Laïko or laïkó ( el, λαϊκό �ραγούδιlaïkó 'tragoúdi'' ; “

ong Ong or ONG may refer to: Arts and media * Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction * “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip Places * Ong, Nebraska, US, city * Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town * Ong River, Odisha, ...

of the people", "popular

, pl: ''laïká'' 'tragoúdia'' is 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 ...

music genre composed in

Greek language Greek ( el, label= Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy ( Calabria and Salento), southe ...

in accordance with the tradition of the

people. Also called "folk song" or "urban folk music" ( ''astikí laïkí mousikí''), in its plural form is a

Greek music The music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its history. Greek music separates into two parts: Greek traditional music and Byzantine music. These compositions have existed for millennia: they originated in the Byzantine period and Gree ...

genre which has taken many forms over the years. Laïkó followed after the commercialization 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 ...

music. It is strongly dominated by

Greek folk music Greek traditional music (Greek: παραδοσιακή μουσική, "traditional music"; also δημοτικά τραγούδια, "folk songs") includes a variety of Greek styles played by ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, the Uni ...

and it is used to describe Greek popular music as a whole. When used in context, it refers mostly to the form it took in the period from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Rebetiko and elafró tragoudi

Until the 1930s the Greek

discography Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...

was dominated by two musical

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

s: the

( ''dimotiká'') and the ''elafró tragoudi'' (, literally: "light eightsong"). The latter was represented by ensembles of singers/musicians or solo artists like Attik and

Nikos Gounaris Nikos Gounaris ( el, Νίκος Γούναρης; Zagora, 1915 – 5 May 1965 in Athens) was a Greek tenor who was enormously popular as a "pop" singer in the 1950s. Biography Gounaris began playing the mandolin at the age of four. He attende ...

. It was the Greek version of the international popular music of the era. In the 1930s the first

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 ...

recordings had a massive impact on Greek music. As

Markos Vamvakaris Márkos Vamvakáris ( el, Μάρκος Βαμβακάρης; 10 May 1905 – 8 February 1972), was a ''rebetiko'' musician. He is universally referred to by ''rebetiko'' writers and fans simply by his first name, Márkos. The great significance ...

stated, "we were the first to record ''laïká'' (popular) songs". In the years to follow this type of music, the first form of what is now called ''laïkó tragoúdi'', became the mainstream

Classic laïkó

''Classic laïkó'' as it is known today, was the mainstream popular music of Greece during the 1960s and 1970s. Laiko music evolved from the traditional Greek music of the ancient and the medieval Greek era and was established until the present day. Laïkó was dominated by singers such as

Nikos Xanthopoulos Nikos Xanthopoulos ( el, Nίκος Ξανθόπουλος; 14 March 1934 – 22 January 2023) was a Greek actor, known for his roles in the 1960s era Greek Drama Cinema. He was also a singer of Greek folk bouzouki, having released many albums an ...

and composers such as

Mimis Plessas Mimis Plessas ( el, Μίμης Πλέσσας; born 12 October 1924) is a Greek composer born in Athens. He began his career in 1952 and has written music for over 100 films, television and radio programs, and theatrical events. He has worked wit ...

. Among the most significant songwriters and lyricists of this period are

George Zambetas Giorgos Zampetas (Pronounced 'Zabetas', el, Γιώργος Ζαμπέτας, sometimes romanized as George Zambetas / George Zabetas / Giorgos Zabetas; 25 January 1925 – 10 March 1992) was a Greek bouzouki musician. He was born and died in At ...

and the big names of the

era that were still in business, like

Vassilis Tsitsanis Vassilis Tsitsanis ( el, Βασίλης Τσιτσάνης 18 January 1915 – 18 January 1984) was a Greek songwriter and bouzouki player. He became one of the leading Greek composers of his time and is widely regarded as one of the founders of ...

and

Manolis Chiotis Manolis Chiotis (Greek: Μανώλης Χιώτης; March 21, 1921 – March 20, 1970) was a Greek rebetiko and laiko composer, singer, and bouzouki player.English translation He is considered one of the greatest bouzouki soloists of all ti ...

. Many artists combined the traditions of éntekhno and laïkó with considerable success, such as the composers

Stavros Xarchakos Stavros Xarchakos, Greek: Σταύρος Ξαρχάκος (born 14 March 1939) is a Greek composer and conductor. Biography Stavros Xarchakos was born in Athens, where he studied at the Athens Conservatoire. He has family origins from the Mani ...

and

. Legendary figures associated with Laiko (specifically Zeimpekiko) are

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 ...

and

Stelios Kazantzidis Stelios Kazantzidis (Greek: Στέλιος Καζαντζίδης; 29 August 1931 – 14 September 2001) was one of the most prominent Greek singers. A leading singer of Greek popular music, or Laïkó, he collaborated with many of Greece's fore ...

