The Biographical Encyclopedia of Rebetika Musicians

Abadzi, Rita- singer
Born in Smyrna in 1914, she, along with Rosa Eskenazi, was one of the most famous female singers of her generation. Her career began in the thirties, and she sang everything from Smyrneika, to dimotika, to rebetika. The hight of her popularity was from the thirties to about 1940. She worked with all of the leading composers and singers of the era including - Panayotis Toundas, Vangelis Papazoglou, Kostas Skarvelis, Spiros Peristeris, Dimitrios Semsis ('Salonikios'), Markos Vamvakaris, Vasilis Tsitsanis and others. (She also recorded on 78 rpms with Rosa Eskenazi, and it was said that their relationship, both personal and professional was mixed. They were rivals, and it was commen for people to argue over who was the better singer. She made no further recordings after World War II, but there is no doubt that she changed the history of Greek music, and opened the door for future female artists.) Rita Abatsi died in January 1969 in Aigaleo, a suburb of Athens.

Batis, Yiorgos-baglama
Born in 1890 in Methana. He moved to Piraeus at an early age an died there in 1967. The archetypical mangas, Batis ran a café and dancing school and encouraged young musicians. His music is completely uncompromising and it is surprising that 16 sides were issued between 32-36, although most of them appear to have sold ffew copies. Among other ways of earning a living, Batis used to go around the countryside selling”medicines” and extracting teeth. It seems that on at least one occasion “suckers” realized the had been conned.Frankiskos Zouridhakis claims to have wriiten Sou chi Lachi and that Batis stoleit from him. (from My Only Consolation, Rounder 1136)

Bayienderas, Dmitris Gongos-bouzouki
Bagianteras was born in Piraeus in 1903 and died in Athens in 1985.
He is one of the greatest composers of the pre-war rebetiko.
His friendship with Batis, Markos and Stratos and the fact that he was a talented artist, gave him the opportunity to record many songs during the pre-war era.
He had a unique style that makes his songs easily recognizable.
Unfortunately he became blind in 1941. He continued to play music professionally for several years, but the last years of his life were difficult, because he was not able to work anymore and almost everybody forgot him.
His songs are among the best Rebetiko songs ever written and will be with us forever.
(from DioDinos.com)

Bellou, Sotiria-singer
One of the most famous rebetisas of all, mentioned in many music guides, and contributer to the 1984 British Documentary entitled Music of the Outsiders, Sotiria Bellou was born in Halkida in 1921. She learned to play the gitar at an early age. After a brief (and abusive marriage at age nineteen, which ended when she took revenge by throwing vytriol, a corrosive acid, in her husband's face), she wound up in Athens in October of 1940, as Greece was becoming involved in World War II. In the years of Italian and German occupation, Sotiria earned her living by using her skills as a gitarist and singer to survive while others perrished of starvation. In 1947, she came to the attention of Vassilis Tsitsanis (another legend, who began his own recording career ten years earlier), and with him recorded the first of her many 78 rpms. As the times changed, and rebetika was no longer sought after, Sotiria, like many other artists of her generation, found very little work in night clubs. The mid 1960s brought with them a sense of cultural awakening, and a new-found interest in rebetika among young people which peaked in the 1980s. Suddenly, people couldn't get enough of the surviving rebetes, and Sotiria, with her deep voice, full of emotion and pride, was heard on many recordings, and helped usher in a new era for rebetika. That, combined with her honesty, her love for gambling, her participation in the struggle for civil rights (for which she was beaten several times), and the fact that she was openly a lesbian in a time when this was practically unheard of, ensures her a place not only on the rebetic charts, but in the hearts and minds of those whom she touched during her lifetime, and in those whom she continues to inspire. Like her or not, she was an outspoken woman of her generation. Sotiria Bellou died in Athens in 1997. She was buried per request in First Cemetery next to Vassilis Tsitsanis.

Bezos, Konstandinos-guitar
(1905-1943) was a composer and guitarist who for several years was leader of the highly successful Aspra Poulia (White Birds) Hawaiian Orchestra.

Chrisinis, Stelios-bouzouki
A blind singer, guitar and bouzouki player, as well as compeser. He died in 1970.

