Litsa Diamanti ( el, Λίτσα Διαμάντη, born Euaggelia (Evangelitsa-Litsa) Cosmidou; 1949 in

Kolonos Kolonos (, ) is a densely populated working-class district of the Municipality of Athens. It is named after the ancient deme, Hippeios Colonus. The district hosts a multi-year football club, Attikos F.C., that was founded in 1919. History Kolo ...

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 ...

) is a Greek

laïko Laïko or laïkó ( el, λαϊκό �ραγούδιlaïkó 'tragoúdi'' ; “ongof the people", "popular ong, pl: ''laïká'' 'tragoúdia'' is a Greek music genre composed in Greek language in accordance with the tradition of the Greek peopl ...

singer who became famous in the 1960s and 1970s. She has been described as the "child-wonder of the Sixties decade and the absolute

diva Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is clo ...

metapolitefsi The Metapolitefsi ( el, Μεταπολίτευση, , " regime change") was a period in modern Greek history from the fall of the Ioaniddes military junta of 1973–74 to the transition period shortly after the 1974 legislative elections. The m ...

." Her hits have been described as "all-time classics."

Life and career

Diamanti was born in 1949 in Kolonos, a suburb of Athens. She finished her schooling in

Aegaleo Aigaleo or Egaleo ( el, Αιγάλεω ) is a suburban municipality in the western part of Athens, belonging to the West Athens regional administrative unit. It takes its name from Mount Aigaleo. Its population was 69,946 at the 2011 census. Ge ...

. Her music career started early. At the age of 8 she learned to play the accordion and at 12 she was a member of a music group singing

demotic Demotic may refer to: * Demotic Greek, the modern vernacular form of the Greek language * Demotic (Egyptian), an ancient Egyptian script and version of the language * Chữ Nôm, the demotic script for writing Vietnamese See also * * Demos (disa ...

songs. When she was 12 she published her first record ''An April evening'' (Ένα δειλινό του Απρίλη) with the ''Do Re'' record company. At the age of 13 she had already signed her first record contract with the

Minos In Greek mythology, Minos (; grc-gre, Μίνως, ) was a King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten ...

label which at the time was known as "Odeon Parlofon." In her early career with Minos she performed as vocal accompaniment for the stars of the company. Famous composer

Giorgos Mitsakis Giorgos Mitsakis ( el, Γιώργος Μητσάκης; Constantinople, 1921 - Athens, 17 November 1993) was a Greek composer and lyricist of numerous ''rebetika'' and folk songs, as well as a skillful bouzouki player. He was also known by the ni ...

gave her her first hit when she was 15 ''Synnefies'' (Clouds). From then on she performed a series of hits which became milestones of Greek laiko. Her collaboration with Greek stars Vasilis Vasiliadis, Bambis Tsetinis, Dimitris Eustathiou and Manos Papadakis produced many hits and led to successful live performances. She also collaborated with famous female singer of the era

Poly Panou Poly, from the Greek πολύς meaning "many" or "much", may refer to: Businesses * China Poly Group Corporation, a Chinese business group, and its subsidiaries: ** Poly Property, a Hong Kong incorporated Chinese property developer ** Poly Real ...

, an experience she would describe as highly educational. Her work with

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 ...

produced many hits. She also worked with lyricist

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samos, Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionians, Ionian Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher and the eponymou ...

and composer

Giorgos Katsaros Giorgos Katsaros ( el, Γιώργος Κατσαρός) (born on 7 March 1934 in Corfu) is a famous Greek musician and songwriter. He plays the alto saxophone. He has made a variety of recordings, collaborating amongst others with Greek musical ...

, while appearing at Neraida, a famous bouzouki establishment in Athens. Her collaboration with the two composers produced the hit song ''Den iparhei eftyhia'' (Δεν υπάρχει ευτυχία - There is no happiness). This hit was followed by another classic "Nyhta stasou" (Night, stay still) composed by Katsaros with lyrics by Christos Nikolopoulos. Diamanti has also collaborated with

Giorgos Dalaras George Dalaras ( Γιώργος Νταλάρας, 29 September 1949) is a Greek musician and singer. He is one of the most prominent figures of Greek musical culture. In October 2006, he was selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Ag ...

Giannis Kalatzis Giannis Kalatzis ( el, Γιάννης Καλατζής, 29 April 1943 – 13 July 2017) was a Greeks, Greek singer who was especially popular in Greece in the late 1960s and the first half of the 1970s. Giannis Kalatzis was born in Thessaloniki ...

and

Yiannis Parios Yiannis Parios ( el, Γιάννης Πάριος) is a Greek singer, with a career spanning five decades. Biography Yiannis Parios was born Ioannis Varthakouris (Ιωάννης Βαρθακούρης) on the island of Paros. He made his firs ...

in the album "Synantisis" by Greek composer Evangelos Sempos.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diamanti, Litsa Living people 20th-century Greek women singers Greek laïko singers Greek rebetiko singers 1949 births Singers from Athens