January 18: the date that marked the life of Vasilis Tsitsanis

On this day, January 18, 1915, Vasilis Tsitsanis, one of the most important figures in folk and rebetiko music, was born.

Born in Trikala to parents from Epirus, he lost his father, a tsarouchas by profession, when he was only 11 years old. It was then that he first came into contact with his mandolin, which a local instrument maker had converted into a bouzouki.

While still a student, he began his first musical performances at local events, playing the violin. In 1936, he came to Athens to study law, while also playing the bouzouki in clubs. A year later, he recorded his first song, "S' ena teke boukarane". Dozens of songs followed, performed by artists such as Stratos Payoumtsis, Stelios Perpiniadis, and Markos Vamvakaris. Through these songs, Tsitsanis introduced a new genre of folk music, combining rebetiko with Western melodies.

During the Occupation, he settled in Thessaloniki, where he opened the "Ouzeri Tsitsanis" and wrote landmark songs that were recorded after the war. In 1946, he returned to Athens and enjoyed a decade of great success with new performers such as Marika Ninou and Sotiria Bellou.

From the mid-1950s onwards, Greek music began to change, adopting more Eastern forms. Tsitsanis, without abandoning his personal style, adapted and continued to create with performers such as Stelios Kazantzidis, Grigoris Bithikotsis, Panos Gavalas, Kaiti Grey, and others.

The period 1969–1970 was important for his career, when he began performing at the "Harama" in Kaisariani together with Yannis Papaioannou. The venue became a landmark, where people of different ages and social classes coexisted, enjoying themselves in an environment without excesses or theatrics, with the sole focus on the songs and lyrics.

After Papaioannou's sudden death in a car accident in 1972, Sotiria Bellou joined Tsitsanis in 1973, and for the next decade, "Harama" enjoyed a new heyday.

On Christmas Day 1983, Tsitsanis didn’t appear on stage for the first time in 14 years, and a few days later, on his birthday, January 18, 1984, he passed away.

To mark today's occasion, the Telecommunications Museum presents a photograph from the period 1969–1972 taken at "Harama" (Floros Brothers Archive – Nikos L. Floros). In the middle of the stage are Vasilis Tsitsanis and Yannis Papaioannou, with Vicky Moscholiou between them.