Dhelias, Anestis –bouzouki
Or “Artemis”, the son of a guitar player, was born in Smyrna in1912. An extremely talented musician, Dhelias was the only major rebetica figure to succumbto to hard drugs. He was found dead in the street of an overdose in 1944. (from My Only Consolation,Rounder 1136)

Dousas- guitar
Dousas recorded many guitar pieces. Here are the unverified tunings:

-To kalogeraki, dropped D
-H tsakpina, open G
-O paraponiarhs, open G
-Mis ellas, dropped D
-To moro mou, dropped D
-Manolakhs o xasiklhs, open G
-H emorfh attaleia, dropped D
-Kouklitsa mou, dropped D (or regular tuning in D; unsure)
-To gelekaki, dropped D
-Ergaths timhmenos, normal tuning
-H mhlia, dropped D
-Xupna megale basilha, open G
-Politiko chasapiko, normal
-O ippoths, normal
-To plustario, dropped D
-H basilissa, cgcf??
-H trata, dropped D

All of these are relative; for instance To moro mou is dropped D tuning, but transposed to A.
Some tunes could be with capo or lowered strings.
Most tunes noted as dropped D could be open tuning; hard to tell how the 2 topstrings are tuned.
(tuning information graciously provided by Mr. Leo Wijnkamp Jr)

Dragatsis, Yianis (or Ogdontakis)-violin
Yianis was born in Smyrna in 1886 into a musical family who were well known in Smyrna as "The Ogdontakides" (hence his nickname). The group consisted of many relatives including Yianis's father George, uncles, cousins and his two brothers.
Little is known of Yianis's early life but he became involved seriously in music in the early part of the century and became well known in Smyrna as a virtuoso violinist. It is believed that he wrote many of the first tranche of Smyrnaic songs that were sang and recorded in Smyrna in the early part of the 20th century.
Yianis was captured during the catastrophe in Asia Minor in 1922. The Turkish soldiers admiration for his playing saved his life, and he was released in 1923 and went to Greece.
Yianis started work in tavernas along with his compatriots Spiro Peristeri, Antonis Dalgas, Kostas Karipis and others. He swiftly became in demand both as a composer and a violinist (indeed, Semsis and Dragatsis were the greatest Greek violinists of the day and have retained that status to date).
Due to his musical expertise, Yianis became a recording director at COLUMBIA, a position he kept throughout the 1930s. He worked with the greatest musicians and singers of the era. He made 100s of recordings many in which he played violin and are now classics -particularly in the Smyrnaic repertiore (e.g. "Manolis Hasiklis"; "Mera Nihta Methismenos" and "Elenitsa").
Yianis was a member of the Musicians Guild "Alilovoithia" and took an active part in the struggle for artist's rights. He was elected as president of the Athens-Pireaus branch several times.
Yianis stopped performing and recording during the war, as did many of the musicians from Asia Minor (in part due to the blanket banning of Amanedhes and other eastern influences in music in 1937 which many artists found intolerable).
After the war Yianis did not return to recording or composing, but played violin at weddings and other social gatherings, and taught violin to students. He lived with his wife Athena thus until his death in 1958.
When interviewed in 1972, Roza remembered Yianis warmly and said that he was a good person, composer and violinist
(from the Roza Eskenazi home page).

Eskenazi, Roza- singer
Born in Constantinople (Istanbul) at some time in the 1890's. The family was Jewish and emigrated to Greece when Roza was a child. In her teens she found work with an Armenian dance troupe, dancing and singing in Armenian, Turkish and Greek. She made her first record in 1929, and thereafter her poignant was heard on hundreds of sides through the 1960's. Roza died on December 2, 1980 and lies in an unmarked grave at the village of Stomio on the Gulf of Corinth.
(from Women of Rembetica, Rounder 1121)

Franceskopoulou, Marika -singer'
She was born in Constantinople, probably around the turn of the 20th century. Like Marika Papagika, she was one of the first recorded-women singers of the Smyrnaiko style of rebetiko tragoudi. The earliest records of her are available in the E.M.I. archives in Hayes, Middlesex,
England. They show that she made a recording of 'Yi'afto foumaro cocaini', a well-known song in Athens, in October of 1932. (I could not find any other information on this artist, and do not know whether or not she is still living, though I doubt it highly.)

