The Death of Stelios Kazantzidis

Μια σελίδα για τον παγκόσμιο ΠΟΝΤΙΑΚΟ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟ: Ιστορία - Μουσική - Κοινότητες
Α web page dedicated to promote the awareness of the HELLENIC PΟΝΤΙΑΝ culture

Legendary laika singer Kazantzidis dies after bout with cancer Athens, 15/09/2001 (ANA)

Stelios Kazantzidis, one of Greece's most loved 'laika' singers, died Friday in hospital at the age of 70 after a months-long bout with cancer.

Kazantzidis, who was immensely popular in the country and with expatriate Greeks and considered by many as the most prolific and stirring singer of Greek popular music, or 'laika', had worked with many of Greece's most renowned composers, and one of the first composers he ever worked with described Kazandzidis' voice as "made for expressing anguish".

Kazantzidis was born on August 29, 1931, and at the tender age of 13 lost his father, a resistance fighter who died from the hardships and torture suffered during the Nazi occupation of Greece.

Kazantzidis' life as a young boy was full of hardships. He worked as a baggage-carrier in Athens' central Omonia Square and at an inter-state bus company, roast chestnuts at open markets (laiki agora), and was a laborer at the New Ionia textile mills.

His military service was equally hard, as he spent a long term on Makronissos island to his political convictions.

But his life changed when the owner of a factory in the Perissos working district gave him a guitar, which he would spend hours playing, channeling his hardships and feelings into music and songs and singing mostly about the anguish of the hardworking factory workers and the Greeks who were forced to emigrate abroad to seek a living, leaving behind their beloved homeland which was trying to mend the wounds of war.

Kazantzidis made his first appearance in a night club, in Kifissia, in the early 1950s, and two years later he made his first studio recording, phonographing a song by renowned laika composer Apostolos Kaldaras, titled 'I'm going swimming, come along if you like".

This was quickly followed by his first commercial success, "The Suitcases" by another popular composer, Yannis Papaioannou, and then a string of more successes, all talking about love, anguish and the hardships of the working class.

His career was marked by collaborations with most of the best-loved and renowned composers of Greece, including Manolis Hiotis, Yorgos Mitsakis, Vassilis Tsitsanis, Manos Loizos, Manos Hatzidakis, Miki Theodorakis and Stavros Xarhakos.

In 1976, after the circulation of his hit album "Yparcho", Kazantzidis stopped recording. He spent much of his time fishing, his favorite hobby, in Aghios Konstantinos, Lokrida prefecture, where he spent most of the months of the year, saying he felt freedom and tranquility fishing with his friends, far away from the commercial circles of the music industry, which he felt had betrayed him.

His health problems first emerged in early April, when he was hospitalized at the Athens Medical Center with problems in his left lung. This was followed by a trip to Germany a month later for treatment at a specialized cancer hospital, where he stayed three weeks.

Kazantzidis was rushed again to the Athens Medical Center in early July, where he died.

Condolences over death of legendary Greek singer Kazantzidis

Political leaders on Friday sent messages of condolences to the family of Stelios Kazantzidis, one of Greece's most popular singers, who died earlier in the day at the age of 70 from cancer.

Prime Minister Costas Simitis expressed his "deep grief" over his death and said that "that our authentic popular culture lost one of its significant representatives."

Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos said that "the voice of Stelios Kazantzidis is in the soul of every Greek" and that he will be remembered through his songs.

Main opposition New Democracy Party (ND) leader Costas Karamanlis said that "Stelios Kazantzidis, with his unique talent and voice, sang with passion and touched the soul and heart of every Greek."

Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Secretary Aleka Papariga said that the death of Kazantzidis "caused grief to the people who adored and loved him," and that his career lasted "half a century."

Coalition of the Left and Progress Party (Synaspismos) also bid "farewell" to the legendary singer.

Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos said that through his songs, Kazantzidis "knew how to speak to our people." He added that "through his unique voice, he will always remain alive in our memory."

Trapezounta.com is an independent website not affiliated with any organization or institution