Vicky Moscholiou (

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 ...

: Βίκυ Μοσχολιού, ; 23 May 1943 – 16 August 2005), born in

Metaxourgeio Metaxourgeio or Metaxourgio ( ), meaning "silk mill", is a neighbourhood of Athens, Greece. The neighbourhood is located north of the historical centre of Athens, between Kolonos to the east and Kerameikos to the west, and north of Gazi. Metaxour ...

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 ...

, was a

singer. On 14 March 2010,

Alpha TV Alpha TV is a Greek free-to-air channel, being one of the biggest stations in Greece. The station features a mix of Greek and foreign shows with an emphasis on information. The studios are located in Kifissia and Pallini. Alpha TV is owned by Alp ...

ranked her the 13th top-certified female artist in the nation's phonographic era (since 1960).''Chart Show: Your Countdown''.

. Airdate: 14 March 2010

Biography

Early years

Vicky Moscholiou was born during the German Occupation of Greece, a time of hardship and privation. Her family lived in one room. Her father worked in the vegetable market, and her mother suffered from consumption and received a small allowance. They managed to scrape together the money for a plot of land in Upper Agia Varvara and build a home there. Two more children followed, a brother and sister.

" Agia Varvara then, and especially where we lived, was empty. A few houses, endless fields, and quite a few gypsies with their bears and their songs. There was great poverty but I liked it there. I’d wander around barefoot all day, run, play with the other children, fall, hurt myself, get up and do the same all over again. There was however civility and compassion, a feeling for others which I think has slowly vanished with the years."

Her grandfather and grandmother worked at the

National Theatre of Greece The National Theatre of Greece () is based in Athens, Greece. History The first permanent theatre in modern Greece had been the Boukoura Theatre from 1840, but it had difficulty in managing its operation and stood empty for long periods of t ...

. He did the lighting, she the costumes. Moscholiou would go with her grandfather and watch the shows. She dreamed of being an actress, but ended up a singer. Her first break came in 1962 through the intervention of her cousin Effie Linda.

Grigoris Bithikotsis Grigoris Bithikotsis (Greek Γρηγόρης Μπιθικώτσης, ; December 11, 1922 – April 7, 2005) was a Greek folk singer/songwriter with a career spanning five decades. He is considered one of the most important figures in Greek popular ...

remembers how she came to him and asked him to audition Moscholiou when he was rehearsing for a season at Vasilis Cheilas’ club Triana. They arranged a time but Bithikotsis arrived late and nearly missed her.

"You know, if I’d been stopped by traffic lights that afternoon, Vicky Moscholiou might not have become a singer. Listen then: I go through a red light, arrive outside Triana, park my car and see a girl and a woman leaving. Afterwards I learnt it was her mother. The young girl recognised me." Mr Bithikotsis, I’m Vasiliki, Vicky Moscholiou, about whom my cousin told you. Mr Kostas Papadopoulos and the musicians in the band listened to me and they told me I wouldn’t do. Come inside, I said to her, so that I can listen to you as well. So we went inside again, and she and her mother sat down. As soon as I approached the stage Kostas Papadopoulos said to me, "The girl sings out of tune..." Let me hear her as well, I said. She sang two songs—I forget which—and I realised that her voice was different..."

Thanks to Bithikotsis, Moscholiou was hired to perform at the Triana. However this was only a small start. She was given a song to sing occasionally, and acknowledged that she learned much from Bithikotsis and Doukissa, with whom she worked.

Career and commercial success

She rose to fame in 1964 with Stavros Xarhakos' song "Hathike to feggari" (The Moon is Lost), which was composed for the movie ''Lola''. According to Bithikotsis, the composer Xarhakos told Bithikotsis he needed a singer with a different kind of voice for a particular song. Bithikotsis suggested he try Moscholiou, and took her along to be auditioned. However,

Giorgos Zampetas 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 Ath ...

remembers things differently.

"One day Stavros Xarhakos came to the shop. Lambropoulos had instructed him to get Moscholiou to sing a song in a film. He fancied her a lot. We regarded her as just a 200 drachma singer. I took 850 drachmas and Bithikotsis—I don’t know. And he takes Moscholiou to record and me to play bouzouki."

Moscholiou continued with collaborations with

Giorgos 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 ...

Manos Eleutheriou Manos Eleftheriou ( el, Μάνος Ελευθερίου; 12 March 1938 – 22 July 2018), was a Greek poet, lyricist and prose writer. He had written poetry collections, short stories, a novella, two novels and more than 400 songs. At the same ...

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 ...

, Akis Panou, and

Loukianos Kilaidonis Loukianos Kilaidonis (: 15 July 1943 – 7 February 2017) was a Greek composer, songwriter and singer. Biography Kilaidonis was born at Kypseli, Athens. He studied at the Lycée Léonin of Patissia. He then studied architecture at the Aristotle ...

, among other well-known composers and songwriters. Songs she was famous for include "Paei, paei", "Aliti", "Pou pas choris agapi", "Nautis bgike sti steria", "Ta deilina", "Oi metanastes", and "Anthropoi monachoi". Two of her hits gave their names to night clubs in

, "Deilina" (Dusks) and "Ximeromata" (Daybreaks). She was one of the first in Greece to sing both in night clubs and concerts, and she also sang in the royal courts of

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 ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. She was one of the first entertainers to sing in aid of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

Personal life

In 1967, Moscholiou married the soccer legend

Mimis Domazos Dimitris "Mimis" Domazos ( el, Δημήτρης "Μίμης" Δομάζος, born 22 January 1942) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. His nickname was ''"The General"'' ''( el, "Ο Στρατηγός ...