Halikias, Yiannis (Jack Gregory)-bouzouki
“A Greek/American bouzouki virtuoso. His 1932 “Minore tou Deke” was the first popular bouzouki recording. Not much is known about Halikias. Rumour has it that he learned to play bouzouki against his fathers wishes, tutored in the ways of the mangas by his uncle. When he moved to America he made a few recordings but became disillusioned by the record company and refused to record anymore. There's talk of Hakikias running an underground hashish joint in the 30's and being involved in other shady activities, living the life of a manga in America.Many famous musicians would visit Halikias when they were in New York, and there are rumors of home recordings of Halikias with the likes of Papaioannoiu and Roza Eskanazi.

Haskil, Stella-singer
Stella Haskil was born in Thesaloniki in 1918, and began her recording career after World War II. She sang with artists such as Markos Vamvakaris, Apostolos Hatzichristos, and Stellakis Perpiniadis, though she is best known for her work with younger artists such as Vasilis Tsitsanis and Apostolos Kaldaras. Her most famous recording is her 1947 version of the song Nichtose horis fengari (Night Fell Moonless), written by Kaldaras during the Greek civil war which lasted until the end of the decade. The original title of this song was 'Nichtose sto Gendi' (('Night fell in Gendi'-the prison in Thesaloniki where political prisoners were held.) This song was such a success, that even though certain verses were changed to meet the demands of the sensors (who were always looking out for any suspect political references), after a few days, it was withdrawn from circulation, and it's performance was banned. Tragically, Stella Haskil died on 27 February, 1954, in Athens. (She was only 36 years old. In my research, I found no reference to why she died.)

Hatzichristos Apostolos-vocal, bouzouki
(Smyrna 1901-Athens 1959) was also a gifted singer, musician, composer. (from Rembetica; Historic Urban Folksongs from Greece, Rounder 1079)

Kaldaras, Apostolos-Bouzouki, guitar, singer.
(born in Trikala, 1922-Athens, 1991)
One of the most successful and prolific of post-war Greek popular composers.

Kaplanis, Kostas-bouzouki
Born pn thhe island of Hios in 1921, settled in Athens durin WWII and eventually moved the the United States.

Karamounas-?

Karapiperis, Manolis-bouzouki

Karipis, Kostas-guitar
Kostas was born circa 1880 in Constantinople. Little is known of his life there. He came to Greece after the catastrophe in Smyrna in 1922. He started working in tavernas along with other Greek refugees, and swiftly developed a reputation as an accomplished composer and guitarist.
From 1923 to the early 1930s Kostas played in a company which included Kostas Tsavenou, Mitso Arapaki, Spiro Peristeri and Dalgas at the best taverns of that era. He recorded songs from 1925, mainly amanedhes and rembetic songs. From 1930 Kostas concentrated on composing, writing lyrics and playing guitar on recordings. He had massive hits throughout the decade with the greatest singers of the day and played guitar on hundreds of sides.
Kostas spent most of the war years in the company of the Piraeus rembetes - Markos Vamvakaris, Stratos Payiomtsis etc. After the war, he continued performing and played guitar in recordings for Tsitsanis, Mitsaki and Papaioannou.

Little is known about Kostas's last years or how or when he died. It is known that he had no family and he disappeared from the music scene in 1951. It is believed that he died in 1952.
In 1972, Roza recalled that Kostas was a good guitarist with a fine voice. She expressed gratitude for songs he wrote that he gave to her to record, singling out his classic smyrnaic song "Fora Ta mavra, Fora Ta" ("Wear the black clothes"). (from Eskenazi homepage)

