The recipient of the Israel Prize in the field of Hebrew singer for the year ‘Tashfg’ is Daklon. The Minister of Education said this evening (Sunday) that the singer is one of the pioneers of Israeli Mediterranean music. The award committee convened under the chairmanship of singer Margalit Tsenani and with the participation of friends Mr. Avi Ohion and Dr. Uri Rom. The committee noted: “In his poetry, Daklon gave a unique touch to the Hebrew singer and it reflects his unique personality: Naim Zmirot Israel.”
The committee also stated in the reasons for the selection that “Deklon is known for his pleasant and modest personality and is admired by listeners of all shades of the spectrum in Israeli society and is also an object of appreciation and imitation by his fellow artists.” The award committee discussed another candidate in the Hebrew singer field, who qualified for the final stage, the singer Shlomo Artzi, but he chose not to receive the award.
1. He was born as Yosef Levy in the Yemeni vineyard in Tel Aviv in 1944. His parents immigrated from Yemen.
2. He began his career when he was six years old, when he appeared on a radio show on Kol Israel where he sang a Shabbat song. As a teenager, he performed at events held at his school and in his neighborhood.
3. Declon earned his nickname due to being a skinny boy.
4. After his military service, together with the guitarist Moshe Ben-Moshe, he founded a band that performed at celebrations and events. The band did not have a fixed name, occasionally they appeared under the name “The Oud Band” and “The Sounds of the Bouzouki”. Starting in 1972, the band operated under the name “Tslili Karem”.
5. In 1984, Daklon played in the movie “Kasach”, an Israeli musical drama film.
6. Only at the end of 1987 did he release his first solo album – “Mori”.
7. In 2013, he was a guest on the album of the Hadeg Nachsh band “Time to wake up” in the song “Mabasot”.
8. Declon became stronger in the 80s and later his children also repented.
9. As mentioned, the singer was born before the establishment of the state, and in the past testified that he remembers the sinking of the Altlana and the smoke that the ship gave off.
10. Daklon already has a number of awards, beyond the Israel Award: Art Award for the People for his contribution to Israeli music, Lifetime Achievement Award from the “Eshkolot” organization, Shield of Honor from the Knesset – 2003, Darling of the City of Tel Aviv-Jaffa – 2017, and the Akum Award for His contribution to the Hebrew singer and Israeli culture – 2019.
