Lehakat HaNahal

The Nahal Band להקת הנח"ל
Lehakat HaNahal performing on stage around the early 1950s.
Background information
Origin	Tel Aviv, Israel.
Genres	Israeli folk, Israeli rock
Years active	1951-1978, 1985-present
Labels	Hed Arzi, CBS, NMC

Lehakat HaNahal with Ben Gurion, 1960

Lehakat HaNahal (Hebrew: להקת הנח"ל (various transliterations), The Nahal Band or the Nahal Entertainment Troupe) is a military music troupe of the Nahal program known for its Eretz Israel songs. Founded in November 1951 as a small troupe with a single accordion, it has since become the most successful and notable military troupe/band and an integral part of Israeli culture.

History

It was the second major band to be founded in the State of Israel after the Israel Defense Forces Orchestra and the third major military band after The Chizbatron. In the early 1960s, there were many changes in the band, especially in the musical production. The accordion was joined by percussion, as well as brass and wind instruments. In April 1978, some songs by the band; as well as some people that were once in the band; were featured on The Band, a 1978 comedic musical film about the band set in 1968 during the War of Attrition. The band has also been featured on the Israeli telenovela HaShir Shelanu. The band has made multiple albums, including From The Nahal With Love (1966), The Nahal Is Coming (1967) and The Twenty First Program (1969). Many of the band's most famous songs were written by some of Israel's finest songwriters and composers, such as Naomi Shemer, Dan Almagor, Yoram Taharlev, and most notably of all, Yair Rosenblum, who served as the band's conductor from 1967-1970.

In 1978 the band was disbanded along with all other military bands by the directive of the IDF Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan and only small troupes operated under the Education and Youth Corps. However in the mid-1980s the IDF decided to restore the military bands, and Lehakat HaNahal was revived in 1985, with the program appropriately called (התחדשות, Hitchadshot) ("Revival"/"Renewal").

The band's most notable song is "Shir LaShalom" (A song for peace), recorded and released at the height of the War of Attrition and made famous worldwide due to its association with the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin as it was sung by Rabin during the rally in which the assassination took place.

By the 1990s, the band had already performed over 30 programs.

By the 21st century, the band, like most of the Israeli military troupes, has become irrelevant. However, many of the band's songs have become standards in Israeli culture.

Notable members

Many Israeli singers and entertainers began their careers in Lahakat HaNahal, among them Tuvia Tzafir, Neomy Polani and Gidi Gov. Other notable members include:

• Arik Einstein, Israeli rock songwriter
• Chaim Topol, singer and actor best known outside of Israel for his leading role in Fiddler on the Roof.
• Danny Sanderson, American-Israeli musician
• Shalom Hanoch, a lyricist and composer considered to be the father of Israeli rock
• Yossi Banai, one of the original members of the band
• Gavriel "Gavri" Banai, who would later form The Roosters and The Pale Tracker.
• Yisrael "Poli" Poliakov, another founding member of The Roosters and The Pale Tracker, alongside Banai and Shaike Levi.
• Yehoram Gaon, singer and actor who got his start with the Nahal Band alongside Arik Einstein and Gavri Banai.
• Yardena Arazi, singer, actor and member of Shokolad, Menta, Mastik, she would also record a song with the band on their comeback record in 1985.

Most of the members of the band Kaveret were formerly members of the Nahal Band.

See also

• The Band

Further reading

• Shmuelik Tesler, Songs in Uniform - The Story of the Military Bands (שירים במדים - סיפורן של הלהקות הצבאיות), 2007

External links

• https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKHFXuNWypTkBuhPwn0XTFY5y-yfZMe8f
• https://www.last.fm/music/Lehakat+Hanachal
• https://tidal.com/browse/artist/4436521