Yiorgos Batis ( el, Γιώργος Μπάτης, also Giorgos Batis) (1885 – 10 March 1967) was one of the first
rebetes A rebetis (Greek: ρεμπέτης ; pl. rebetes ρεμπέτες {{IPA, e(m)ˈbetes}) is a musician involved in the scene of the Greek musical genre of rebetiko, which flourished between 1920 and 1955.
Prominent ''rebetes'' include:
*Rita Abatzi
...
influential to ''
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. His real name was Yiorgos Tsoros although he was known as Yiorgos Ampatis. He had a great love for music and musical instruments (
bouzouki
The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...
,
baglamas
The baglamas ( el, μπαγλαμάς) (plural '' baglamades'') or baglamadaki (), a long necked bowl-lute, is a plucked string instrument used in Greek music; it is a smaller version of the bouzouki pitched an octave higher (nominally D-A-D ...
, etc.).
Life and career
He was born in
Methana
Methana ( el, Μέθανα) is a town and a former municipality on the Peloponnese peninsula, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Troizinia-Methana, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has ...
in 1885 and moved to
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...
when he was very young.
He served in the Greek army from 1912 to 1918. In the mid-1920s, he opened a music school called "Carmen". He opened a
café
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...
named "Georges Baté" in 1931 and formed one of the most important scenes of rebetiko music. He continued to work as a quack-salesman, improvising drugs for painful teeth and other minor ailments. He kept a collection of many instruments and also used to name them. In 1933, Yiorgos Batis did his first sound-recording with bouzouki in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. In the 1930s, he dedicated himself solely to music and collaborated closely with, among others,
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 ...
in the rebetiko band ("kompania") called ''
I Tetras i Xakousti tou Peiraios'' (') - the Famous Quartet of Piraeus. However, it did not light up the charts. He appeared in Alekos Sakelariou's film "Oi papatzides (Οι παπατζήδες)" (1954). He died in Piraeus on March 10, 1967.
External links
Biography on Yiorgos BatisScreen shots of Yiorgos Batis in the film "Oi papatzides (Οι παπατζήδες)" (1954)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batis, Yiorgos
1885 births
1967 deaths
20th-century Greek male singers
Greek rebetiko singers
People from Troizinia-Methana