Ilanit is maybe my favorite singer. I love her voice, her style and her songs. Her voice is very soothing, very pleasant, although it changed quite a bit over he years. The first time I heard Ilanit was in the 70's when my uncle played one of her records, containing the famous song "Bashana Abaha" (The Coming Year). I loved the song, but when you're eight years old, you don't really pay attention to the artist or record. Anyway, later on, in 1982, while I was on vacation in Israel, I heard a song on the radio that I loved instantly. The problem was that I did not speak Hebrew at the time and that I got very frustrated not being able to know the name of the singer. So, I pestered my mother till she finally agreed to go to a record store with me. The problem was obviously that not only I did not speak Hebrew, but also I did not know what the singer looked like. When we arrived at the store, we tried to explain what we wanted. I'm sure that the guy must have thought it was a trick for Candid Camera. Eventually, I was left with no choice but "sing" (or rather whine) the song. The guy laughed, nodded and brought me Ilanit's "Al Haderer" (On the Road), which, incidentally is one of her best albums. Do I need to say that I played the record over and over, driving my parents literally nuts? Anyway, this was the beginning of my passion for Ilanit. I was 12...

Ilanit's real name is Hanah and was born in Israel. Then, her parents moved to Brazil, and came back to Israel a few years later. That explains the attraction of Ilanit for Brazilian rhythms. Ilanit speaks Portuguese perfectly, along with other languages. Ilanit started with her husband, Shlomo Tsar (now a very famous and powerful producer) in the 60's. They formed a duet group and named themselves "Ilan and Ilanit". They were immediately sucessful. Ilanit's voice was very very good, and Israel was craving for popular artists and new songs. In the early 70's, the group parted, and Ilanit started a solo career. The couple parted in real life too, but they were to remain close friends, even till today. Began a very sucessful career for Ilanit. She reigned in Israel from the 60's to the mid 80's. Ilanit is a wonderful performer as well as a truly gifted artist. She sang in many different languages and has recorded an impressive amount of albums. Ilanit also received many different music awards.

As I said, "Al Haderer" (On the Road) is great, and the following "Ulayi Od Paam" (Maybe Once Again) is perhaps her best recording (at least it is my absolute favorite). Ilanit was very prolific in the 60's and especially 70's when it was not rare for her to release two or three full albums in the same year! So, naturally, when you record so many songs, inevitably you will end up with a few lemons... Still, Ilanit recorded so many great songs that they made up for the poor songs that happened to be on her list du jour! Ilanit's last full album was released in 1996 and is called "Brazilian Dream". As you may have guessed, it is a tribute to Brazil...The album is fantastic!!! That was a good surprise, especially after the utterly disppointing "Let's start from the beginning" in 1991, where her voice as well as the choice of the songs were a disaster. There aren't many CDs of Ilanit out, and the quality of the available compilations leave a lot to be desired (once again,  recording companies Hed Artzi and Hataklit did a sloppy job "remastering" the originals. As a matter of fact, I am not even sure they did anything but play the vinyl and tape it...literally...). You can find them all listed here.

In conclusion, whatever your mood is,  you will find several Ilanit's songs that will make you happy: tearful ballads for the melancholic, dance tracks for the party goer or pop songs for the music lover. Look, you got to love Ilanit!!!