Nikos Xylouris, nicknamed Psaronikos, (July 7, 1936 – February 8, 1980) is a symbol of Crete. He was one of its greatest singers whose talent made him internationally renowned.
Xylouris was born in Anogeia, a rugged mountain region in the hinterland of Crete and penned soulful songs viewed as expressive of the indomitable Cretan spirit. He was the older brother of two other great musicians of Cretan music, Antonis Xylouris or Psarantonis, and Yiannis Xylouris or Psaroyiannis.
His early years were filled with a patriotic zeal for his ancestral village of Anogeia, well-known throughout Crete for their bravery. This would be tested in the adolescence of his youth, brought upon by the turmoil of war with the Axis powers.
In 1941, Nikos Xylouris was four years old when he witnessed German paratroopers, the Fallschirmjäger, descending upon his island during the Battle of Crete. In 1944, Xylouris was eight years old when his hometown of Anogeia was razed to the ground by the German army.
He acquired his first lyre, or lyra (the three-stringed Cretan fiddle which is supported on the knee while playing), at the age of twelve and displayed great potential in performing local Cretan folk music.
Xylouris: The “Archangel of Crete”
Xylouris was part of the movement that brought down the Greek military junta, which fell in 1974. His songs and music captured and expressed the Greek psyche and demeanor, labeling him as the “Archangel of Crete.”
He first performed outside Greece in 1966 and won first prize in the Sanremo Folk Music Festival. In 1967, he established the first Cretan Music Hall, Erotokritos, in Heraklion. Xylouris soon went on to performances in Athens, which became his new permanent residence, at the Konaki folk music hall.
During the early 1970s, Xylouris’ voice became associated with not only Cretan music but also the new kind of artistic popular music that emerged as well-known composers the likes of Giannis Markopoulos, Stavros Xarhakos, Christodoulos Halaris, and Christos Leontis wrote music on the verses of famous Greek poets such as Nikos Gatsos, Yiannis Ritsos, Giorgos Seferis, Kostas Varnalis, and Dionysios Solomos.
In 1971, Xylouris was honored by the Academy Charles Cross of France for his performance in the Cretan Rizitika songs album with G. Markopoulos.
His songs continue to be played regularly on Greek radio stations, his contribution is universally recognized among his fellow musicians, and his legacy is held in the highest regard throughout the Greek nation, both within the homeland and across the Greek Diaspora as well.
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