Karivali, Sofia - singer
Born in Smyrna in 1918, Sofia Karivali and her family landed on the shores of mainland Greece, like millions of other refugees during the 1923 crisis. In 1936, Sofia, now married, began her singing career. Both she and her husband took a trip to Crete, where both worked together, she singing, and he waiting on tables. By this time, her sister, Rita Abatzi (who retained the family name), had already begun to make recordings. Sofia made few, but spent a number of years singing with bouzoukia in Pireaus and performing dimotika. More importantly, she claims the distinct honour of being the first female ever to be seen in public playing the bouzouki anywhere in Greece, and in all of the Greek provinces. Her recording career ended in she stopped her public singing career in the 1940's, Sofia added a truly authentic touch to a 1988 TV documentary with a lively performance of Me planepses boemissa, accompanied by Yorgos Dalaras ['Music of the Outsiders: Rembetiko' made by Compass Film Productions for Channel 4 Ltd. (Her voice can be heard on several recordings by Markos Vamvakaris, including the song just mentioned (though Markos went under a pseudinum for this particular song, most likely so as to not steal the limelight from Sofia). Several of these other recordings can be found on Bouzouki Pioneer, a collection of songs rereleased by the Rounder label and recorded by Markos Vamvakaris. Sofia Karivali died in 1995.)

Karras, G.-guitar

Katsouros, Jiorgos-guitar

Kasimatis, Zacharias-vocal & guitar
(Smyrna 1900-Athens 1966) recorded several sides under his own name in the early 30’s. Thereafter he worked steadily as a side man until shortly before his death. He also composed a handful of songs which have been part of the rebetica canon. (from Mourmourika, Rounder 1120)

Kavouras, Yiorgos-Singer
Born on the island of Kastelorizo in 1909. He cut many sides as a vocalist in the late 1903's, and also played violin, santouri and guitar. He died on March 17, 1943, one of the hundreds of thousands of victims of the Axis occupation of Greece. (My Only Consolation, Rounder 1136)

Keromitis, Stelios-bouzouki, vocals
(1908-1979)Keromitis first performed in Piraeus in 1934. He was a classic manga, well dressed, hashish smoker, bouzouki player. Later, he worked with Markos Vamvakaris and with Vasilis Tsitsanis from 1947-50.He wrote about 25 songs and was known for his low growly voice which Tsitsanis compared to the "growl of a lion."

In his own words:

"I first heard bouzouki in 1916, when I was eight years old, because my father played as an amateur. When I was 12 I made my first clumsy attempts to play it. At that time my father happened to be the owner of a taverna, and this taverna was the venue for a whole host of bouzouki players; the first I met was called Zymaritis, the second Manetas, then Reginas, Mimikos the house painter, Harilaos and Scrivanos. Those were the bouzouki players of the time who played fairly regularly. There were some other people who played but had no talent. We came after them, there was a fifteen years' difference in our ages; we had started to play more systematically somehow and the bouzouki brought us by degrees together, it made us become friends and meet often and learn from each other and help one another and day by day we progressed; there were Markos Vamvakaris, Keromitis, Anestos, Stratos, Karydakias, Bayandaras, Stefanakos: we were the first to present the bouzouki, the popular song, on record, with songs, lyrics and music of our own inspiration. In 1933 we started our campaign, by means of our songs, to make people love the bouzouki. At first we added a guitar and a little baglama to the bouzouki, in the first joint where we sang and played as professionals, and from the very first people loved us and followed us in droves. But let's not forget that there were many people with misconceptions about the bouzouki, but with time, the songs were made so harmonious, with a treble and a second voice and then with the terzo added, like a "cantada" of the ionian islands, that we taught the ones who didn't love this music to love it too.
Our first appearance was at the "Keratzakis", the first joint in Anapafseos street, in Piraeus. Right after that there were many other offers; first from Antonis Vlachos, at the "Dasos" in Votanikos, Athens. From then on we had a following among all kinds of people, of all classes, from the highest to the lowest. Every night the place was packed. We worked there steadily for two years. At that time many artists appeared there: Tsitsanis, Papaioannou, Chiotis, Kaplanis, Tzouanakos, Hatzichristos, Stefanakos-all of them were younger than us." (from Stelios Keromytis cd by Grigoris Phalireas)

Kostis, A-guitar

Manetas, Yirogos-bouzouki
According to Markos Vamvakaris, Manetas was the first to tune his bouzouki in the European style DAD, instead of the traditional tunings favored by the Old Guard.(from Mourmourika, Rounder 1120)

Mitaki, Yorgia-singer
Born in 1911 in Avlona, she enjoyed a singing career that lasted for thirty years. She came to Athens at age 18, and married in 1930. She is remembered mostly as a singer of dimotika tragoudia, but she was just as accomplished with Smyrnaeika, singing compositions and arrangements
of Panayiotis Toundas, Spiros Peristeris and others . Her voice can be heard on '
S'ena teke boukarane', the first recording of Vassilis Tsitsanis in 1937.
She made two highly successful North American tours, one in the late 1950s, and one in the early 1960s. Due to ill health, she made her last visits to the recording studo in 1965. Yorgia Mitaki died back in her 'horio', Avlona, on 28 February, 1977.

