Zohar Argov was born on July 16, 1955 and died on the 6th of November, 1987. He was born in Rishon LeZion, Israel, into a poor family and one of ten children. His musical talent was developed through his upbringing in the singing and chanting of the religious Yemenite community of his hometown.
Argov's debut album, Elinor (1981) featured the hit songs, "The Secret of the Zodiac" and "What Do You Have, Girl," a tribute to his ex-wife, Bracha, who remained the love of his life. Overnight, he became a star and a living legend in Israel.
Indeed, Argov was a musical genius because he took his religious soulful Oriental sound from his youth and applied it to the themes of Country Western music of the US: love, heartache, disappointments, joy and addiction. Moreover, he could perform a track for recording in one studio session and improvise a song in a moment.
His career was marred by his heroin addiction which led to his death at the age of 32. Argov committed suicide in his jail cell following an arrest on rape charges.
After his death, Argov continued to be a legacy in Mizrahi music. His contribution to Israeli, Sephardic and Jewish culture made him widely acclaimed world-wide and in Israel where you cannot be called an Israeli without having listened to Zohar Argov.
Zohar was the subject of a play at the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv and featured in a film on his life called, "Zohar," which has enjoyed continued commercial success.
His greatest hit songs, "The Flower in My Garden," "What's Do You Have, Girl," There Were Times (In The Past)" and "Badad" are now Israeli and Jewish Classics. In addition, Zohar has catapulted Mizrahi and Oriental music, formerly enjoyed exclusively by Sephardic communities, into mainstream Israeli National Culture.
The communities of Rishon LeZion and Tel Aviv wanted to name streets after Zohar Argov in 2007 in order to honor his memory, legend and legacy. In the midst of this action, controversy arose about Argov's artistic and criminal reputations.