Shlomo Artzi (Hebrew: שלמה ארצי; born 26 November 1949) is an Israeli folk rock musician, composer, music producer, radio host and singer-songwriter.
As the Sinai Duo, he started performing before soldiers, along with his classmate Rivka Menashe, who later gained fame as Riki Gal.
During his military service, Artzi was recruited to the Artillery Corps, and after serving for a year and a half, he joined Lehakat Kheil Hayam (Israeli Navy Band).
While in this band, he took part in the programs "And on the Third Day" and "Rhapsody in Blue", alongside other soon-to-be Israeli celebrities, such as Rivka Zohar, Dov Glickman, Avi Uriah and Riki Gal.
In 1977, he made "He lost his way…" (גבר הולך לאיבוד, Gever Holekh Le'ibud) whose success convinced Artzi to continue singing.
Artzi's fame rose throughout the 1980s and reached a peak with the release of the albums "Dance" (Tirkod) and "Restless Night" (לילה לא שקט, Layla Lo Shaket) which sold tens of thousands.
His records "Tirkod" (Dance, 1984), "Layla Lo Shaket" (Restless Night, 1986), and "Hom Yuli August" (July-August Heat, 1988) albums sold hundred thousand copies, and his live shows at Israel's largest concert venues were fully booked.
Artzi wrote and composed most of the songs on the album, including "Nikhnast Lechayay", "Rocker Chayay", "Me-Ever LaNahar" and "Agadat HaEsrim VeAhat".
Shlomo Artzi played two songs during the memorial service, which later became anthems of those days – "Haish Ha'hu" (That Man) and "Uf Gozal" (Fly Little Bird), which was originally written and recorded by Arik Einstein and Miki Gavrielov.
In 1996 Artzi released a double album called "Shnayim" ("Two"), selling an almost unprecedented 160,000 copies, making it a certified 4× platinum record.
The album featured a revision of his hit "Ahavtiha" ("I Loved Her"), "Nof Yaldoot" ("Scenes from Childhood"), "Anakhnu Lo Tzrikhim" ("We Don't Need"), "At Va'ani" ("You and Me"), "Ma'avir Daf" ("Turning the Page") – a duet with Nurit Galron (who performed the song originally), "Shir Preda" ("A Goodbye Song") – a duet with his singer-songwriter son, Ben Artzi and "Melekh ha'olam" ("King of the World", a Hebrew translated cover of White Plains "When You Are a King").
Additional singles produced at this time were "Nedaber Mehalev" ("Let's Speak from the Heart") and "Shelo Ye'almu Hadvarim Hayafim" ("Hoping the Beautiful Things Don't Disappear").
The album included "Ometz" ("Courage"), "Florida", and Artzi's unique take on the wave of social protests in 2012, "Kayitz Be'eretz Lu" ("Summer in If-Land").