, although later they divorced. They had two daughters, Evangelia and Rania. She died in Athens in 2005 following a two-year battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, leaving a legacy of significant cultural achievements. In 2008, following a public dispute between Moscholiou's two daughters, the villa she lived in

Thrakomakedones Thrakomakedones (Greek: Θρακομακεδόνες from Thrace and Macedonia), is a town in the regional unit East Attica, in Attica region, Greece. It is a northern suburb of Athens. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the muni ...

was sold fully furnished to the wealthy goldsmith Panagiotis Stylianoudis and his spouse Villy Kamarinopoulou.

Discography

*1966: ''Ένα Μεσημέρι'' *1967: ''Θαλασσινά φεγγάρια (Συμμετοχή)'' *1969: ''Κόσμε αγάπη μου'' *1969: ''Μια Κυριακή'' *1970: ''Βίκυ Μοσχολιού'' *1970: ''Το Σαββατόβραδο'' *1972: ''Περιπέτειες'' *1972: ''Συνοικισμός Α'' *1973: ''Στροφές.'' *1973: ''Τραγουδά Ξαρχάκο Σπανό'' *1974: ''Νυν και αεί'' *1975: ''Λαϊκή Παράδοση (Συμμετοχή)'' *1975: ''Σκοπευτήριο (Συμμετοχή)'' *1976: ''Ανεξάρτητα (Συμμετοχή)'' *1976: ''Λεύκωμα'' *1976: ''Τα Σήμαντρα (Συμμετοχή) Νομικός'' *1977: ''14 Χρυσές Επιτυχίες'' *1977: ''Τραγουδά Σπανό'' *1978: ''14 Χρυσές Επιτυχίες 2'' *1978: ''Λαϊκά τραγούδια απ' όλο τον κόσμο'' *1979: ''Όταν σε περιμένω'' *1980: ''Βίκυ Μοσχολιού'' *1980: ''Το Τραμ Το Τελευταίο'' *1981: ''Σκουριασμένα χείλια'' *1982: ''Αξέχαστες Επιτυχίες'' *1982: ''Σ΄ένα Κόσμο σαν κι αυτό'' *1982: ''Τραγούδια της Ευτυχίας'' *1983: ''Αξέχαστες Επιτυχίες 2'' *1984: ''Του σίδερου και του νερού'' *1986: ''Στους ανήσυχους δρόμους'' *1987: ''Γυμνό'' *1987: ''Κόκοτας - Μοσχολιού'' *1990: ''Εφημερία'' *1990: ''Gro plan'' *1990: ''Η Αθήνα τη νύχτα'' *1990: ''Μεγάλες Επιτυχίες'' *1991: ''Γειά σας που πέφτουν τα σύνορα (Συμμετοχή)'' *1992: ''Το καινούριο πράμα'' *1993: ''Τα Μπιζουδάκια'' *1994: ''Από τους θησαυρούς των 45 στροφών'' *1995: ''Ο Τζακ Ο΄ Χάρα'' *1995: ''Οι Μεγάλες Επιτυχίες'' *1995: ''Τραγουδά Ζαμπέτα'' *1996: ''Μια γυναίκα δύο άντρες'' *1996: ''Τραγουδάει Αρχοντορεμπέτικα'' *1996: ''Τραγούδια από τις 45 στροφές'' *1997: ''Αξέχαστες επιτυχίες 3'' *1998: ''Οι Μεγάλες φωνές του Ελληνικού τραγουδιού'' *2000: ''Τραγούδια από τις 45 στροφές 2'' *2001: ''Οι Μεγάλες Επιτυχίες 1'' *2002: ''Μεγάλοι Έλληνες Ερμηνευτές 2'' *2002: ''Ανοιχτό Βιβλίο'' *2003: ''Πήρα απ΄τη Νιότη Χρώματα'' *2004: ''Οι Μεγάλες Επιτυχίες 2'' *2004: ''Βραδυνό σινιάλο'' *2005: ''Εγώ εσένα αγαπώ'' *2005: ''Μοσχολιού Βίκυ 40 Χρόνια'' *2005: ''21 Μεγάλα τραγούδια'' *2006: ''Τα Κινηματογραφικά'' *2006: ''Στα εννέα όγδοα'' *2008: ''Βίκυ Μοσχολιού: Δεν ξέρω πόσο σ' αγαπώ'' (a "best-of" compilation in a box set of six CDs)

Bibliography

* ''Βίκυ Μοσχολιού: Δεν ξέρω πόσο σ' αγαπώ'' (biography) by Κώστας Μπαλαχούτης, 2008 (A booklet accompanying the box set with the same title)

References

External links

News of her death, and obituary
in Greek. It includes photographs of the singer — from ERT (Greek radio and television news source)
Βιογραφία της Βίκυς Μοσχολιού (sansimera.gr)

Η είδηση του θανάτου της Βίκυς Μοσχολιού (in.gr)

Χρυσοχόος αγόρασε τη βίλα της Μοσχολιού (epsressonews.gr)

«Μπλόκαραν» το βιβλίο της Μοσχολιού οι κόρες της (newsit.gr)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moscholiou, Vicky 1943 births 2005 deaths Deaths from cancer in Greece 20th-century Greek women singers Greek laïko singers Singers from Athens