Manos Loïzos ( el, Μάνος Λοΐζος; 1937–1982) was one of the most important Greek
music composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
s of the 20th century.
Biography
He was born on 22 October 1937 to Greek Cypriot immigrants in
Alexandria, Egypt. His parents came from the small village of
Agioi Vavatsinias, in the
district of Larnaca,
Cyprus.
Loizos moved to
Athens at the age of 17 intending to study
pharmacology
Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...
but soon gave up his studies in order to concentrate on his musical career. He was a
self-taught musician, with no formal musical arts training. His first recordings were made in 1963 but he started gaining a larger audience after 1967. By 1975 Loizos had become one of the most popular artists in Greek music.
He died on 17 September 1982 in a hospital in
Moscow,
Soviet Union after suffering several strokes. He was well known for his
leftist political ideology
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 pri ...
and was an outspoken critic of the
Greek military junta. He was also an active member of the
Greek Communist Party
The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece.
Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curren ...
. The year 2007 was declared "Manos Loizos Year" in Greece.
Discography
He composed many well-known Greek
songs and has co-operated with various important composers, singers and
lyricists like
Mikis Theodorakis,
Haris Alexiou,
George Dalaras,
Vasilis Papakonstantinou,
Christos Leontis
Christos may refer to:
* Jesus of Nazareth
* Christ (title), a title for the Jewish Messiah in Christianity
* Christos (surname)
* Christos (given name)
*, a Greek owned, Liberian flagged cargo ship in service 1962-71
See also
* Christ (disamb ...
, Fondas Ladis, Yannis Negrepontis,
Manolis Rasoulis,
Giannis Kalatzis,
Nâzım Hikmet and many others. His best known co-operation was with his very personal friend, lyricist
Lefteris Papadopoulos who wrote the lyrics of many of Loizos' most successful hits.
Some of Loizos' most famous songs are :
*"Ola se thymizoun (Everything Reminds Me of You)" Lyrics: Manolis Rassoulis
*"
Jamaica" Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos
*"S' Akoloutho (I follow you)" Lyrics: himself
*"To Akordeon (The Accordion)" Lyrics: Yannis Negrepontis
*"O Dromos (The Street)" Lyrics: Kostoula Mitropoulos
*"Che" (dedicated to Che Guevara) Lyrics: himself
*"Ah Helidoni mu (Ah, my swallow)" Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos
*"De Tha Ksanagapiso (I Shall not Love Again)" Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos
*"Paporaki tou Burnova (Paporaki of Burnova)" Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos
*"O Koutalianos" Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos
*"Evdokia" (Instrumental
Zeibekiko)
*"Kalimera Ilie (Goodmorning Sun)" Lyrics: Manos Loizos. During the 1981-1989 period the song was used as trademark by the political movement PASOK
In 1985, a big concert dedicated to his memory took place in the
Athens Olympic Stadium, attended by more than 50,000 people with singers
George Dalaras,
Haris Alexiou,
Giannis Kalatzis,
Dimitra Galani and
Vasilis Papakonstantinou performing. Manos Loizos' songs and music remain popular until today among all ages of the Greek society.
Studio albums
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loizos, Manos
1937 births
1982 deaths
Greek songwriters
Greek people of Cypriot descent
People from Alexandria
Greek communists
Egyptian people of Greek descent
Egyptian emigrants to Greece