Nikos Gounaris ( el, Νίκος Γούναρης; Zagora, 1915 – 5 May 1965 in Athens) was a Greek

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

who was enormously popular as a "pop" singer in the 1950s.

Biography

Gounaris began playing the

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of ...

at the age of four. He attended the musical Conservatory of Music in Athens. Gounaris was a Greek elafró singer and among the foremost Greek composers and musicians of the 1950s and 1960s. He was especially popular in the Greek community in America. A great deal of his entertainment was at two Greek resorts in the Catskills in upstate NY, the Sunset and the Monte Carlo. He mainly sang about the sad side of love, and betrayed lovers. Hit songs included "Ena vradi pou 'vrehe," "Glikia mou matia agapimena," and "Omorfi Athina". He composed about 400 songs and played with the Trio Bel Canto during the 1960s. He was often called Mr. Greece. He died on May 5, 1965 of cancer.

Famous songs

*Αγάπη μου όμορφη - My beautiful love *Από τότε, την Άνοιξη - Since then, in Springtime *Αυτός ο άλλος - That other man *Γλυκά μου μάτια αγαπημένα - My sweet, beloved eyes *Είναι αργά πια τώρα να χωρίσουμε - It's too late for us to split up *Εκεί ψηλά στον Άη-Λια - On top of St Elias' hill *Ένα βράδυ που 'βρεχε - On a rainy night *Θυμήσου - Remember! *Κάϊρο - Cairo *Ο Βεδουίνος - The Bedouin *Ο κόσμος άλλαξε αλλάξαν οι καιροί - People changed, times changed *Όμορφη μου Αθήνα - Beautiful Athens *Που 'ν' αυτά τα μάτια; - Where are those eyes? *Σκαλί θα κατεβώ - I'll descend the steps *Σε είδα να κλαδεύεις - I saw you trimming the tree *Πέντε χρόνια περάσανε - Five years have passed *Τώρα που σε γνώρισα - Now that I met you

In Media

His song; Pame Sta Bouzoukia is featured in a custom map on the

MMOFPS A massively multiplayer online first-person shooter game (MMOFPS) is an online game which mixes the genres of first-person shooter and massively multiplayer online game. A MMOFPS is a real-time shooter experience where a very large number of player ...

Counter-Strike titled de_plaka.

Discography

*Ihografisis Stis Ipa 1958-1960 *Asteria Tou Ellinikou Tragoudiou - Gounaris *Axehasti Epohi - Nikos Gounaris *Ta Petalakia *Ta Oreotera Mou Tragoudia No2 *Ta Oreotera Mou Tragoudia *I Ellada Tou Gounari *Back cover of LP - "Nikos Gounaris and the Trio Belcanto" (Hampshire records)

References

Sources

Biography - Nikos Gounaris (Greek)

Nikos Gounaris biography on Wiki Phantis
1915 births 1965 deaths Greek guitarists Greek songwriters Greek tenors Greek mandolin players Greek laïko singers Greek singer-songwriters 20th-century Greek male singers 20th-century guitarists People from Zagora, Greece {{greece-composer-stub