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 album sales, he is the fourth biggest-selling Greek singer of all time.

Life

Poulopoulos was born in Mani, Greece. Shortly after his birth, his parents, originally from Messenia, moved to the Saint Ierotheos region of Peristeri, near Athens. Poulopoulos liked singing from an early age. Prompted by friends, he unsuccessfully sought an audition with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, while also working as a builder, playing

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

in Saint Ierotheos for the Courageous team, and producing oil paintings. Aged 19, Poulopoulos secured auditions with Mikis Theodorakis, Apostolos Kaldaras, Vassilis Tsitsanis, and Giannis Papaioannou, and sang two songs, ''Mana mou kai Panagia'' ("My Mother and the Madonna") and ''Parapono'' ("Complaint"). Poulopoulos impressed Theodorakis at his first audition, and Theodorakis arranged for Poulopoulos to sing three songs in a theatrical production by

Nikos Kourkoulos Nikos Kourkoulos ( el, Νίκος Κούρκουλος; December 5, 1934 in Athens, Greece – January 30, 2007) was a highly respected Greek theatrical and film performer, one of the most talented and recognizable actors in Greece of modern tim ...

and Tzeni Karezi of

Iakovos Kambanellis Iakovos Kambanellis (Greek: Ιάκωβος Καμπανέλλης; 2 December 1921 – 29 March 2011) was a Greek poet, playwright, screenwriter, lyricist, and novelist. Biography Born 2 December 1921 in Hora on the island of Naxos, the sixth of ...

's play, ''The Neighbourhood of Angels''. Grigoris Bithikotsis later performed cover versions of the first three songs ("Set a table for two," "Glory to God" and "Bread is on the Table") that Poulopoulos recorded. Poulopoulos sang regularly in a music hall in Plaka. He recorded four or five

45rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

disks for

, which are now difficult to find as he soon agreed to record for Lyra, for whom he recorded three songs by Mikis Theodorakis. In 1965 he was the first performer of four songs written by Manos Loïzos. Around the same time he also had a successful hit with ''Mi mu thymonis matia mou'' (Don't be angry with me, my love) composed by

Stavros Koujioumtzis Stavros Kouyioumtzis, also Kougioumtzis, Kouyoumtzis, or Koujioumtzis, (23 July 1932 – 12 March 2005) ( el, Σταύρος Κουγιουμτζής ) is one of the most significant Greeks, Greek music composers of the 20th century. Kouyiou ...

. Later on he recorded songs by George Kontogeorgos, included in the LP "Gyspy Day". By 1966, his records were being distributed more widely, and his songs were featured in films. In ''Oi Stigmatismenoi'' ("The Stigmatized"), which starred

Giorgos Foundas Giorgos Fountas ( el, Γιώργος Φούντας; February 13, 1922 – November 28, 2010) was a Greek actor in film and television. Biography Fountas attended the Dramatic School at the Athens Odeum. He appeared for the first time in t ...

and

Maro Kodou Maro may refer to: People * Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro; 70 BC–19 BC), ancient Roman poet * Maro (name), including a list of people with the given name or surname Maro * Mark Rosewater (born 1967), American television writer and ''Magic: The ...

, he sang "Very late" and "I love you" with

Helen Kladi Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, G ...

. In ''O Tetraperatos'' ("The Cunning") with

Kostas Chatzichristos Kostas or Costas ( el, Κώστας) is a Greek given name and surname. As a given name it is the hypocorism for Konstantinos (Constantine). Given name * Costas Andreou, Greek musician * Kostas Antetokounmpo (born 1997), a Greek basketball player * ...

he sang "In Piraeus, in Piraeus" by Giorgos Katsaros, and in the romantic comedy ''Tzeni-Tzeni'' he and Tzeni Karezi performed a song by

Giannis Markopoulos Yannis Markopoulos ( el, Γιάννης Μαρκόπουλος; born 18 March 1939) is a Greek composer. Biography Early life and education Yannis Markopoulos was born in 1939 in Heraklion, Crete. From one of the old families of the island— ...

. He died in

Haidari HaidariFor the spelling, see thmunicipal website ( el, Χαϊδάρι, ''Khaidari'') is a suburb in the western part of the Athens agglomeration, west of central Athens. Geography The municipality has an area of 22.655 km2. The geography of ...

, at age 79, following chronic heart problems.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poulopoulos, Giannis 1941 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Greek male singers Greek laïko singers Greek singer-songwriters Columbia Records artists Singers from Athens