music
Art
The Laterna, the Iconic Instrument of Greek Street Musicians
Any visitor to Ermou, the main shopping street in Athens, has likely seen Spyros Tarapossos and his laterna, or barrel piano.
The laterna is an automatic piano that is operated by turning a crank on the side of the instrument....
Art
US Band “Manowar” Recruits Greek Actors for Odyssey-Themed Song
As part of a press conference before the Release Athens Festival, the founder and bassist for the band "Manowar," Joey DeMaio, announced an epic collaboration between the band and the Greek father-and-son acting duo Costas and Konstantinos Kazakos for...
Greece
The 1920s Song Inspired by Greek Fruit Sellers that Became a Hit
The song "Yes! We Have No Bananas," which was based on Greek fruit sellers, became an unlikely but timeless hit after it was released for the first time in March of 1923.
The tune was written by Frank Silver and...
Greece
Sofia Vembo, the Singer of Victory
Sofia Vembo – The famous Greek singer of the 20th century, became synonymous with the epic Greek victories against the fascist Italian troops in 1940 and 1941 during the Greco-Italian war along the Albanian front.
Born in Gallipoli in Asia...
History
Johnny Otis: The Greek Blues Legend Who Passed as Black
While James Brown was seen as the Godfather of soul music, for many music critics Johnny Otis was considered the Godfather of rhythm and blues. But what his many fans across the U.S.A. did not know was that he...
Diplomacy
Korean National Anthem Performed on Bouzouki by Greek Composer
Award-winning Greek musician and composer Tsalikian Miran honored 60 years of friendship between Korea and Greece by playing the Korean national anthem on the bouzouki, an iconic Greek instrument.
This was the first time that the bouzouki was used to...
Culture
Maria Pentagiotissa: The First Femme Fatale of Modern Greece
The story of Maria Pentagiotissa contains all the elements of an urban legend, yet she was a real person -- and some consider her to be the first femme fatale in Greece.
Maria Daskalopoulou is said to have been born...
Greek News
Rolling Stone’s Charlie Watts Botched Concert in Athens
Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones drummer who died on Tuesday aged 80, had a little known but ugly experience with the Greek police during a concert in Athens in the 1960s.
Watts, regarded as one of the greatest – and...
Culture
Mikis Theodorakis, World-Renowned Greek Composer, Turns 96
Mikis Theodorakis, who has been a Greek patriot, a politician and a world-famous composer in his long career, celebrated his 96th birthday.
Music
Kanye West Raps About Giannis Antetokounmpo in New Album “Donda”
Kanye West released recently his tenth studio album, in which he gives a big shout out to the Greek Freak of the NBA, Giannis Antetokounmpo.