Mitsakis, Giorgos-bouzouki, singer.
Composer, author, singer and bouzouki player. Born in Istanbu; in 1924, setteled in Volos in 9135, in Thessaloniki in 1937 and in Piraeus in 1939.

Nouros, Kostas-vocal
B. 1892 Smyrna

Papagika, Marika
She was born on the island of Kos on 1 September , 1890. A true pioneer, she was one of the first generation of Greek female singers to be heard on sound recordings. Her family moved to Egypt most likely Alexandria, when she was young. It is here that she began her career, working in nightspots that catered to the large resident Greek community. She emigrated to the USA in 1915, where she continued performing and recording. By the mid-1920's she and her husband Kostas ['Gus'], a cembalo player, owned their own club in New York. She regularly worked with the fine violinist Athanasios Makedonas, and her repertory included folksongs, and 'light', European-style songs. She became a noted exponent of the Smyrnaic style of the rebetiko tragoudi, and is most often associated with it. She and her husband apparently lost the nightclub in the financial crisis in 1929, and her recording career ended in the late 1930s. Marika Papagika died in New York in 1943. Some say she died of disappointment.

Papazglou, Evangelis-(Smyrna 1895-Piraeus 1943) was one of Rembetica’s great composers and played several instruments. He was a man of strong principles and refused to submit any songs for publication after censorship was imposed by the Metaxas dictatorship in 1937. Gave up music after the Axis occupation of Greece in 1943, and became a junk collector. He died of TB in 43, one of several leading rebetika figures who failed to survive WWII. (from Mourmourika, Rounder 1120)

Papiannou, Ioannis-bouzouki
(Turkey 1914-Athens 1972) was a fine musician and a prolific composer with scores of songs to his name. He was killed in an automobile accident. (My Only Consolation, Rounder 1136)

Pagioumitzis, Stratos-vocal
Pagioumitzis possessed one of the great voices of rebetica. He made hundreds of recordings beginning in 1933, many with Tsitsanis. His later years were hard, when he died during a working visit to the USA in 1971. A collection was made to ship his body home. (from Rembetica; Historic Urban Folksongs from Greece, Rounder 1079)

Peristeris, Spyros (S. Georgiadis)-bouzouki
(Smyrna 1900-Athens 1966) a gifted multi-instrumentalist who for many years was recording director at Odeon/Parlophone and often participated on records he supervised. (from Rembetica; Historic Urban Folksongs from Greece, Rounder 1079)

Perpiniades, Stellakis-vocal, guitar
Stellakis was born on the island of Tinos in 1899. He was the 11th (and final) child born to the family! Stellakis father was from Tinos and his mother from the island Hios.

In 1900 the family moved to Alexandria, and thence on to Constantinople in 1906.

Stellakis early years were difficult, and the family were poor. His father worked as a baker in Galata. Stellakis received only a little formal schooling before joining his father in the baking trade to help the family make ends meet.

Whilst living in Galata, Stellakis joined psalters in St John's church and he learned ecclesiastical music.

In 1919 he embarked for army service for the Greek army first in Athens and subsequently in Smyrna.

In 1922 he left Smyrna as a refugee and went to the island of Hios and then to Piraeus where he worked in a paint shop. In 1925, he met Manoli Margaroni at a wedding and Manoli helped Stellakis by buying him his first guitar and teaching him how to play it as well as encouraging him to become a singer. Stellakis became a performer at fetes and at tavernas in Pireaus.

In 1929 Stellakis met Panayiotis Toundas and recorded some sides which became hits. Stellakis met and worked with the greatest artists and composers of that era, and also composed many classic songs himself which became classics. He recorded in many musical styles, including Rembetika, Smyrneika, Nisiotika (island songs), Demotika and Laika. He also recorded many popular duets with artists such as Stratos Payiomtsis, Roza, Rita Ambatsi and Anna Politissa.

