Third post: Zohar Argov: Badad

Rusty's waltz wednesday presents: Badad, by Zohar Argov

A word, if I may, about Zohar Argov:

An Israeli Jew of yeminite descent, he rose to prominence as the first "Mizrachit" ("Eastern music") star in 1982 by winning a major Israeli song competition with the brilliant (but not waltzy) "Haperach Be'Gani" ("The flower in my garden").

Mizrachi music was a marginalized music form coming from a marginalized segment of society, made up of Jews who were relatively newer immigrants and refugees to the young country from such countries as Iraq, Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. Zohar Argov was the seminal artist who brought Mizrachit to everyone's attention; today, he is simply referred to as "Ha'Melech" ("The King").

The song:

Badad ("Alone") is a lamentation, about a guy who loses his girl. The song slowly builds: the second verse is a bit punchier than the first, same with the chorus, and continues to build until reaching its zenith with a key change at roughly 4 minutes.

The flamenco sounds of the horns, a well as the strings, are typical for Argov's sound,  this one written and composed by Amasai Levin and Uzi Melamed. Zohar's voice is so powerful, and so cutting, and his control in those higher notes is outstanding, it's just gut-wrenching.

Tune in next week, I might post a fiddle tune.

This post is dedicated to my dear friends Maayan and Ben, who introduced me to The King.