Contemporary laïkó

Contemporary laïkó ( ''sýnchrono laïkó'' ), also called ''modern laïkó'' or ''laïko-pop'', can be called in Greece the mainstream music genre, with variations in plural form as ''contemporary laïká''. Along with moderna laïkó, it is currently Greece's mainstream music genre. The main cultural Greek dances and

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular re ...

s of today's Greek music culture ''laïká'' are

Nisiotika Nisiotika ( el, νησιώτικα, meaning "insular (songs)") are the songs and dances of Greek islands with a variety of styles, played by ethnic Greeks in Greece, Turkey, Australia, the United States and elsewhere. The lyre is the dominant fo ...

, Syrta,

Antikristos Antikristos or Antikrystós ( el, αντικρυστός χορός) is a dance of Greek origin. “Aντικρυστός” in Greek language refers to the verb αντικρύζω “be across, opposite, face-to-face” (from Ancient Greek ἀ ...

Rebetika 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 ...

Hasapiko The hasapiko ( el, χασάπικο, , meaning “the butcher's ance��) is a Greek folk dance from Constantinople. The dance originated in the Middle Ages as a battle mime with swords performed by the Greek butchers' guild, which adopted it fr ...

Zeibekiko Zeibekiko ( el, Ζεϊμπέκικο, ) is a Greek folk dance. Origin and history It takes its name from the Zeybeks, an irregular militia living in the Aegean Region of the Ottoman Empire from late 17th to early 20th centuries. It was fir ...

Kalamatianos The Kalamatianós ( el, Καλαματιανός) is one of the best known dances of Greece. It is a popular Greek folkdance throughout Greece, Cyprus and internationally and is often performed at many social gatherings worldwide. As is the ca ...

, Kangeli and Syrtaki. The more cheerful version of laïkó, called ''elafró laïkó'', was often used in musicals during the Golden Age of Greek cinema. The Greek Peiraiotes superstar

Tolis Voskopoulos __notoc__ Apostolos "Tolis" Voskopoulos ( el, Απόστολος "Τόλης" Βοσκόπουλος; 26 July 1940 – 19 July 2021) was one of the legends of modern Greek music. He also starred in many films and played in the theatre in Athens. ...

gave the after-modern version of

laïko () listenings. Many artists have combined the traditions of éntekhno and laïkó with considerable success, such as the composers

and

. Contemporary laïká emerged as a style in the early 1980s. An indispensable part of the contemporary laïká culture is the ''písta'' (, pl. ; "dance floor/venue"). Night clubs at which the DJs play only contemporary laïká where colloquially known on the 90s as ''ellinádika'' (). Modern laïkó is mainstream Greek laïkó music mixed in with modern Western influences, from such international mainstream genres as

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

and dance. Renowned songwriters or lyricists of contemporary laïká include Alekos Chrysovergis,

Nikos Karvelas Nikos Karvelas ( el, Νίκος Καρβέλας; born Nikos Leonardos on 8 September 1951) is a Greek songwriter, producer and singer. He has sold millions of records as a producer and is most recognizable for his three-decade-long collaborat ...

Phoebus Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

, Nikos Terzis,

Giorgos Theofanous Giorgos (George) Theofanous (, ) (born in Larnaca, Cyprus on 9 January 1968) is a Greek Cypriot composer and producer. He has sold more than two million records and written more than 500 songs in the 1990s and 2000s. Recording artists for whom ...

and Evi Droutsa.

Terminology

In effect, there is no single name for contemporary laïká in the Greek language, but it is often formally referred to as , a term which is however also used for denoting newly composed songs in the tradition of "proper" laïkó; when ambiguity arises, ("contemporary") or disparagingly (''laïko-pop'', "folk-pop", also in the sense of "westernized") is used for the former, while (''gnísio'', "proper, genuine, true") or even (''katharóaimo'', "pureblood") is used for the latter. The choice of contrasting the notions of "westernized" and "genuine" may often be based on

ideological An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied prim ...

and aesthetic grounds. Laïko interacted more westernized sounds in the late of 2000s. The term ''modern laïká'' comes from the phrase , "modern songs of the people".

Criticism

Despite its immense popularity, the genre of contemporary laïká (especially ''laïko-pop'') has come under scrutiny for "featuring musical clichés, average singing voices and slogan-like lyrics" and for "being a hybrid, neither laïkó, nor pop".http://www.e-orfeas.gr/singing/editorial/854-article854.html Article by Tasos P. Karantis on e-Orfeas.gr

Notes