A Swede who lives in Finland and who is lost in Euroland - the wonderful world of Eurovision
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Sunday, October 16, 2011

Israel 1979: Shake it like Sherry

In 1978, the Israeli Song Festival was also used to select the national entry for Eurovision, resulting in instant victory and Jerusalem welcoming all Europe to friendly competition.

No wonder that a great deal of zeal and enthusiasm went into organising the 1979 Israeli Song Festival. The enthusiasm would only be topped a couple of weeks later, when it turned out that also this year's winner would go on to win Eurovision.

The Israeli Song Festival has an incredible track record in other words: twice it was used to select the Israeli entry, twice it produced a Eurovision winner. In 1981, the special Kdam Erovizion contest was created to act as national final, and it is yet to produce a single ESC winner.

The festival did more than finding a future world smash winner, it also produced a real sleeper hit. More than fifteen years later, the entry of Sherry hit the domestic charts and became a real evergreen.

I'm more surprised to find it wasn't a real hit back then. This is a fine track with a very convincing chorus as well as a very lively performance. What wouldn't I do to be able to shake it like Sherry's backing group? Those clever moves and those wonderful outfits leave me with a slight sense of regret that we never got to see Sherry on the Eurovision stage.

Could this song have done the same thing that Hallelujah did? Could it have been a second consecutive victory for Israel?



Sherry - Leolam be'ikvot hashemesh (Israel 1979 national final)

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