Ioannes "Giannis" Spanos ( el, Ιωάννης "Γιάννης" Σπανός, ; 26 July 1934 – 30 October 2019), also transliterated as Yannis Spanos, was a Greek music composer and lyricist. In his early days as a musician he was also a piano accompanist. Spanos won the music prize at the 1971

Thessaloniki Film Festival The Thessaloniki Film Festival is a Thessaloniki-based cultural institution focusing on cinema. The Institution organizes the Thessaloniki International Film Festival every November and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival every March, while its y ...

for composing the score of the film '' Ekeino to kalokairi''.

Biography

Spanos was born in

Kiato Kiato ( el, Κιάτο) is a town in the northern part of Corinthia in the Peloponnese, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of Sikyona. Kiato is situated on the Gulf of Corinth, near the mouth of the river Asopos. It has much tourist activit ...

in 1934. His father was a dentist. Spanos was influenced by his sister's piano studies, and moved to Athens at the age of 17 to study at the National Odeum where he learned to play the piano. His father wanted him to become a scientist so he sponsored a yearly trip around Europe; Spanos lived briefly in Italy, Germany and the UK, eventually coming to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, whereto he eventually moved more permanently in 1961. In Paris he worked in the artistic scene at the

Rive Gauche The Rive Gauche (, ''Left Bank'') is the southern bank of the river Seine in Paris. Here the river flows roughly westward, cutting the city in two parts. When facing downstream, the southern bank is to the left, and the northern bank (or ''Rive D ...

as a piano

accompanist Accompaniment is the part (music), musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmony (music), harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in ...

. He accompanied there many French artists like

Cora Vaucaire Cora may refer to: Science * ''Cora'' (fungus), a genus of lichens * ''Cora'' (damselfly), a genus of damselflies * CorA metal ion transporter, a Mg2+ influx system People * Cora (name), a given name and surname * Cora E. (born 1968), German h ...

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

, Béatrice Arnac and

Juliette Gréco Juliette Gréco (; 7 February 1927 – 23 September 2020) was a French singer and actress. Her best known songs are "Paris Canaille" (1962, originally sung by Léo Ferré), "La Javanaise" (1963, written by Serge Gainsbourg for Gréco) and "Désh ...

. It was in Paris and in French that he wrote his first songs; an example is the song ''Sidonie'' that was sung by

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

in the film ''

A Very Private Affair ''A Very Private Affair'' (french: Vie privée, lit=Private Life) is a 1962 French romantic drama film directed by Louis Malle and starring Brigitte Bardot. Premise Eighteen-year-old Jill enjoys a comfortable upper-class existence with her wido ...

''. When he eventually moved back to Greece, he was pivotal in the creation of the

Greek New Wave Néo kýma ( el, Νέο Κύμα, , translated as "new wave") is a Greek music genre appeared during so called Greek New Wave movement in the mid-1960s which lasted about a decade. It was a mixture of éntekhno, entechno and Chanson, French chanso ...

genre. He continued composing music, including soundtracks for films; his songs have been sung by many Greek singers including

Keti Chomata Aikaterine "Keti" Chomata (Greek: , ; October 24, 1946 - October 24, 2010) was a Greek singer and actress. Biography Chomata was born in Athens in 1946; her family's origin was from the island of Naxos. She lived in the Plaka district of Athens ...

Arleta Arleta () is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California, with a high percentage of Latino residents and of people born outside the United States. Geography Arleta is bordered by the Los Angeles distr ...

Giannis Poulopoulos Giannis Poulopoulos (Greek: Γιάννης Πουλόπουλος, a.k.a. John Poulopoulos; 29 June 1941 – 23 August 2020) was a Greek singer-songwriter, who had several hits in Greece during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. In terms of total al ...

and

Dimitris Mitropanos Dimitris Mitropanos ( el, Δημήτρης Μητροπάνος; 2 April 1948 – 17 April 2012) was a Greek singer. He was renowned for his mastery of Laïkó, a Greek music style. Biography Mitropanos lived in his native city of Trikala in n ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spanos, Giannis 1934 births 2019 deaths Greek musicians Greek composers Greek lyricists People from Sikyona

Biography

See also

References

External links