandate Pales ...
*
Yaffa Yarkoni
Yafa Yarkoni ( he, יפה ירקוני, also Yaffa Yarqoni, 24 December 1925 – 1 January 2012) was an Israeli singer, winner of the Israel Prize in 1998 for Hebrew song. She was dubbed Israel's "songstress of the wars" due to her frequent perf ...
*
David D'Or
David D'Or ( he, דוד ד'אור; born David Nehaisi on October 2, 1965) is an Israeli singer, composer, and songwriter. A countertenor with a vocal range of more than four octaves, he is a three-time winner of the Israeli "Singer of the Year" a ...
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Gidi Gov
Gideon "Gidi" Gov ( he, גידי גוב; 4 August 1950) is an Israeli singer, TV host, entertainer, and actor. He was married to the late Anat Gov with whom he had three children.
Biography
Early life
Gov was born in Rehovot, Israel, to Da ...
*
Sarit Hadad
Sarit Hadad ( he, שרית חדד, ) (born on September 20, 1978) is an Israeli singer. In October 2009, the Israeli Music TV Channel (Channel 24) named Hadad "best female singer of the 2000s". She represented Israel at the Eurovision Song Contes ...
*
Ofra Haza
Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza ( he, בת-שבע עפרה חזה; 19 November 1957 – 23 February 2000), known as Ofra Haza (), was an Israeli singer, songwriter, actress, and Grammy Award-nominated recording artist commonly known in the Western world as ...
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Poogy
Kaveret ( he, כוורת, lit. "beehive"), also known as Poogy ( he, פוגי, nickname of band drummer Meir Fenigstein chosen for their performances abroad), was an Israeli rock band, which operated originally from 1973 to 1976. Representing Is ...
*
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 ...
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Teapacks
Teapacks (also known as Tipex) ( he, טיפקס) is an Israeli band that formed in 1988 as HaHotzaa La'Poal (Hebrew: , ''The Execution'') in the southern Israeli city of Sderot. Originally the band was named after the correction fluid Tipp-Ex, ...
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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 wa ...
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Boaz Mauda
Boaz Ma'uda ( he, בועז מעודה, born April 23, 1987) is an Israeli singer and songwriter. He won the fifth season of ''Kokhav Nolad'', the Israeli version of ''Pop Idol'', and represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, finishin ...
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Yehoram Gaon
Yehoram Gaon ( he, יהורם גאון, born December 28, 1939) is an Israeli singer, actor, director, comedian, producer, TV and radio host, and public figure. He has also written and edited books on Israeli culture.
The son of Sephardic Jewish ...
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 ...
* Piposh, a video game franchise published by the video game subsidiary Hed Arzi Multimedia.