Svika Pick, Pop Music Legend, Dead at 72

Israeli pop singer Svika Pick has died. He was 72. Pick rose to fame in the 1970s and wrote the song that won the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest. Pick was filmmaker Quentin Tarantino’s father-in-law, as his daughter Daniella Pick married Tarantino in 2018. No cause of death was announced.

Pick died on Aug. 14 in Ramat HaSharon, Israel, and was buried in a private ceremony the following day, reports The Times of Israel. The public was not invited to the ceremony at the New Ramat Hasharon Ceremony, per his family’s request. However, some of his colleagues attended, including musicians Aviv Geffen, Arik Berman, Harel Moyal, Oshik Levi, and Nisim Garame. Songwriter Yoav Ginai and actor Nicky Goldstein delivered eulogies. After his death, Israeli radio stations stopped regular programming to play his music, reports The Associated Press.

“‘Music penetrates the heart’ – a sentence that describes most of his songs and tunes that penetrated the heart and Israeli culture,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement, quoting Pick’s song “Mala, Mala.” “Svika was a revolutionary artist of his generation, a pillar of Israeli pop. Svika died today, but his songs and music that are left behind will continue to be played for many years.”

Pick was born in Wroclaw, Poland on Oct. 3, 1949. He gained attention in the 1970s, standing out among the more conservatively-dressed performers in the Israeli pop scene. Pick also performed on the stage in the Hebrew version of Hair. However, it was not until the late 1990s that he became recognized internationally. In 1998, Dana International performed his song “Diva,” which helped Israel win the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time since 1979. Sarit Hadad performed his song “Light a Candle” at the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest, while Ukrainian singer Oleksandr Ponomaryov performed “Hasta la Vista” at the 2003 contest. Dana International called Pick “an Israeli cultural icon. A trailblazer. A gifted composer. The king of Israeli pop.”

Pick was also a judge on the Israeli version of Pop Idol. He suffered a stroke in 2018, which impeded his speech and movement. His condition improved, but his career slowed significantly. Pick is survived by his son and two daughters from his first marriage to Mirit Shem-Or and two sons with fashion designer Shira Manor. After his daughter Daniella married Tarantino in 2018, the American director split his time between the U.S. and Israel. Tarantino and Daniella have two children.