Stellakis opened his own taverna towards the end of the 1930s. Apart from the period from 1942 - 1945 (when the recording companies in Greece were closed) Stellakis made recordings right up to the 1960s.

In the 1970's Stellakis made many appearances in his taverna, concerts and on TV.

He died at his home in Haidari in September 1977. Stellakis son, Vangellis, went on to became a very successful composer/recording artist in his own right - primarily in the laika field. (Eskenazi Homepage)

Roukounas, Kosta-vocal (Karlovasi, Samos 1903-Athens 3-11-84)One of rembetica’s leading voices, cut hundreds of sides from 30’s to 5o’s, also a composer. (from Mourmourika, Rounder 1120).
Kostas Roukounas was born in Neo Karlovasi on the island of Samos (hence his nickname "Samiotaki") in 1904. His father Apostoli left for USA when Kostas was 2 years old, and subsequently divorced his mother Eftihia (she remarried and went on to have three further children).
As the family was very poor, Kostas started work at the age of 8 for a cigarette manufacturer, and worked there for 7 years. Around 1920 Kostas began working as a carpenter/joiner and became known throughout Samos as an expert craftsman. Around 1927 Kostas started singing (primarily Smyrnaic songs) at the best taverna in Nea Karlovasi - PANSAMIAKON. Within a few months of starting his singing career, his stunning vocals had enchanted most of the islanders. In 1928 he left Samos seeking to further his career by moving to mainland Greece and singing in and around Athens at weddings, baptisms and fetes.
By 1929/1930 news of his exceptional talent reached Panayiotis Tountas who sought Kostas out and arranged for him to make 78RPM recordings. Kostas swiftly recorded many songs excelling at each style - including Rembetika, Dimotika, Kleftika, Amanedes, songs from Smyrna and Constantinople, and Nisiotika (island songs). He worked with many of the founding artists of Rembetika and Smyrnaic schools of music. Roukounas could tackle the most technically difficult songs (particularly Amanedhes) with ease. Additionally, he composed many classic songs himself.
Kostas married Anna Politissa (also a talented singer) in 1934. He also started working at Mitsou tou Mourosis, and stayed there until the Nazis entered Athens in 1941.
Tragically, his wife Anna died of a heart attack in March 1943.
Kostas continued working after the War and through the 1950s/1960s including stints at TSITSIFIES and FAT JIMMY'S.
In 1948 he married the lyricist Alexandra Kiriasi.
In 1958 he toured USA for a year to great success.
With the rebetic revival in the 1970s, Kostas returned to concerts and appearances at tavernas and recorded a number of LPs of traditional, Smyrniac and Rembetic songs.
Kostas lived with his wife Alexandra at their home in Pallini until his death in March 1984 aged 80.

Roza worked with Roukounas in the 1930s and again at concerts in the 1970s. When interviewed in 1972 she said that Kostas had a good voice and that he was still singing beautifully. Roza and Kostas recorded one duet together "O Omorfos Tsopanos" ("The Handsome Shepherd") composed by Roza and recorded in 1933 (available on the PANDORA CD "Roza Eskenazi - Kostas Roukounas" CD-PAN-214). (from Roza Eskenazi Homepage)

Semsis, Dimitris
born to Greek parents around 1883 in Stromnitsa. His family moved to Thessaloniki while he was still a child (which directly led to his nickname in later years - 'Salonikios'). Dimitris began to learn violin when he was about 10, and became a virtuoso violinist.

At the turn of the century, he joined the band of a circus which travelled extensively over the balkans. He later joined other touring orchestras and played in Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Soudan and elsewhere. Around 1920, he went to Smyrna and met musicians and composers of the Smyrnaic school.

In September 1922, Dimitris was among the million Greeks expelled from Smyrna and arrived in Greece a refugee. In 1923 he married Dimitra Kanoula, and they had 4 children.

By the end of the 1920s, Dimitris was recording director at HMV and Columbia, a role of great influence that he retained throughout the 1930s - 1940s.

