Shmulik Kraus
- FaceOff - עימות חזיתי
- Jul 2
- 6 min read
Shmulik Kraus was one of the most complex and influential figures in Israeli music – a folk-rock genius who bridged Western musical culture with the Hebrew language and remained true to himself until the very end. His work oscillated between poetic lyricism and rebellious spirit, between tenderness and noise, between love and turmoil.
= Born on July 1, 1935, in Jerusalem to Musa Kraus, a former Haganah member and transport driver to the Dead Sea factories and Kibbutz Beit HaArava, and to Rosa, sister of the renowned restaurateur Rahmo.
= At 15, he was sent to the youth village Hadassim but left after a week. He joined a youth group in Kibbutz Sha’ar HaGolan but was expelled and later enlisted in the Navy after a maritime pre-military program.
= Studied violin as a child but gravitated toward guitar, deeply inspired by American folk and blues artists like Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan.
= After his army discharge, he worked as a sailor in the merchant navy. One night at the Haifa seamen’s bar "HaOgen", a woman handed him a guitar – and his musical journey began. He also worked as a ski and dance instructor while performing in early 1960s Tel Aviv clubs.
= In 1958, he met Avraham Reichstadt (later known as Abi Ofarim) and formed the duo "Ha’Ofarim", where Kraus played guitar and Reichstadt played tambourine. Kraus taught himself basic chords using an American folk songbook.
= After about a year of performing, Kraus suggested adding singer Esther Zaied (later Esther Ofarim). Reichstadt and Zaied fell in love and married. Kraus, following creative disagreements, left the group and returned to sea.
= In 1961, after permanently leaving the merchant navy, he opened a pub in Be’er Sheva called "Beer Sheva", where he performed, imitated celebrities, and hosted musical guests.
= In 1962, he was cast in the lead role in the play “HaShetach” at Habima Theater. Later, he met Josie Katz, an American teenager visiting Israel – she became his romantic and artistic partner.
= In 1965, Kraus traveled to France and recorded a mini-album called "Chants d’Israel", featuring four songs in Hebrew. Upon returning, he and Katz lived in Eilat and performed in Rafi Nelson’s "End of the World" club.
= In late 1966, Kraus and Katz presented their songs to Arik Einstein. The trio founded "The High Windows", a band that lasted less than a year but reshaped Israeli popular music.
= The group's only album, "The High Windows" (1967), included timeless classics such as "Einayich Lo Yecholot", "Yehezkel", "Buba Zehava", "Zemer Nugeh", and "Ahava Rishona" – all composed by Kraus, who blended gentle psychedelia with innovative vocal harmonies. The band performed extensively across Israel, especially at a club named after them, also owned by Kraus. After the Six-Day War, the trio joined the Yonatan Karmon dance company on a world tour, including performances in Paris and Italy.
= In 1969, Kraus was cast in the international film The Royal Hunt of the Sun, where he played an Incan interpreter. He was sent to New York for acting studies, and during that time, married Josie Katz.
= After the band's breakup, Kraus continued to create with Josie Katz, composing emotional and intimate songs that ranged from romance to tension – including "Shuv", "Barur Sheze Ken", "Etzli HaKol Beseder", and "HaEtz Hu Gavoha" – most of which were featured on their 1974 joint album "Shuv".
= In early 1971, Kraus moved into an abandoned house near Nabi Samuel. When soldiers arrived to evict him, they found hashish, a rifle, and foreign currency in his possession. He was arrested and jailed for drug and unlicensed weapon possession. Thanks to a special arrangement with prison authorities, he was allowed to keep his guitar and began composing new songs during his incarceration. In April, he was released on bail paid by poet Miriam Yalan-Shteklis and began recording the new material.
= Kraus also composed for other major Israeli artists, including Arik Einstein ("Ani Ro’eh Ota Baderech LeGymnasia", "Ma Iti"), Oshik Levi ("Ze Koreh"), Shalom Hanoch, and others.
= In 1973, Kraus starred in the film Adam, for which he wrote and composed the song "Ze Koreh". It was first recorded by Eli Magen and became a major hit in 1975 in the voice of Arik Lavie. That same year, Kraus and Katz attempted to revive "The High Windows" with Magen replacing Einstein. The band performed songs from the original lineup and sang "Elisheva Ma Nechmadet" at the Children’s Poetry Festival. Aside from that song, they only recorded one more original track, "Etzli HaKol Beseder". The reunion was short-lived and dissolved soon after.
