1. Avi Toledano is an Israeli singer and songwriter.
19 Facts About Avi Toledano
1. 2.
Avraham Toledano was born in Meknes, Morocco to a Jewish family.
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At the age of 5, the family relocated to Casablanca, where Toledano attended the Alliance Israelite Universelle.
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Avi Toledano debuted as a singer as a teenager, after sending demo tapes to the radio show "First Returns".
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Avi Toledano spent his period of military service as a member of the Armored Corps Troupe, one of the Israeli Defense Force's military bands.
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In 1969, he participated in the Israel Song Festival, performing "The Spirit", written by Rimona Dinur and Rafi Ben-Moshe, and "On the Way Back", written by Ehud Manor and Nurit Hirsch; Avi Toledano came in third place.
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Avi Toledano's successes led to him being named "Singer of the Year".
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In 1970, his third album, Misty Garden, was released, and Toledano subsequently won the first Israeli Children's Song Festival, alongside the 10-year-old Irit Anavi.
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Avi Toledano continued to perform and release albums into the late 1970s, as well as acting in a number of Israeli films.
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In 1979, Avi Toledano composed the song "Paid in Anger" which was the winning entry at the 10th Israeli Children's Song Festival, performed by Mike Burstein.
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In 1981, Avi Toledano won Kdam Eurovision, Israel's pre-Eurovision competition, with the song "Carnival".
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Avi Toledano subsequently composed the Israeli entry for the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest, "Chai", which was performed by Ofra Haza and won second place.
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In 1986, Avi Toledano wrote "L'chaim" for Haim Moshe, which came third place in Kdam Eurovision.
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In 1989, Avi Toledano again competed in Kdam Eurovision, finishing in second place, and in 1991 he composed "Hava Nagila Discovered" for Uri Feynman's entry to the contest.
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Avi Toledano has continued to release albums and appear on television into the 2010s.
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Avi Toledano has three children with his first wife, Liora, who was the subject of his eponymous song.
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One of his children, Tal Avi Toledano, is a singer and host of Israel's Channel 1.
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Avi Toledano remarried in 1998 to Hagit Levi, the sister of Mizrahi singer Ofer Levi.
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The couple has three children together, including Lihi Avi Toledano, who participated in the 2020 edition of the Rising Star song contest.