Last update: 17.04.2024 | 10:14
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The singer and musician Yitzhak (Jackie) Elkayam, one of the pioneers of Eastern rock in Israel, passed away yesterday (Tuesday) at the age of 70. Elkayam composed the song “Mama Daily” performed by the Lips band.
“The late Jacky was an artist and a humble and humble person,” Haim Oliel, leader of the Shfatim band, tells ‘Daver’. “As teenagers we were fascinated by his songs and his singing. He was the giant star that came from the southern periphery. His breakthrough gave us the strength to believe that we, from the small town of Sderot, could do it too. And I was really privileged to collaborate with him and receive a number of his melodies for my words.”
He was born in Morocco and immigrated with his family to Israel at the age of three. Elkayam was one of the first to combine Moroccan music with pop and rock’n’roll. He composed music and sang mainly in English. In 1971, after being a member of several bands, he decided to go independent.
His debut album was released in 1973, produced by Shlomo Gronich and assisted by Mati Caspi. The songs were written by Elkayim and Samdak Shir. The album’s songs “Angelique” I’ve Got To Love Again”, “Dolores”, “You” and “About Strange Things” were successful and reached the top of the song charts.
In the same year he appeared alongside Jose Feliciano in Haifa. Later, he performed abroad, mainly in Belgium and France but did not receive sufficient media coverage and froze his musical activity.
In 1975 Elkayam returned to activity and concentrated on Hebrew music. He released the songs “Give me a chance” and “Ananim” and started performing with Zvika Peak and the Piamenta band. In the second half of the 1970s, Elkayam recorded various songs, including “Nuaiva” and “Maccabi Tel Aviv’s national anthem” for the football and basketball teams of Maccabi Tel Aviv, and wrote songs for other musicians, including “Shiri” for the Tzafri duo and “Hey Shalom” for Tzadok Tzuberi .
In 1979 he recorded the song “The Ballad of Absalom”, which was a success in the hymn charts. Later, he composed the song “Mama” written by Haim Oliel and performed by the Shfatim band, “Antina Habibi” performed by Eti Levy and “Sha’ar Harhamim” performed by Armond Sosna. In addition, he appeared in the play “Moroccan Legend”.
In the early 1980s Elakim began the process of repentance, stayed away from the spotlight and rarely appeared. Elkayam lived in Kiryat Gat. His son is the singer Mor Elakim.
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