Background
Zohar Argov was born in Rishon LeZion. He grew up in a poor family, the eldest of ten children.He committed suicide in 1987 at the age of 32His son, Gili Argov, is also a singer.
Zohar Argov was born in Rishon LeZion. He grew up in a poor family, the eldest of ten children.He committed suicide in 1987 at the age of 32His son, Gili Argov, is also a singer.
Argov is widely known in Israel as "The king of Mizrahi music"
He was able to sing in live performances even under the influence of drugs. After his death Argov continued to retain his status as "HaMelekh" (the King) of Mizrahi music From 1990, three years after his death, the Israel Broadcasting Authority organized a series of annual memorial concerts at Binyanei HaUma convention center in Jerusalem and a fundraising campaign was launched to establish a drug rehabilitation center named for him.
A mainstream label, Hed Artzi, released a double album of his music, "Zohar Argov: The Best." Argov was the subject of a play mounted at the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv, and a feature film on his life, "Zohar," enjoyed commercial success.
His songs, among them "Perakh BeGani" ("Flower in My Garden"), "Mah Lakh, Yaldah?" ("What"s With You, Girl"), "Ba"avar Hayu Zmanim" ("In The Past") and "Badad" ("Alone"), are now Israeli popular classics and an integral part of national culture. Proposals to name streets after him in Rishon Lezion and Tel Aviv were discussed in 2007 but sparked a controversy due to his conviction on rape charges, for which he spent a year in prison.