(1944–2025) | He was a melodos and songwriter, performing his own idiomela and hymns, always setting to music and singing his own poetry. He was born in Thessaloniki on 2 December 1944. In 1963 he abandoned his studies at the Law School of Thessaloniki and moved to Athens to devote himself to art. He was self-taught and wrote sparingly.
Throughout his career he released cycles of songs on vinyl and CD, as well as live recordings of his concerts and performances. His records circulated in Greece and abroad, wherever there was a Greek community. From 1964 onward he achieved wide recognition, blending musical influences from American artists such as Bob Dylan and Frank Zappa with Macedonian folk tradition, alongside political, romantic, and satirical lyrics. During the dictatorship he was arrested and imprisoned twice, in August and September 1967.
He travelled extensively in Greece, across the Balkans, the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Japan, Canada, and the United States. He composed music for theatre in Athens and Epidaurus, as well as for cinema — for the film Happy Day (1976) he was awarded Best Music, though he declined to receive the prize. He was also active as a record producer, introducing younger and emerging artists to discography. He published five books of lyrics, scores, and texts, while in 2003 a complete edition of his lyrics appeared, along with two studies devoted to his life and work. At various times he presented his own programmes on radio and television. In 2017 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Department of Philology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
He died in Athens on 21 October 2025, aged 80.
Source: Wikipedia (accessed 2025)
