Markos Vamvakaris
| Markos Vamvakaris | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Markos Vamvakaris |
| Born |
10 May 1905 Ano Syros, Syros, Greece |
| Died | 8 February 1972 (aged 66) Athens, Greece |
| Genres | Rebetiko, Greek music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, artist |
| Instruments | Singer, bouzouki, composer |
| Years active | 1932–early 1960s |
| Labels | Columbia Records, Parlophone, Odeon, His Masters Voice, RCA Victor |
Márkos Vamvakáris (Greek: Μάρκος Βαμβακάρης; 10 May 1905 – 8 February 1972), was a rebetiko musician. He is universally referred to by rebetiko writers and fans simply by his first name, Márkos. The great significance of Vamvakaris for the rebetiko is also reflected by his nickname: the "patriarch of the rebetiko".
Vamvakaris was born on 10 May 1905 in Ano Syros (or Ano Khora), Syros, Greece. His family belonged to the sizeable Roman Catholic community of the island, the "Francosyrians", a name deriving from the colloquial Greek reference to West Europeans collectively as "the Franks".
At the age of twelve, in the false belief that he was wanted by the police, Vamvakaris fled Syros for the port of Piraeus. He worked as a stevedore, a pit-coal miner, a shoe-polisher, a paperboy, a butcher, and other odd jobs. He heard a bouzouki player playing, and vowed that if he did not learn to play the instrument in six months he would chop off his own hand with a cleaver (he was working in the public abattoirs at the time). He learned bouzouki, becoming an innovative virtuoso player, and began to write songs of his own. At first he often played in clandestine hashish-smoking establishments known as tekés; later he and his band, which included Giorgos Batis, Anestis Delias and Stratos Pagioumtzis played in more legitimate clubs and taverns. They were extremely popular, and Markos made many recordings.
Spyros Peristeris, a well-educated musician and repertory manager and orchestra leader for several recording companies, persuaded Vamvakaris to record his songs sung with his own voice. Vamvakaris recorded his first rebetiko disc, Na'rchósouna re magka mou (Να 'ρχόσουνα ρε μάγκα μου) in 1932. Among other songs in that period, he wrote the classic love song "Frankosyriani" (Φραγκοσυριανή).
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