During the late 1970s, I can't remember how many times my siblings and
I would hear a song on the radio--most often English-language pop and
disco--and try to sing along. We'd mimic the lyrics, switching back and
forth between English and Hebrew as we unsuccessfully attempted to
master particularly difficult American-sounding turns of phrase. Boney M's 1978 mega-hit "Rasputin," and Earth, Wind and Fire's 1979 smash "Boogie Wonderland"
were particular sources of amusement, as friends and family would
struggle to properly enunciate "R" and "W," sounding, in the case of
"Vonderland," like Israeli caricatures of Bela Lugosi.
To read the rest of my review of Soul Messages From Dimona, click here.