In the 1930s, Dimitris recorded extensively with Roza to great acclaim, and often accompanied her in tavernas along with Tomboulis, Lambros Savaidhis and Lambros Leonaridhis. His compositions were also recorded by the greatest artists of the day including Rita Ambatsi, Dalgas, Stellakis Perpiniadis, and Stratos Payiomtsis. He wrote Rembetic and Demotic songs, as well as Smyrnaika and Amanedes.

As is clear from recordings, Dimitris was, without doubt, the greatest violinist who recorded in the Rembetic/Smyrnaic style. He recorded many hundreds of sides, and we are fortunate that many of them have been re-released in recent years. When interviewed in 1972, Roza said that Dimitris played "the best violin in the World!".

After a short illness, Dimitris Semsi died of cancer in Athens on 13 January 1950. He has surviving descendants in Greece today. (Eskenazi homepage)

Skarvelis, Kostas-guitar

Stavropoulou, Dazy- singer
She only made a few recordings, but her deep voice is very distinctive. She began her recording career before World War II, and returned to the studeo when it re-opened, but her career ended soon afterword. It was often said that she sounded like Stratos, and from what I know, they fought about it. A song of her can be found on the last track of Vassilis Tsitsanis 1936-46. I do not know if dazy stavropoulou is still living, but my guess is no. If anyone has any info, please pass it on.

Toumboulis, Agapios-oud
There is very little documented information on this outstanding exponent of the Oud.
Tomboulis was born to Armenian parents in Constantinople, circa 1891. Like many of Roza's associates, he came to Greece as a refugee in September 1922 after being expelled from Asia Minor.
Tomboulis was Greece's leading Oud player and he can be heard performing magic on hundreds of sides. He became a close associate of Roza's and she believed him to be the best Oud player and a very good singer too. Apart from performing alongside her throughout the 1930s at TAIYETOS taverna, he travelled extensively with Roza in the Balkans and Near East before World War II; and again to Constantinople in the 1950s where they cut approximately 40 sides.
He died in Athens circa 1965.(Eskenazi homepage)

Toundas , Panayiotis- Toundas was born in Smyrna in 1885/1886. His family were fairly wealthy. From an early age he learned to play the Mandolin, as well as other instruments. Around the turn of the century he joined "The Politakia" - a Smyrna ensemble run by Sideras. He worked alongside the greatest musicians in Asia Minor including Ogdhondakis, Papasoglu and Spiros Peristeris.
Toundas started to compose songs from 1910 approx. Many of his songs were recorded and became hits prior to 1922, and he was instrumental in defining the Smyrnaic sound. He also toured extensively in Egypt, Africa and Europe. He came to Athens in 1923 and lived in the Nea Smyrni area.
At first Toundas worked as a Mandolin player in Taverns but in 1924 he became a director of ODEON record company. His first composition to appear on 78RPM in Greece was "Smyrnia" in 1924 sung by the tenor Misailidi. Toundas' compositions became very popular and were leased to all the foreign record labels.
In 1929 Toundas discovered Roza Eskenazi singing in TSITSIFIES and he arranged for Roza to record some sides, kick starting her recording career. They continued to work together successfully throughout the 1930s.
In 1931, Toundas became director of the Columbia label. His songs continued to be amongst the most popular and he worked with the greatest musicians and singers of the day. From 1934, Toundas began to use bouzouki and baglama in recordings of songs. He continued his illustrious career through to 1941 when the Germans entered Athens.
Toundas died on 23 May 1942 in his house in Nea Smyrni. He was survived by his wife and one daughter, but I don't know if he has surviving descendants today.
Toundas ongoing popularity is shown not only in the ongoing re-releases of his original recordings, but also in the esteem in which he is held by Greek musicians today. His songs have been re-recorded by Alexiou, Glykeria, Ntalaras etc.
When interviewed in 1972, Roza said that Toundas was the greatest composer of them all and she acknowledged his part in her story "If it weren't for Tountas, there would be no 'legendary Roza'".(Eskenazi homepage)

