Markos Vamvakaris
Markos Vamvakaris was born on May 10, 1905 in Ano Chora, Syros, Greece. Markos Vamvakaris family belonged to the sizeable Roman Catholic community of the island, the Frankosyrians, a name deriving from the common Greek reference to West Europeans collectively as "Franks".
At the age of 12, Markos Vamvakaris believing he was wanted by the police, Vamvakaris left Syros and went to Piraeus. He worked as a stevedore, employee at a pit-coal mine, polisher, paperman, butcher and other jobs in Syros. Markos Vamvakaris heard a bouzouki player called Crazy Nick playing in Syros, and swore that if he did not learn to play the instrument in six months he would cut off his hand with a cleaver (he was working in the Athens slaughterhouse at the time). He learned bouzouki, becoming an innovative virtuoso player, and began to compose music, and write songs. At first he often played in hashish smoking establishments known as Tekes, later he and his band, which included Giorgos Batis, Anestis Delias and Stratos Pagioumtzis played in more legitimate clubs. They were extremely popular, and Markos Vamvakaris made many recordings.
Markos Vamvakaris recorded his first rebetiko disc, Na 'Rchosouna Re Magka Mou (Να 'ρχόσουνα ρε μάγκα μου) in 1934. Among other songs in that period, he wrote the classic love songs "Frangkosyriani" (Franco-Syrian Girl) and "Ta Matoklada Sou Lampoun" (Your Eyelashes Shine).
Markos Vamvakaris is considered by many to be the father of bouzouki playing and rebetika. In 1932 he recorded for the first time and, although he didn't consider himself a singer, he ended up doing the vocals on his first record. It became a hit and his gravely singing became the norm. He made hundreds of records through the 30's and early 40's but eventually faded from the scene as the music began to change.
After the liberation of Greece from the occupation of Nazi Germany, difficult times arrived, since his kind of music was no longer fashionable. Markos Vamvakaris had to amend many of his songs during the dictatorship of Ioannis Metaxas. Markos Vamvakaris also suffered badly with arthritis in his hands. The slump in his fortunes lasted until the end of the 1950s, when after initiatives by Vassilis Tsitsanis, many of his old songs were revived, sung by famous artists including Grigoris Bithikotsis, and Stratos Dionysiou. Markos Vamvakaris died on February 8, 1972 at the age of 66.