Israel is back in the Eurovision Top 100 list: “A-Ba-Ni-Bi,” the country’s first winning song, is at number 80.
This country joined the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973, and they came out swinging, placing fourth in their first contest. By 1978, they won the whole thing. It took a catchy effort by Izhar Cohen and his group to win over the hearts of the juries.
Vital Information: “A-Ba-Ni-Bi”
| Song | A-Ba-Ni-Bi |
| Performed By | Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta |
| Written By | Nurit Hirsh & Ehud Manor |
| Country | Israel |
| Year | 1978 |
| Language(s) Performed In | Hebrew |
| How It Fared | Won (157 Points) |
| Was It Fair? | Yes |
What I Liked
Well, it was said in the earlier paragraph: This song was catchy. It had a groovy 70s vibe and was one of those where knowing Hebrew was irrelevant to your enjoyment. The song had a feel, a vibe, and an energy that transcends the language barrier. They had the dance moves down as well. I feel it must have been impossible not to dance along to this song with them.
Izhar sang well and the backups were pretty good also; sometimes the lead singer has to carry the number themselves, or compensate for the backers, but not in this case.
Other Facts
- It took Israel six Eurovision Song Contests to win.
- This was the first song from a country outside of continental Europe to win Eurovision. (You might think of it as being in the “Middle East,” but technically, Israel is in Asia.)
- Israel received six douze points in 1978, more than any other country. Turkey was one of the countries to give it to Israel, and ironically, they declined to participate in the contest when it was held in Israel in 1979. The Arab world urged Turkey not to go, so they withdrew.
- Izhar Cohen returned to Eurovision in 1985, placing fifth.
- Israel performed 18th out of 20 countries in 1978.
Get Down to “A-Ba-Ni-Bi”
You know you want to, so watch the YouTube video of the performance right now.
