Konstantinos (Kostas) Roukounas ( el, Κώστας Ρούκουνας) (
Principality of Samos
The Principality of Samos ( el, Ηγεμονία της Σάμου, ; ota, Sisam İmâreti, script=Latn, italic=yes; tr, Sisam Beyliği) was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire from 1834 to 1912. The island of Samos participated ...
, 1903 –
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, 11 March 1984) was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
singer. His repertoire included both "traditional" (''δημοτικά'') and "popular" songs (''λαϊκά''). Most notable is his contribution to the genre of ''
rebetiko
Rebetiko ( el, ρεμπέτικο, ), plural rebetika ( ), occasionally transliterated as rembetiko or rebetico, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek music which have come to be grouped together since the s ...
'' (ρεμπέτικο). Roukounas is generally known as a singer, however he was also a songwriter.
Life
Roukounas came from a poor family and thus had to start working from the age of eight, initially at a cigarette manufacturing business and later as a carpenter. He began his artistic career in the mid-1920s as a singer at a
taverna
A taverna (Greek: ταβέρνα) is a small Greek restaurant that serves Greek cuisine. The taverna is an integral part of Greek culture and has become familiar to people from other countries who visit Greece, as well as through the establishmen ...
. Young Roukounas soon became famous among his fellow islanders of Samos for his fine voice, specialising in ''Smyrneika'' (songs originating from the nearby coast of
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
). Shortly thereafter he moved to Athens (in 1927 or 1928). There he sang professionally on various festive occasions until he was discovered by
Panagiotis Toundas, a leading composer and recording industry executive. Tountas got Roukounas to make his first recordings on 78
rpm
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
records
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
. With his versatile voice he excelled in virtually all subgenres of
traditional
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
and
rembetic music. Deserving particular mention are his renditions of the most demanding technically and semi-improvisational ''
manedes''. Roukounas collaborated with many composers throughout his long career, particularly
Panagiotis Tountas
Panagiotis Toundas ( el, Παναγιώτης Τούντας; 1886– 23 May 1942) was a Greek composer of the early 20th century. He is probably the most famous representative of the "Smyrna School" and made a notable contribution to the creat ...
,
Spyros Peristeris Spyros Peristeris ( el, Σπύρος Περιστέρης; 1900 – 15 March 1966) was a Greek ''rebetiko'' composer and a skillful mandolin and bouzouki player.
Biography
Peristeris was born in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire. His parents were Aristides, ...
,
Kostas Skarvelis
Kostas Skarvelis ( el, Κώστας Σκαρβέλης, 1880 – 8 April 1942) was a Greek composer of popular music, of the ''rembetiko'' (''ρεμπέτικο'') genre. He also wrote the lyrics for his songs and was an excellent guitar player, ...
, and
Grigoris Asikis
Grigoris Asikis ( el, Γρηγόρης Ασίκης) (1890, Istanbul, Constantinople Vilayet – 7 October 1966, Athens) was a Greek singer and songwriter of urban Greek music, ''Rembetiko.'' He wrote lyrics for most of the songs he recorded an ...
.
He married the singer
Anna Pagana
Anna may refer to:
People Surname and given name
* Anna (name)
Mononym
* Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke
* Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773)
* Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century)
* Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...
who died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
in 1943. Roukounas married his second wife, lyricist
Alexandra Kyriazi
Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...
, in 1948. They lived together in a suburb of Athens until his death in 1984.
Notes
# Then autonomous, subject to the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roukounas, Kostas
1903 births
1984 deaths
People from Samos
Greek songwriters
20th-century Greek male singers
Greek rebetiko singers