Musicעליזה גבאי

Elisa Gabbai

Elisa Gabbai was an Israeli singer who became known mainly in German-speaking countries, where she sang Schlager songs.

1933 to 2010German-language Schlager songsThe album "Bemikzavim Hadashim"The hit "Winter in Canada"

Born: 31 December 1933, Tel Aviv
Died: 14 December 2010, Los Angeles
Occupation: singer, jazz musician, schlager singer

Elisa Gabbai was born in 1933 in Tel Aviv

Elisa Gabbai was born in Tel Aviv in 1933 to Hana Shalit and Meir Hornstein, who came to Israel from Russia. Her father died when she was a child, and her mother was an opera singer. Her older sister, Yael, also became an opera singer.

She joined the IDF in 1951. After her release in 1953 she married the producer and musician Rafi Gabbai. In 1955 she released her first single, with children's songs, and in the 1950s she sang in clubs and recorded cover versions of Israeli classics.

Her debut album, "Bemikzavim Hadashim", came out in Israel in 1965, and two of its songs became radio hits. She then performed at a nightclub in Switzerland and later settled in Germany. There her song "Winter in Canada" became a hit in 1966, and she released 2 more albums.

In Germany she separated from her husband. In 1971 she married Niko Andokic, a Yugoslav Jewish musician and ballet dancer, and their daughter Daphna was born in Hamburg in 1975. The family moved to New York in 1978, and she died in Los Angeles in 2010.