Damari, Shoshana

(1923-2006)

   Singer and cultural icon known by many as the "Queen of Israeli Song" and the "Voice of Israel." Born in Dhamar, Yemen, she was brought to Palestine by her parents when she was two. Her musical career began as a child, when she accompanied her mother on drums and in song at events in the Yishuv's Yemenite community. At age 13, Damari left her parents' home in Rishon Lezion and moved to Tel Aviv to study at the Shulamit drum studio, where the studio director, Shlomo Bushemi, quickly became her manager and, ultimately, her husband. In 1936, the year that she moved to Tel Aviv, Damari appeared in a solo concert in the Li-La-Lo Musical Theater and immediately became a permanent member of its company. One song written for the company, using lyrics by the poet Natan Alterman and Moshe Wilensky—"Kalaniyot" (Anemones)—became synonymous with Shoshana Damari. She continued to collaborate with Alterman and Wilensky in the production of songs that became classics in the early Israeli vocal music genre. To many, Damari will always be identified with the nationalistic songs about Israel's War of Independence (1948) and the Palmah generation. Beginning in the early 1950s, she traveled widely to Western countries, where she became the image of Israeli culture. In 1988, Damari was awarded the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement, and in 2001, the Israeli Union of Performing Artists held a salute to her. Damari's creativity was expressed in a variety of mediums in addition to singing, including clothing and jewelry design, painting, and sculpture. She died on 14 February 2006 in Tel Aviv at the age of 83.