= In 1975, Kraus and Katz staged a children’s musical titled "Levad Beyachad U’Levad Levad", featuring Kraus’s compositions to poems by Miriam Yalan-Shteklis. The show led to an album of the same name, including standout tracks like "Atzu Ratzu Gmadim", "Nitpayesa", "Micha’el", and "Yedidi Tintan".
= In 1976, Kraus released the album "Medinat Yisrael Neged Kraus Shmuel" ("The State of Israel vs. Kraus Shmuel"), which he wrote during a psychiatric hospitalization. Deeply personal, raw, and uncompromising, the album became a landmark in Israeli rock. It was recorded in May 1971 as a long, unproduced jam session featuring Chaim Romano on guitar, Aharaleh Kaminsky on drums, and Shmulik Aruch on bass.
= The album included unforgettable tracks such as "Eich SheHaGalgal Mistovev Lo", "Shnei Tapuchim", "Ro’im Rachok Ro’im Shakuf", "Keshe’at Bocha At Lo Yafa", and "HaZamar Noge’a BaTikra".
= During the 1980s and 1990s, Kraus attempted several musical comebacks. While some were met with indifference, they offered fresh arrangements of his earlier work and introduced his music to a younger generation.
= In 1982, Kraus released the album "Galgal Mistovev" ("The Wheel Turns"), which featured notable tracks such as "Guitarah", "Chaver", "Eich Osim Taklit", and "Eich HaGalgal Mistovev". He composed all the songs on the album, with lyrics by renowned lyricist Yankaleh Rotblit and poet Yevy (Y.B.).
= In 1988, he released "Acharei Esrim Shana" ("After Twenty Years"), an album composed almost entirely to lyrics by Yankaleh Rotblit, including songs like "Acharei Esrim Shana", "Im", and a new version of "Ro’im Rachok Ro’im Shakuf", originally featured in a prior release.
= In 1994, he released "Yediduti LaSviva" ("Environmentally Friendly"), an eclectic album largely composed to lyrics by Rotblit. Two songs were set to texts by poet Nathan Zach: "HaMakom HaChi Namuch" ("The Lowest Place") and "Bayit, Shnei Batim" ("A House, Two Houses"). The album also featured duets with singer Mazi Cohen, including "Tni Li" ("Give Me") and "Ma Ata Rotzeh" ("What Do You Want").
= In 2001, a special digital edition of the album "Shuv" was released, featuring remastered tracks and rare versions of songs recorded during that era with Josie Katz. The release reintroduced their intimate and emotional collaborations to a new generation.
= In 2003, Kraus released "Yom Rodef Yom" ("Day Chases Day"), an album composed entirely of his melodies set to lyrics by Yankaleh Rotblit, with the exception of a new version of "Ze Koreh" and an instrumental piece titled "Atzvut" ("Sadness"). The album’s creation process was documented over the course of a year by director Yasmin Hadas Lifshitz in the film "Ma’ase BeTaklit" ("The Record Story"). The documentary offers a rare look at Kraus's artistic process – from sketching lyrics with his guitar at home, to recording in the studio, through moments of inspiration, frustration, and mental breakdown, culminating in the album’s release.
= Kraus is regarded as one of the most important figures in Israeli music, playing a pivotal role in the local rock and pop revolution of the 1960s and 70s. Over the years, he received several prestigious awards, including the AMI Prize, a Lifetime Achievement Award from Israel’s Ministry of Education, and a commemorative plaque in Tel Aviv.
= He was known for his turbulent and uncompromising personality, facing mental health struggles, repeated hospitalizations, custody battles, and prison time – yet he continued to create with honesty, bravery, and resilience. A striking example of this appears in the documentary "Ma’ase BeTaklit", which captures a recurring pattern throughout his career: the deeper he sank into creation, the more fragile his mental state became. At the beginning of the film, he appears calm and cheerful as he returns to the studio, but as the work progresses, he unravels emotionally – culminating in psychiatric hospitalization.
= Throughout his life, Kraus remained fiercely loyal to himself, his art, and his anti-establishment spirit – even at great personal cost. His complex character – a sensitive genius and wounded rebel – made him a cult figure in Israeli rock and an artist impossible to ignore.
= Shmulik Kraus passed away from cardiac arrest on February 17, 2013, at the age of 77, after being hospitalized with complications from swine flu. He left behind a vast, original, and irreplaceable musical legacy.
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