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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZHAZA, Ofra(b 19 November 1957, Israel; d 23 February 2000) Yemeni/Israeli singer. Raised in a 'very religious Jewish family' who fled from the Yemen around 1930 (a story reflected in the song 'Kaddish' on Desert Wind), her later career became international. Brought up speaking Hebrew and Yemenite Arabic, she learned traditional Yemenite songs from her mother, a bedrock of her repertoire. As she put it, her mother 'brought beautiful culture and songs from the Yemen, and we were singing at home all the time, Yemenite and Jewish songs'. At age 13 she joined the local community centre theatre. She won first prize in the Oriental Song Festival '75 and '79; represented Israel in international competitions '70s-80s; came second with 'Hi' in the '83 Eurovision Song Contest; appeared in films Shlagger and Suburban Girl. Haza made around 20 albums in a variety of styles before gaining greater international popularity with single 'Galbi', a dancefloor hit in the USA included on Yemenite Songs -- Shiri Timon. Breaking Days '86 was a departure, a rock album on GlobeStyle '87 which included performances in Aramaic, Arabic and Hebrew. Eric B and Rakim sampled her vocal from 'Im Nin'Alu' in their world-wide hit 'Paid In Full'. She escaped serious injury on 3 February 1987 (the anniversary of Buddy Holly's fatal crash) in an air crash near the Jordanian border. Shaday '88 on WEA/Teldec included further versions of 'Im Nin'Alu' and 'Galbi' and the unaccompanied 'Love Song', based on 'Song Of Songs'. Desert Wind on BMG '90, partially produced by Arif Mardin and his son Jo, had a distinctly commercial sound but addressed issues: 'Mm'mma' dealt with the plight of Israeli communities under threat from Islamic fanatics in Ethiopia and the Yemen; 'Middle East' addressed the spectre of terrorism. She was said to have died of complications of AIDS, but the family refused to confirm or comment. |