Tsitsanis, Vassilis- bouzouki
Vassilis Tsitsanis was born on January 18, 1915 in Trikala, Greece, the son of an Eipirot shoemaker. His father played the mandola and at age twelve Tsistanis began to teach himself the instrument. While at the local high school he also learned violin and received lessons from Mr. Giosa, the Italian music teacher. In 1935 came down to Athens intending to study law. Word went around town that "a hick's in town who plays pretty fair bouzouki," and through the good offices of the singer Dhimitris Perdhikopoulos he was introduced to Spiros Peristeris, recording director at Odeon, and cut his first record (ca. Jan. 1936). Over the next two years he made a few more sides, but his recording career really took off in late 1937 when he returned to the Odeon studios with Perdhikopoulos to wax "Olo Ta Echo Varethi." From then until late 1940, when the second World War put an end to recording in Greece for over five years, he waxed 80 sides; traveling down to Athens to record during 1938 and early 1939, on brief leaves from doing his military service in Thessaloniki. After the war he re-located to Athens, and when recording finally recommenced in June 1946 he was one of the first to return to the studio. Many years of success and a stream of memorable songs were to follow. He continued working virtually non-stop until December 22, 1983. A few days later he traveled to London and entered the Brompton hospital for tests. After an operation which seemed to have gone well his condition suddenly deteriorated and he died there on January 18, 1984 - his birthday.
(from Vassilis Tsitsanis cd, Rounder 1124)

Tsaous, Jiovan- saz
Taous was born near Konya Turkey in 1896. His reputation was established by the time he was 18; he is said to have performed with singing star Hafis Burhan Sesiylmaz for Sultan Hamit. In 1922 or 23 he migrated to Piraeus and worked as a tailor, refusing to become a full time musician because he “didn’t want to play for whores.” Tsaous made a few records of his own tunes set to lyrics by his wife Aikaterini.(from Rembetica; Historic Urban Folksongs from Greece, Rounder 1079)

Tzouras, Stavros-bouzouki on Junkies Melody

Vamvakaris, Markos-bouzouki, vocals
(Syros 1905-1972)
Born into a Catholic family on the isle of Syros in 1905. He ran away to Piraeus in1917, where he worked in a series of grueling, poorly paid jobs. He frequented the tekedes and by hid early twenties had taught himself bouzouki and begun to write songs. Even after he began recording around 1932 and he gained a measure of fame, he continued to work at the Athens slaughter house. His early songs dealt with drugs and underworld themes. He broadened both his lyric base and his appeal when censorship was imposed on the music industry in 1937, though his music always remained within the rebetic idiom. (from Rembetica; Historic Urban Folksongs from Greece, Rounder 1079)
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Yennitsaris, Michalis-bouzouki
(Piraeus 1917-) learned playing bouzouki at an early age, but gave up playing professionally and became a fruit merchant. He resumed his professional playing again in the late 1970’s and, as of the fall of 1997 still appears on the stand. He has written several rebetica classics, but cut only one side pre-WWII. (My Only Consolation, Rounder 1136)

Yeorgakopoulou, Ioanna- singer
Born in Pirgo, Ilia, Greece, she came as a young girl with her family to Athens. She began her singing career before World War II, making her the first of the second-generation of rebetisas (the first being that of Roza Eskenazi, Rita Abatzi) etc).) She was prepared as a singer of European-style 'light' popular songs by her musical mentor, the composer Yannis Vellas, but she quickly came to
excel in her interpretations of other genres including Smyrnaika, dimotika,and especially, rebetika. She began recording at Columbia's
Athenian recording studio on 78 r.p.m. around 1938, and made many more records after the studio, shut down and looted by German occupation forces in 1941,was re-established in 1946. She has probably recorded more classic tracks for more composers than any other rebetissa - Panayotis Toundas, Dimitrios Semsis,Stelios Keromitis, Bayanderas, Yannis Papaioannou, Yorgos Mitsakis,Yorgos Lafkas, Vasilis Tsitsanis, Manolis Hiotis and many others. Despite all of this, and her long career, she never attained the status or popularity of other singers of her generation such as Sotiria Bellou. A relatively private person, she has two daughters, several grandchildren and continues to perform from time to time in Greece.

Zouridhakis, Frangiskos-bouzouki
(Athens 1907-1994) Learned bouzouki in the 20’s and spent years going from tavern to tavern playing for handouts. A few of his sings were recorded by others, but he appears to have made only one or two records. (from Mourmourika, Rounder 1120)