Margalit "Margol" Tzan'ani (; born December 19, 1948) is an Israeli singer and television personality. Tzan'ani is famous for her repertoire of Israeli oriental music style with soul influences, as well as

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, and pop.

Biography

Tzan'ani was born in

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

, Yemen, to a religious

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family originally from

Sana'a Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. When she was one year old, the family

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

with her, and resided in

Netanya Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...

city. She was the eldest of seven children. Her father, Shalom, was a diamond industry worker, and her mother, Lola, was a housewife.Don't mess around with me

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

She married Mordi Lavi in 1977 and has one son, Asaf. She divorced in 1985. For many years she performed at weddings and private events. She also worked at a stall in the

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

flea market and as a salesgirl at Hamashbir Latzarchan department store. Today she lives in

Azor Azor () is a local council (Israel), local council in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, on the old Jaffa-Jerusalem road southeast of Tel Aviv. Established in 1948, Azor was granted local council status in 1951. In it had a population of , and ha ...

, a village on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Musical career

Tzan'ani started her career at the age of 19 in the Israeli production of ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

'', where she performed alongside

Svika Pick Svika Pick (, born Henryk Pick, 3 October 1949 – 14 August 2022) was an Israeli pop singer, songwriter, composer, and television personality. Pick first gained traction on a national level after playing a lead part in an Israeli version of ...

and Tzedi Tzarfati. For the audition, she sang "Rak al atzmi lesaper yadati", based on a poem by the poet Rachel.

Musical influences

In an interview with ''

'' newspaper, Tzan'ani cited

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

, and

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

as major influences.

Television career

In 2006, she was chosen to be a judge in ''

Kokhav Nolad ''Kokhav Nolad'' (; meaning "A Star Is Born") was an Israeli reality television show searching for talented new vocalists, based on the British ''Pop Idol'' model. Since its debut on Israeli Channel 2 in 2003, Kokhav Nolad has become popular and ...

'', the Israeli version of

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

. She continued in this capacity for four seasons.

Allegations of extortion

On August 16, 2011

Israeli Police The Israel Police (; ) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction o ...

arrested Tzan'ani and her son, Asaf Tzan'ani, during a raid on their homes. She was charged with extortion and blackmail against her manager, Assaf Atedgi. The charges against her son, Asaf, were dropped. Tzan'ani denied the charges against her. The case was covered widely by the Israeli media and at the same time, the media was criticized for portraying successful Mizrahi recording artists as engaged in illegal activities. Tzan'ani was tried, found guilty and sentenced to 6 months in prison, which she served performing community service. She later continued her music career.Convicted Singer Returns to Stage

The Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...

Discography

* 1986 – ''Na'Ari Shuva Elay'' * 1987 – ''Shmor Oti'' * 1988 – ''Ahava Avuda'' * 1989 – ''Menta'' * 1990 – ''Homot Hemar'' * 1991 – ''Pgisha'' * 1992 – ''Greatest Hits 1'' * 1993 – ''Margol'' * 1995 – ''Erez Esh Eretz Yam'' * 1997 – ''Hofshi'' * 2003 – ''LeOlam'' * 2005 – ''Gale Li'' * 2006 – ''Gold'' * 2009 – ''Davka Hayom''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tzan'ani, Margalit 1948 births Living people Jewish Israeli singers Jewish women singers Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent People from Netanya Jewish jazz musicians 20th-century Israeli women singers 21st-century Israeli women singers