Arik Einstein

In 1959, after his release from the IDF, Einstein joined Batzal Yarok (the Green Onion band) and the Sambation theatre. In 1960, he released his first solo album. He sang in a band under the pseudonym "Ari Goren". In the Yarkon Bridge Trio, he performed with Yehoram Gaon, Benny Amdursky and later Israel Gurion. In 1964, he played in the comedy film Sallah Shabbati, along with Chaim Topol, who was also from the Green Onion band.

In 1963, Arieh Einstein married Alona Shochat in the hall of Habima Theater (where he was onstage in a production of Irma La Douce). After four years of marriage, during which their daughter Shiri was born, the couple divorced. A year later, in 1968, they remarried. Their daughter Yasmin was born in 1971. They divorced again in 1972. Alona Einstein died in 2006 from cancer. Arik Einstein's second wife was Sima Eliyahu, whom he met shortly before filming the movie Metzitzim in 1972. They had a daughter and a son: Dina and Amir.

In 1966, Einstein joined The High Windows with Shmulik Kraus and Josie Katz. Their first album went on sale in April 1967, six weeks before the Six-Day War, signaling a new direction in Israeli rock and pop. The album achieved considerable commercial success and its popularity was felt even in parts of Western Europe, primarily France. After a few concerts in Europe Einstein left the group after one year in the wake of a professional disagreement with Kraus. At the heart of things, Einstein felt uncomfortable creating music for a European audience who cannot truly appreciate the richness of the lyrics after it went through translation to French. He believed that the Hebrew language was intrinsic to his music. When interviewed many years later and asked about that period in Europe Einstein stated "Performing in a different language? It's bullshit. We are Hebrew artists, why should we pretend otherwise?" Nevertheless, Einstein and Kraus remained close friends and would collaborate again in the future.

In May 1970, the film "Shablool" ("Snail") was released, serving as a continuation to "Lool", consisting of a series of sketches coupled with songs. These songs formed the joint album of Einstein and Shalom Hanoch, "Snail", released the same year. The album is considered one of the most influential albums in Israeli rock, and many have chosen it as the greatest Israeli rock album of all time. Hanoch composed all the songs and wrote almost all of them.

In 1973, Einstein turned to renewal of old Hebrew songs written mostly in the first half of the 20th century. Until the mid-1990s, in parallel to releasing his own original albums, Einstein concurrently released a series of albums under the name "The Old and Good Land of Israel" which encompassed a multitude of genres – songs of the homeland from the beginning of Jewish settlement to the "Ballroom" songs from the 50s – using modern adaptations with musicians such as Shem-Tov Levi, Yoni Rechter and Avner Kenner. According to him, he did it not for the perpetuation of the songs, but simply because he loved to sing them.

Despite a successful acting and singing career, Einstein considered himself shy and a homebody. In one of his songs he sang that his greatest pleasure was staying home with a cup of lemon tea and his books, and in this he was sincere. In a candid TV interview he said that performing in front of big crowds was difficult for him (without the help of a few glugs of cognac beforehand). For this reason he ceased to perform public concerts after 1981, despite many attractive offers which in the late 1990s even reached seven figures. In 1982 he was hurt in a major car accident. His wife was also hurt, and another friend lost her life. Following the accident Einstein's eyesight, which was already myopic, got worse and he spent less time in public.

In 2004, Einstein released Shtei Gitarot Bas Tupim (Two Guitars, Bass, Drums). He sang a duet with David D'Or on D'Or's CD, Kmo HaRuach ("Like the Wind") released on 27 March 2006. In 2010, Einstein was the most played artist on radio stations in Israel, according to Israeli Musical artist organisation, ACUM (אקו"ם). In 2011, he released a new song in honor of the return of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. "You'll always be a hero", Einstein sings. "You are allowed to cry. It's not simple at all, to forgive fate."

In 2009, Haaretz columnist Ariel Hirschfeld wrote: "Arik Einstein's well-known reclusiveness, his ordinariness, his aversity to pomposity and grandiosity, his modest way of belonging to this place – these should not hide from those living here the fact that he is a very great and profound artist, with an acute artistic conscience, perfect and totally unique."

On 26 November 2013, Einstein died age 74 after a ruptured thoracic aortic aneurysm. He arrived at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center unconscious after he collapsed at his home earlier in the day. His hospitalization in the hours leading up to his death was closely monitored and reported by every news network in Israel with all three major news channels broadcasting the developments as "breaking news" for hours. At the news of Einstein's death, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement describing his songs as the "soundtrack of Israel." President Shimon Peres stated that he was beloved for his voice that "came from the depths" and his songs would "continue playing life and hope" long after him. Israel's leading radio station, Galgalatz, played his songs for 48 consecutive hours. He was buried in Trumpeldor Cemetery in Tel Aviv. Prior to the funeral, his body lay in state in Rabin Square, where thousands gathered to pay their respects.

On 7 October 2014, 40,000 people assembled for a concert in his honor, led by his longtime collaborators such as Miki Gavrielov but also including many other of the great artists spanning many decades of Israeli popular music. The elaborate concert was recorded using an extensive array of cameras, but the recording has not been released due to unspecified disputes.

Einstein was also well known for his love of sports and his deep knowledge of sports trivia, for which he jokingly nicknamed himself "world champion in unimportant information". He was an avid fan of Hapoel Tel Aviv sports club, for which he competed in his youth, particularly Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. and Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. Several of his songs mention his love for sports in general and the Hapoel Tel Aviv clubs in particular. Fans of Hapoel's basketball team ran a petition for the team's new arena, The Drive in Arena which was inaugurated in 2015, to be named after Einstein - but their request was not granted.