Tzila Dagan

Tzila Dagan (or Cilla) (צילה דגן); 18 September 1946 – 18 April 2004) was an Israeli singer.

Early life
Dagan was born in Dzierżoniów in Poland in 1946. She made aliyah with her family to Israel in 1959. The family settled in Nahariya and she later moved to Tel Aviv. As a teenager she participated in singing competitions and sang in nightclubs. She served her IDF military service in the Nahal Entertainment Troupe.

Career
Upon her release from the army, she joined the "Dizengoff Command Band", which was made up of veterans of military bands. The band put on one entertainment program, directed by Danny Litai, which included various songs and skits. In 1970 she recorded her first solo album, called "Tzila Dagan", in which she also sang poetry by Leah Goldberg.

In 1970, she participated alongside Danny Messeng and Yair Klinger in the show "Despair Sitting on a Bench", an evening of Jacques Perver's poems translated into Hebrew by Ada Ben Nahum. Later on, the three recorded songs under the name "The Trio of Coincidence", including "Ballad for the Calendar" which was a great success, and "Rosa Marzipan". In addition, they also participated in the first children's song festival with the song "Nomi Girl".

At the singer's festival in 1971, she sang Dalia Rabikowitz's song "Dreams of Darkness and Light". In 1974, she participated in the show "Topoh Zahav", an evening of Sasha Argov's songs, in which she sang Alexander Penn's song "Confession" (known for its opening line "My simple coats and a lamp on the bridge"). Later, she recorded with her husband, the actor Ezra Dagan, children's songs ("Bulbul tell me why") and holiday songs ("Masal in Belvivat").

Dagan grew up singing poets' songs, participated in the IDF's Poets' Songs evening programs, in which she performed "Hamda" by Dalia Rabikowitz and "Ari Neori" by David Fogel. She participated in many radio programs on Kol Israel, such as "On the Road, a Tree Stands", the program Yiddish songs translated into Hebrew, the program "Balkan Songs" and more.

Dagan's second album, "Reunion with Carole King" was released in 1977 and included original Carole King songs translated into Hebrew. The songs were performed at the show she performed that year and were called the album's name. The show included performances of well-known Hebrew songs such as "An Old Love Song" and "There were Nights".In the same year, Dagan participated in the program "A beautiful tropical country", translated Brazilian songs, an album and a show in which Mati Caspi, Judith Ravitz, Korin Alel and the suburbs also participated. In the program she sang the song "Help me".

She was a finalist in the Israel Song Festival 1979, with the winner representing Israel at the Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979. Dagan lost out to Milk and Honey, who went on to win at Eurovision with Hallelujah.

In 1980, she participated in the Gali IDF Poets' Songs No. 3 evening, with music composed by Oded Lerer to the words of Yochaved Bat Miriam. In the same year, she participated in the "Balkan Songs" show, produced by Kol Yisrael and translated by Yoram Taharlev. The song Her performance was "Yugoslav Winter Song", which was later performed by the Brothers and Sisters Quartet.

In 1981, Dagan gave birth to her daughter Noa, from her second husband, the architect Yaakov Katzman. In 1991, she staged a performance of her best songs and original material, "And the Remaining Drops of Rain", directed by Orna Akad, but she was unable to repeat the successes of the past. She turned to painting and plastic arts.

In 1997, she appeared in the Eytan Fox television series, Florentine. The show follows childhood friends from Jerusalem that move together to Florentin in Tel Aviv. Dagan played Ezra's (Yehezkel Lazarov) mother in the show.

In 2002, a double collection of her poems was published. She appeared with her son, the actor and singer Guy Dagan, and they began working on a joint album.

Personal life
She was previously married to the actor, Ezra Dagan. They had a son together, Guy Dagan, an actor and singer In 1981, Dagan gave birth to her daughter Noa, from her second husband, the architect Yaakov Katzman.

Death
She died of cancer in 2004 in Ramat Gan and is buried at Yarkon Cemetery.

Legacy
In May 2023, a commemorative plaque was set up at the entrance to her home at 18 Micha Street in Tel Aviv, as part of a project by the Tel Aviv Municipality to commemorate artists and stage people living in Tel Aviv.

She is still listened to in Israel and her songs are occasionally featured on radio shows and podcasts. In 2024, her second album, her translations in Hebrew of Carole King songs was released on Spotify. In Haaretz, the music journalist, Shira Naot wrote: "The album is exciting, distilling the soul poetry that Dagan brought to Israel." Naot lamented how the album was not available on streaming services over the last decade: "which is tantamount to almost inevitable oblivion from the collective memory."